How Can I Stop My Dog From Barking?

[manchurianbrownbear]

Every time she even thinks there's someone at the door (I hate the Domino's Pizza commercials because the door bell rings!) she "freaks out". She is eight years old and I think she's getting worse with age.

I don't think I could put a "shock collar" on her, but I'm open to any suggestion that isn't too cruel.

BTW, at night when she is on her little bed in the laundry room, she doesn't bark. People have often assumed, incorrectly, that, "at least she's a good watch dog".

[phamton]

Keep a leash on her at all times, when you are home. Let her drag it behind her. Teach her the command for sit while using the leash. Pull her head up and press her bottom down and say "Sit." When she does praise her.

Now for when someone comes to the door. Grab her leash give the command for sit. Have someone else open the door while you stay back with her on sit command. If she barks say "No" and a short jerk on the leash upward (not enough to hurt her but to startle her) and make sure she is still sitting. Praise her as long as she still sits.

Now over days, take her closer to the door and have her sit. Soon you should be able to open the door while she is with you on her leash and sitting. To speed up training over a few days (like a weekend) have family members or friends ring the doorbell or knock on the door so she has more time to practice.

Bev

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

My seven year old has been a more frequent barker in the last 6 months too. He is wearing down my patience. We bought him a muzzle at the beginning of the year to try to teach him the wanted behavior. It hasn't eliminated the barking, but it has quieted it some. He wears the muzzle all day, or whenever we're not home because we share an entrance with another tenant in our house.
He know when he barks and now looks to be muzzled, or when he is ready to nap he'll look for it. It wasn't meant to be a security blanket.
Next step- the collar.

[fklhou]

We show doges and all of our dogs are crate trained. We have crates for feeding and keeping the dogs separate. My DW found the neatest toy called the Yapper Zapper. It is a box that squirts water on the dog when it barks in the crate. It has substantially reduced the amount of barking by our youngest dog.

One the beardie listserve, there is a great story about someone who had a parrot who learned that the dogs started barking whenever someone said the pizza is here. The parrot started saying this phrase and got a great reaction from the dogs each time the parrot announced pizza is here. This reinforced the parrots behavior. I do not warrant that this story is true but it got some great laughs on the beardie BB.

[phamton]

These work better than the shock collars and are much more humane. See: Cornell studies on no barking collars (http://www.nomorebarking.com/pages/cornellarticle.html)

Here is a Google search of these collars: Search for Citronella Collars (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=citronella+spray+collars&btnG=Google+Search)

[SplshMtn99]

Was that YOUR dog I heard at 6:30am this morning? ;) (j/k)

No advise....but good luck.

Oh---and if you figure out how to stop it -- please tell my neighbor. :)

[manchurianbrownbear]

Thanks for all the input everyone!

[10drum]

25 years ago I had a dog that liked to bark at the moon, well my wife had enough one night and went out with, do you remember those Dr. Shoals' wooden sandels, and worked that dog over with one those sandels. The dog never barked at night again.

The image of my nude wife beating our dog with a wooden sandel on a moonlit night is still frozen in my brain.

Needles to say I don't bark either.

[AMClvsMKY]

I was going to suggest water also. Keep a spray bottle by the door and spray her in the face when she barks. That has worked for us.

[Gail T AGAIN]

I don't have a dog but I was thinking use some of the duct tape that you bought (or were suppose to buy) to use on your house.
I bet the dog is cute even when he barks. Just like humans they get used to doing something so that is probably part of his daily routine every day, Good luck :D

[doxdogy]

Super soaker water pistol. We use it for ours when they start barking for no reason or at the imagined monsters running rampant through our backyard.

[AnnMorin]

I didn't read all the replies so sorry if this was already suggested but it works GREAT. Take an old soda can put some coins in it and tape the top shut. Each time the dog barks say no and shake the can (they hate that sound) soon all you will have to do is reach for the can and say no. Finally just say no. Worked on all three of our dogs over the years.

[Leota]

25 years ago I had a dog that liked to bark at the moon, well my wife had enough one night and went out with, do you remember those Dr. Shoals' wooden sandels, and worked that dog over with one those sandels. The dog never barked at night again.

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

You were joking, right? Please tell me you were joking......

[MosMom]

You were joking, right? Please tell me you were joking......

I'm with you!

[Blondie]

Originally posted by 10drum
The dog never barked at night again.

