[Mary22]

Our Wheaten Terrier puppy, who's 4 months, loves to go outside and bark... We have a chain link fence and she will sit by the fence looking out and bark at ... people, birds, nothing at all... Is there a good way to stop this? We tell her no, but that doesn't seem to help. I don't want the neighbors to get upset that our puppy is barking all the time but other than us going outside and chasing her around the yard to get her to come in (she loves that game) I don't know what else to do...

[Captbob]

You could try training the dog not to bark, but if that fails, a bark collar will do the job. Get a good one.

[briteday]

My favorite book is Puppies for Dummies, no offense intended.

[Alpha]

Oh my lord. As someone who uses aversives, slanging the use of aversives on this forum has seriously got out of hand.

My dog does ___________:

Reply: Zap'em.

There are a number of things you can do, a few things I would do personally:

1. Distract. (with a number of things)
-a good distraction is stinky food, she barks, you show her a yummy treat, but don't give it to her yet, make her work for it. She sits quietly for 10 seconds, reward. Than gradually increase the time between your reward and how long she's expected to sit quietly
-distracting with a command (she's a little young for this yet and her desire to tell you about the birds in the tree next door might be a little strong! LOL) She barks, give her a command, ex) down. She downs, keep her attention and reward
-distracting/desensitizing with work. Have her outside and work with her! Desensitize her to these distractions.

The thing I'd be most careful with if using distractions is to be sure your clearly defining what's being rewarded, as in, you are NOT rewarding barking, but instead quiet, calm behaviours.

Roxy had a horrible habit of flipping out at passerby's inside the house. I mean, insane freaking out. I distracted her either with food, or with a command,(also using my cue "enough") and as soon as she stopped barking, rewarded.

If all else failed, I would have her on leash and if she wasn't responding to the commands or distractions that your providing, I would give a leash pop, than quickly reward if she stopped barking. This of course, is my last resort.

[chihuahua mommy]

I'm also having a hard time w/this. My chihuahua is 9 months old and barks at EVERYTHING. Strangers, other dogs, but once they get close enough she wags her tail and starts licking them like crazy. I've tried telling her NO firmly, I've tried doing the Cesar Milan "poke them in the neck thing" (not too hard of course, just enough to get her attention) and she still barks.

A friend of mine told me about getting a spray bottle filled with water and spray her when she barks. I'm a little uneasy about this, I don't want to traumatize my dog! Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions on this??

[bluesbarby]

I have the same problem and have pretty much cured the barking when I'm there. He'll bark, look at me - knowing I'm going to tell him to sit - and then sit. Kind of like a little kid who does something wrong that he knows is wrong and then realises that you might have seen and knows he's been caught. However, when I'm not there he continues to bark (according to my neighbor). He only barks at things he can't see but he can hear. Any ideas?

[xoxluvablexox]

Originally Posted by chihuahua mommy

I'm also having a hard time w/this. My chihuahua is 9 months old and barks at EVERYTHING. Strangers, other dogs, but once they get close enough she wags her tail and starts licking them like crazy. I've tried telling her NO firmly, I've tried doing the Cesar Milan "poke them in the neck thing" (not too hard of course, just enough to get her attention) and she still barks.

A friend of mine told me about getting a spray bottle filled with water and spray her when she barks. I'm a little uneasy about this, I don't want to traumatize my dog! Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions on this??

Your chihuahua sounds pretty nice compared to some that I have known. As far as I know chihuahua's bark at everything because they're so small and they feel the need to defend themselves against anything bigger then them. I've never known a chihuahua that loved strangers and would go up to them and by friendly without knowing them before hand. Your chihuahua actually sounds VERY nice compared to the few I have known. I'm not sure how you could get rid of the barking but I would NOT use a spray bottle. That would just make your dog afraid of you and it might not bark when your near it but that wouldn't stop the barking when your not around.

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by Alpha

Oh my lord. As someone who uses aversives, slanging the use of aversives on this forum has seriously got out of hand.

My dog does ___________:

Reply: Zap'em.
.

Are you telling me that I don't have a right to make a suggestion?

[Curbside Prophet]

How To Teach A New Dog Old Tricks - Dr. Ian Dunbar. Page 75.

