[lulu62]

I recently got married to a man with a Great Pyrenees/Australian Sheperd mix named Murphy. He's had her for ten years. I am at a loss on how to get her to stop barking. It's non-stop. If she sees any animal outside or on TV it's non-stop barking. I hate keeping the blinds/doors closed all day because it punishes us and our other dog. We literally can't watch any animated movies or movies with animals because she'll stand in front of the TV and bark at them. My husband won't put her in our fenced in yard because he has heard stories of people poisoning dogs that bark all the time - and that's exactly what she does when she is outdoors.

She also barks EVERY time my husband walks out of the room. He can't go get a cup of coffee, check the mail, use the restroom, etc. without her barking. Even our friends hesitate to come over to watch TV/have dinner with us anymore. It's just a beating.

Any suggestions short of me getting my own place

 

[storyist]

Life expectation for a dog the size this one must be is probably 10-12 years, and your husband has had her 10 years.... With a puppy, I'd try to train away from this, but with a 10+-year old, I'd rely on management. If you love the guy, figure on putting up with closed blinds for a couple of years. Close her away from you when you watch tv or have friends over. Consider getting one of those setups where you listen with earphones. If it's what's on the screen sets her off even without sound, confine her where she can't see.

If all else fails and she's affecting your marriage, I'd try a citronella bark collar, but I'm sure there are people on this forum who will think that's an evil suggestion.

 

[lulu62]

Life expectation for a dog the size this one must be is probably 10-12 years, and your husband has had her 10 years.... With a puppy, I'd try to train away from this, but with a 10+-year old, I'd rely on management. If you love the guy, figure on putting up with closed blinds for a couple of years. Close her away from you when you watch tv or have friends over. Consider getting one of those setups where you listen with earphones. If it's what's on the screen sets her off even without sound, confine her where she can't see.

If all else fails and she's affecting your marriage, I'd try a citronella bark collar, but I'm sure there are people on this forum who will think that's an evil suggestion.

Thank you for the response. My sister also suggested the citronella collar. She rescues pit bulls and has had a lot of success with that. I may have to sneak and do that while hubby’s at work. He is against that and also against putting her in another room when we have company. I’ve suggested that and putting her outside. Both suggestions got nixed.

 

[Lodeto]

No dog is too old for clicker training, and that’s what I would introduce right now. Instead of punishing the behavior, I would reward any appropriate barking, and teach the dog not to bark at inappropriate things.

Dogs bark, that’s how they communicate, but they have to learn what is ok and what’s not ok. I’ve never understood how a citronella spray to the face teaches the dog anything.

 

[lulu62]

No dog is too old for clicker training, and that’s what I would introduce right now. Instead of punishing the behavior, I would reward any appropriate barking, and teach the dog not to bark at inappropriate things.

Dogs bark, that’s how they communicate, but they have to learn what is ok and what’s not ok. I’ve never understood how a citronella spray to the face teaches the dog anything.

Thank you. I will google clicker training - I'm unfamiliar. I never had a dog in my life until now!

 

[DaySleepers]

If there's any chance the barking is caused by fear or anxiety - or if this dog is anxious or sensitive in general - I urge a lot of caution using punishment for this problem. Even if it addresses the barking, punishment can increase anxiety and stress overall, which may manifest in more - potentially worse - behavior problems, especially when being done by a complete novice with no professional oversight.

I also would advise against using any method your husband has explicitly said he doesn't want to do behind his back. I would be livid if my partner used a training tool or method I explicitly asked them not to without my knowledge - like, questioning whether I wanted that relationship to continue or if I could ever trust this person around my animals (or future children) again. Don't do it.

 

[Addctd2Dogs]

DO NOT use a shock collar on a Pyr mix! These are for specialized dog trainers ONLY, if anyone! A Great Pyrenees is a GUARD DOG, and you may find that it responds with aggression to pain. I had a related breed a Pyrenean Mastiff. I'm extremely dog experienced and have trained mainy dogs through Canine Good Citizenship and Therapy certifications. They are amazingly strong biters. I have a scar to prove it when a fight was seconds away and I was alone and made an incorrect choice. It left the fat hanging out of my hand and you could see all the way through my hand, and HE DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT ME!

Great Pyrenees are known to be barkers. It's part of how they tell predators that they are guarding the sheep/goats. You may be able to modify this mildly, but never treat any dog with pain. It's not needed, and an inexperienced person is just likely to end up with an aggressive dog that will attack them every time it sees them. I've fostered Saints that had electric collars used on them. One honestly was the only dog in 40 years of working for vets and animal rescue that truly thought about ripping my neck open. Thank goodness I had treats and had already taught him some commands. I simply changed what we were doing and he changed his attitude. It took SIX MONTHS and him in a home with a 30 year experienced Saint Foster to un-train the damage that had been done to him. I often wonder if he did attack the first owner because the look he gave me stopped me dead in my tracks for the first time EVER in my life. And 2 weeks after I turned him over to the next foster, he did the same to her. She was ultimately the one who kept him, as we all felt that he had potential to really hurt a person in the wrong hands.

Clicker training is a great idea. Call PetsMart or local trainers and enroll in a class with the dog and hubby. It's important both of you learn the timing and it takes a person watching you to help you get that timing down pat, especially if your not an experienced dog person. It could be a good hubby, dog, you bonding opportunity. IMHO you've married a dog lover and better learn how to love and handle dogs. My hubby did the same and 15 dogs later loves them as much as I do

 

[Lodeto]

These people are obviously the bleeding heart types. I have trained several dogs with a reward or punishment system using a shock collar. I make it an easy choice you can have steak and praise or be electrocuted. I do not believe in yelling or hitting or spraying in the face its highly ineffective. if I were you I would get a shock collar and work on the hush command slowly due to her age. Start by calmly but firmly telling the dog to hush do not yell when doing so and using the beep function on the collar. The dog may pay no attention to this at first becuase she wont understand what it means but if she does understand and stops be sure to give her lots of praise and a good treat. I would say do this for 2 or 3 full days every time she barks when she shouldn't tell her one time to hush then beep her. After you've done this keep doing the same thing but add a vibration after the beep. If the command + beep and vibration does not work the next step is to do the same thing but add the shock in so give command, beep, vibrate, then shock. I prefer to use a fairly high shock settings and yes it does hurt but doing it this way really makes the beep and vibrate methods extremely effective to where you will almost never have to shock. if this doesn't work nothing will throw the collar out lol best of luck

@Aust, what’s your background? How long have you had dogs and what kind of dogs do you own?

 

[lulu62]

@Aust, what’s your background? How long have you had dogs and what kind of dogs do you own?

Thank you for the advice. I'm almost 60 and have never had a dog in my life. I inherited a chocolate lab, who is the sweetest dog on the planet, and a Great Pyrenees/Australian Sheperd mix that is also sweet, but barks non-stop