Is it because she killed the dog?:eek:

[d.kurz]

Originally posted by 10drum
25 years ago I had a dog that liked to bark at the moon, well my wife had enough one night and went out with, do you remember those Dr. Shoals' wooden sandels, and worked that dog over with one those sandels. The dog never barked at night again.

The image of my nude wife beating our dog with a wooden sandel on a moonlit night is still frozen in my brain.

Needles to say I don't bark either.

ROFLMAO!!!

[goofy4tink]

Barking dog here too. We/ve tried the water....he loves it, pennies in a can....gets him more wired. Tried the leash and sit. This nut case just loves to 'talk'. He's a golden which makes it even more insane. Evidently, his grandfather was some hot-shot show dog (as is his mother). The grandfather did extremely well in the ring so they lived with the barking. After we got him and found what a 'talker' he is we were told of this genetic behavior! THis is so bad that the dog will bark at anyone who enters the room after being gone for more than 10 minutes. Evidently he is guarding me, since he only does it when I'm there.
Have any of you tried the citronella collar? I'm close to going with the electric collar but if the spray one works then I won't have to.

[10drum]

Hey, I'm not joking. You should've seen how she broke him from digging holes. If interested I'll tell you.

[Leota]

10drum - like a train wreck.....

I'm not sure I really wanna know, but the curiousity is killin me here....

[10drum]

Well this dog, which was a german short haired pointer, dug holes big enough, a child could hide in. My sister said to fill the hole with water and stick the dog's head in till you see bubbles come up. Well this dog was about 65 pound an my wife was about 115 pounds. I tried it and I couldn't keep his head under, so since I was doing it wrong, my wife took over. She stradled the dog, locked her knees around his waist, grabbed his front feet, pulled them back to his chest, and took him and her in that muddy hole, for what seemed like an eternity. They both came out spittin water and mud, and then they went in again.

This and the barking story are true. The dog didn't dig again.

I loved that dog, and he was like a pup till he died of heart failure at age 11.

We were young wild kids during those days and since have divorced, and both have remarried and have seprate families.

[Leota]

I loved that dog, and he was like a pup till he died of heart failure at age 11

I can't believe he lived that long! :eek:

Like I said, it's like a train wreck........

Hopefully there's no more pooch abuse going on now that she's "grown up". If that was my dog & someone took out a wooden sandal against it, I know that someone would have a very pronounced sandal imprint square in the face & they sure wouldn't have come back out of the mudhole.......

[manchurianbrownbear]

doxdogy,
Now I have an excuse to use a squirt gun in the house! And if it works on the dog, that's great too.

10drum,
I'm cured of barking!

[MinnieMe2]

What breed is your dog? Some breeds are barkier than others. But no matter what your dog is, please -- don't beat it with a wooden sandal. There's nothing funny about something like that, and both the person beating the animal, and the person watching, would deserve some jail time. Or at least a good beating with a wooden sandal :mad: !!

[Kermit]

We trained our dog to stop barking by hugging him. When he would start to bark, we'd call him over to us and cuddle with him. Now when he sees something or hears something that makes him want to bark, he comes over to us for snuggles instead.

[10drum]

MinnieMe2, I hope you never have to find out how hunting/working dogs are trained. I work with alot of duck hunters and the stories of how retrievers are trained are alot more brutle than a little, hot headed women, with a wooden sandel. That night she had, just had enough.

[roliepolieoliefan]

Sorry 10drum but I find your stories repulsive. If you feel you must beat and almost drown a dog to get it to stop doing undesireable behavior, thats pretty sad. I also show my dogs and am well aware of some peoples training methods but that doesn't make it right. Nor do most of them brag about it. OK now to the original question. I have barky dogs, collies. Try using bitter apple or tabasco sauce. Everytime the dog barks put it in their mouth and say quiet or no bark. Not just no. You must do it EVERYTIME the dog barks. Don't tease the dog with the bottle after a couple times. Use it. After the dog recognizes the bottle it will be hard to get it in its mouth. It works, but you must be consistent!

[Jenzebelle]

I find stories of animal abuse absolutely horrifying and repulsive.
Not to mention I know many people with work dogs and not one of them has resorted to near drowning or bludgeoning the dog to get it to act accordingly.

Back to the original topic - my dogs are fairly barky (well 1 is) because they are beagles. It's foolish for me to expect them to never bark because it's their nature when they are out chasing squirrels.
I have trained them to stop barking with a squirt gun. All I need to do is reach for it or show it to them and they stop immediately.