No one would think of putting a shock collar on a canary, squirting lemon juice into a baby's mouth or beating a husband with a rolled-up newspaper and having his vocal cords cut for 'singing' in the shower. However, people think nothing of doing all of these and more to barking dogs. Barking poses particular problems because owners are consistently inconsistent. Sometimes the dog is allowed to bark. Sometimes it is encouraged to bark, yet other times it is severely punished for barking. It is all so confusing and stressful for the poor dog. No wonder the dog lets rip when you are away from home.

If your dog barks when you are away from home, for goodness sake do not confine it outdoors. In fact, outdoor confinement likely precipitated the problem in the first place. Sound carries. If confined outside, your dog will moreeasily hear outside disturbances, and your neighbors will be more easily disturbed by the dog's barking. Until the barking problem has been resolved, restrict barking by confining your dog indoors, preferably to a single room (to reduce activity), away from the street (to reduce the effect of outside disturbances) and on the opposite side of the house from complaining neighbors (to reduce complaints). Draw the curtains in the confinement area and otherwise insulate for sound. Leave a radio playing loudly to reassure the dog and to provide white noise, which will help muffle sounds from outdoors and disguise the dog's barking.

He goes on to say that you should teach your dog to bark on command, "once barking is under stimulus control, it becomes possible to instruct your dog to bark at times when it may not feel like barking, which greatly facilitates teaching the more important 'shush' command."

[poodleholic]

Originally Posted by Mary22

Our Wheaten Terrier puppy, who's 4 months, loves to go outside and bark... We have a chain link fence and she will sit by the fence looking out and bark at ... people, birds, nothing at all... Is there a good way to stop this? We tell her no, but that doesn't seem to help. I don't want the neighbors to get upset that our puppy is barking all the time but other than us going outside and chasing her around the yard to get her to come in (she loves that game) I don't know what else to do...

Dogs, particularly puppies, need to be supervised when outside. Your puppy is bored, so she barks - at anything that moves, or just because. (Next, it could be digging, chewing inappropriate things, swallowing stones, etc.) Dogs who are left outside often develop barrier aggression, barking, snarling, and lunging at whoever/whatever is on the other side of the fence.

If you want your dog to stop barking outside, then bring her in the house where she belongs, with you. Take her out for potty breaks, and to play structured games (like fetch), and then, of course, for walks. Otherwise, she should be in the house with you. Dogs don't do well as lawn ornaments!

Originally Posted by Alpha
Oh my lord. As someone who uses aversives, slanging the use of aversives on this forum has seriously got out of hand.

My dog does ___________:

Reply: Zap'em.
.

Are you telling me that I don't have a right to make a suggestion?

Maybe you should think beforehand! This is a 4-month old puppy!

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by poodleholic

Dogs, particularly puppies, need to be supervised when outside. Your puppy is bored, so she barks - at anything that moves, or just because. (Next, it could be digging, chewing inappropriate things, swallowing stones, etc.) Dogs who are left outside often develop barrier aggression, barking, snarling, and lunging at whoever/whatever is on the other side of the fence.

If you want your dog to stop barking outside, then bring her in the house where she belongs, with you. Take her out for potty breaks, and to play structured games (like fetch), and then, of course, for walks. Otherwise, she should be in the house with you. Dogs don't do well as lawn ornaments!




Maybe you should think beforehand! This is a 4-month old puppy!

I thought beforehand , and I don't think your being rude is appropriate. If you read my post, you will see that the first thing I said was to try and train the dog not to bark, and if that does not work try a bark collar.

In the real world that we live in, some people try and train dogs for months to not bark, especially when they are not home. This was the problem that I was addressing. I recently dealt with a young dog that was "debarked" at the vets because their owners didn't want to use a bark collar. This was after the building they were living in threatened to have them evicted. Well the operation went poorly, and the dog wound up barely able to breathe. They finally collected $3000 at my shelter where the dog wound up, because it's owner couldn't deal with a now handicapped dog, to have the dog operated on and it's breathing problem corrected. Once under anesthesia, the Vet College surgeons, said that it couldn't be fixed and never woke the
dog up. The dog was the nicest dog, and it was a tragedy. I am currently training this deceased dogs former roomate at the shelter, who is also debarked. This dog has so many issues, mostly because of the debarking, and it just amazes me that someone would do something like that to a dog, when a $75 quality bark collar and 20 minutes of wearing it will stop the problem in almost every dog.