[d.kurz]

Just for clarification, IMO it wasn't WHAT 10drum said that had me ROTFLMAO, but HOW he said it. 10drum has a way with words, methinks!

[WillyJ]

Hey you know something 10Drum?

I get the idea you think someone treating an animal the way you say your ex-wife did is funny. . but if I saw anyone doing something like that, the only memories they'd have would be extremely painful ones. .

You "loved that dog"?? And yet you stood by and watched someone beat the animal with a wooden shoe and then try and drown it?

I hope to God you don't have kids who you "love" like that. .

[Spaceman Spiff]

yeah i have to say if i saw someone doing that to an animal it wouldnt be too pretty what i did to them. i dont find animal cruelty the least bit funny. someone should have taken that wooden sandal to your wife. :mad:


SA-MACK!

[aahmom1]

Willy, it was a wooden shoe, even worse. What a guy! I'm sure you get a good laugh at that memory, how sad for that poor puppy. :( Always remember, what goes around, comes around. Enjoy your payback, I hear it's a *****.

[WillyJ]

Thanks Bridget!! I misread it, and you're right- that is worse. . :mad:


I can't think of a way to say anything more about this without getting myself in trouble, but suffice to say I'm beyond disgusted. . :mad:

[gepetto]

Originally posted by d.kurz
Just for clarification, IMO it wasn't WHAT 10drum said that had me ROTFLMAO, but HOW he said it. 10drum has a way with words, methinks!

I thought he was exaggerating trying to be funny too.

[10drum]

I've had with you sissies.

I'll tell what is cruel to a dog. Try and hug the dog into what you want it to do and find it unsuccessful, then leave it cagged in a pin for it's life time, or even worse chained to a tree.

This dog you thaught we were so cruel too, lived a wonderful life, was fed regularly, bathed weekly, and slept at the foot of my bed. He was always greeted me when I came home and saw me off to work every morning. He got to ride in the bed of pick-up on week ends and hunt birds in the fall and winter.

So get off my case!!!

[MosMom]

slept at the foot of my bed

I thought he was an outside dog barking at the moon and your wife had to go out to beat him?

25 years ago I had a dog that liked to bark at the moon, well my wife had enough one night and went out with, do you remember those Dr. Shoals' wooden sandels, and worked that dog over with one those sandels. The dog never barked at night again.

[Saffron]

Since you called those that object to your intolerable actions "sissies", do you think what you did was manly or macho?

In my opinion, beating a defenseless animal and almost drowning him is pretty cowardly. Joking about it and recounting it as if it's somthing "cool", is just plain disgusting.

I can't believe you had the nerve to state that when you tried to make him think he was drowning by actually trying to drown him, and you were unsuccessful, your wife took over to do the job right. How horrible! :( :mad:

Letting a dog sleep at the foot of your bed or ride in the back of a pickup after being abused doesn't justify the abuse. :rolleyes: :mad:

[MinnieMe2]

And just for the record, letting a dog ride in the back of a pick-up truck is now illegal in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and those who do so are fined quite heavily. It's a dangerous practice.

[manchurianbrownbear]

MinnieMe2,
Our dog is a cocker spaniel/sheep dog mix. I've been told that cockers are frequently "barky".
My concern is that she seems to be getting worse. If she were a puppy, I'd figure it may be a behavior she'll grow out of, but since she's eight years old and really just started getting bad within the last 18 months, it makes me wonder what's going on.
I've tried throwing a nerf football at her when she barks, but she's often in another room when the barking starts and I doubt that she would connect the barking to the consequence if I were to throw the ball well after the barking starts. Also, as soon as she starts barking, she heads to her room in the basement, which leads me to believe that she comprehends that the barking brings consequences, but she has taken measures that allow her continue barking and avoid the football.
The citronella collar intrigues me. She couldn't get away from that!

[MosMom]

Barking is one of the hardest behaviors to break because it is self fulfilling. Dogs get so much out of barking that it is nearly impossible to break in a dog that loves to do it. You have to be consistant with the barking and whenever the dog barks say "No" in a voice that gets the dogs attention. When he stops, reward him. Every few times he doesn't bark reward him generously with lots of love and treats (jackpot rewards). Positive reinforcement will get you the furthest with a dog (or anybody). Look up "Positive Reinforcement" on the web or "Karen Pryor". She is an animal trainer and has a great book about training using positive reinforcement called "Don't shoot the dog". Good Luck!