There are different kinds of bark collars, one uses a spray, and the others use a electronic stim that is like the muscle exercisers that people buy that are in a belt they wear around their waist to stimulate their ab muscles ( doesn't work for loosing weight by the way) They also use devices like that for physical therapy after injuries. They don't hurt the dog, they just cause a tingle in the dog's neck, when the dog barks. The louder the bark, the stronger the tingle. I have seen dogs that bark like crazy, stop in just a couple of minutes of wearing this collar. Rather than getting thrown out of your apartment, or having your homeowners association telling you to gety rid of your dog, it is a good alternative for the many people that can't stop their dog from barking , no matter how much training they give it.

[Jen D]

You could alway toss a can with coins in it when she doesn't see where it is coming from. Then she will relate the barking with anunpleasent result

[Mary22]

POODLEHOLIC: Excuse me for letting my dog outside in our fenced in yard while I do the dishes, etc. I think that's ridiculous to say the dog should never be outside unless for potty or supervised play. We spend a great deal of time with our puppy so I'm sure she isn't bored. She just loves the attention of anyone who is outside. And, she doesn't stay outside for long periods and she doesn't stay outside. Please ask before assuming that I leave my dog out as a 'lawn ornament'.

[Alpha]

Curb, great point I totally forgot about teaching "speak".

Have you tried any of the methods yet Mary?

And yes, barking is a common problem with many dogs, but I wonder why none of the people I go to school with have problems with that, or people I see at dog shows... And none of THEM use e-collars?

Hmm... It's too many people too assume that it's just a small number of dogs and they're all just lucky that their dogs don't have barking issues. I wonder why then, dozens of dog/human pairs I see at dog school, or shows, don't have this problem... Especially if they've never used a bark collar...

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by Alpha

Curb, great point I totally forgot about teaching "speak".

Have you tried any of the methods yet Mary?

And yes, barking is a common problem with many dogs, but I wonder why none of the people I go to school with have problems with that, or people I see at dog shows... And none of THEM use e-collars?

Hmm... It's too many people too assume that it's just a small number of dogs and they're all just lucky that their dogs don't have barking issues. I wonder why then, dozens of dog/human pairs I see at dog school, or shows, don't have this problem... Especially if they've never used a bark collar...

If you don't run across dogs with barking problems, you mustn't get out very much.....

[Alpha]

I love the sarcasm.

I go to dog school two days a week, for over a year now. Your right, I must not see a lot of dogs

I've been to more obedience matches than I can count on one hand, and competed in a few correction matches.

I thought my point was clear, but obviously it was not.

My point being, people who train and understand dog behaviours do NOT have these problems. If they do, they're dealt with quickly and are now non-existent. (Mary this is not meant to offend you but obviously some members can't withhold their sarcasm and have nothing educational to offer)

[SFury]

Originally Posted by Mary22

POODLEHOLIC: Excuse me for letting my dog outside in our fenced in yard while I do the dishes, etc. I think that's ridiculous to say the dog should never be outside unless for potty or supervised play. We spend a great deal of time with our puppy so I'm sure she isn't bored. She just loves the attention of anyone who is outside. And, she doesn't stay outside for long periods and she doesn't stay outside. Please ask before assuming that I leave my dog out as a 'lawn ornament'.

No one said that your dog isn't well cared for. The reality is that some dogs bark, dig, or do other bad things because they are bored. They need to have their attention redirected. Leaving a bored dog outside doing an unwanted behavior will never correct the behavior. Bark collars do work as well. I wouldn't use one on a puppy necessarilly, but if nothing else works...

When you do chores you should keep your dog inside with you. Once you know she won't misbehave then, and only then, can your pup be outside alone.

Originally Posted by Alpha

I love the sarcasm.

I go to dog school two days a week, for over a year now. Your right, I must not see a lot of dogs

I've been to more obedience matches than I can count on one hand, and competed in a few correction matches.

I thought my point was clear, but obviously it was not.

My point being, people who train and understand dog behaviours do NOT have these problems. If they do, they're dealt with quickly and are now non-existent. (Mary this is not meant to offend you but obviously some members can't withhold their sarcasm and have nothing educational to offer)

You may not run across a lot of dogs who bark. I have. Dogs at shows are already trained to not bark, or to only bark on command.

Dogs bark for different reasons. Some bark out of boredom, some like to announce themselves. Why is the dog barking? Once you know the answer, then you can resolve the problem. With my dogs Kiba likes to say "I'm here!" while Buck barks out of nervousness at others.

My dogs like to bark at people/dogs outside of the invisible fence line. I have been working very hard with them to bark once and then remain quiet. With only one dog outside that is the way it is. With both of them outside, well, not yet. Two excited dogs who make each other more excited does make training harder. Especially when they don't want to obey a command.

[Jen D]

Don't most dogs bark? I haven't seen any talk yet!

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by Alpha

I love the sarcasm.

I go to dog school two days a week, for over a year now. Your right, I must not see a lot of dogs

I've been to more obedience matches than I can count on one hand, and competed in a few correction matches.

I thought my point was clear, but obviously it was not.

My point being, people who train and understand dog behaviours do NOT have these problems. If they do, they're dealt with quickly and are now non-existent. (Mary this is not meant to offend you but obviously some members can't withhold their sarcasm and have nothing educational to offer)

I think going to obedience matches, is not getting a good and complete representation of the average dog household. A freind of mine lives in a up scale subdivision near me, and just within his block, there are three dogs that are on bark collars. He and his neighbors discussed it, and when one of them bought the bark collar, and it worked almost instantly, the other two did the same thing. He said that is neighborhood went from a barking symphony, once one dog started to bark, to being as quiet as a library.

There are several companies that make and sell bark collars, and they probably sell hundreds of thousands of them a year. Plain and simple , they work, and usually where one on one training failed.

http://www.innotek.net/store/index.p...3adf2134ed939f
http://www.pet-safe.com/cart.php?tar...ategory_id=250
http://www.dogtra.com/
http://www.tritronics.com/remotetrai...limiterxs.html

[poodleholic]

Originally Posted by Mary22

POODLEHOLIC: Excuse me for letting my dog outside in our fenced in yard while I do the dishes, etc. I think that's ridiculous to say the dog should never be outside unless for potty or supervised play. We spend a great deal of time with our puppy so I'm sure she isn't bored. She just loves the attention of anyone who is outside. And, she doesn't stay outside for long periods and she doesn't stay outside. Please ask before assuming that I leave my dog out as a 'lawn ornament'.

Every time your puppy barks, the behavior is being reinforced, and will be harder to change/stop. The time to address the barking is now. I'm glad to learn that she's not kept outside for long periods. Your original post didn't clarify the situation, but stated that you didn't want the neighbors to get upset that your puppy was barking all the time (which you stated in your post she was doing).

Your original post:

Our Wheaten Terrier puppy, who's 4 months, loves to go outside and bark... We have a chain link fence and she will sit by the fence looking out and bark at ... people, birds, nothing at all... Is there a good way to stop this? We tell her no, but that doesn't seem to help. I don't want the neighbors to get upset that our puppy is barking all the time but other than us going outside and chasing her around the yard to get her to come in (she loves that game) I don't know what else to do...

You may feel that it's rediculous to keep the puppy w/you inside except for potty and supervised play, and you certainly have the right to feel that way. However, if you don't want a barking dog, then you need to stop the behavior now. The best way to do that with a young puppy is to supervise and prevent the bad habits from forming. Otherwise, you could have a dog that barks at "people, birds, nothing at all" (to quote you) for the rest of her life. Your chasing the puppy to bring her in (so she stops barking) is counter productive, and is actually teaching her another bad habit - playing keep away, the game all dogs love! Every time you chase her, the behavior (running away from you) is being reinforced (and will be harder to change/stop). This is the time to be working on recall, so your puppy comes when you call her. Believe me, she will like playing keep away much better, because it's more fun!

By always supervising your puppy (or containing her when you can't), you are able to pevent bad habits from forming, and teach behaviors that are wanted. It's a lot easier than having to work on getting rid of unwanted behavior that's become a bad habit.