Dog owners - I need help

[Freyja]

My otherwise wonderful lab/bordercollie is driving me nuts with his barking. As soon as he got into puberty the barking began. At the beginning it was just occasionally, if he met another dog etc. Then he started barking at the mailman. And now he barks at just about anyone who comes near our house, all dogs he sees within 10 miles and sometimes "just because". I have a 1 year old and he wakes her from her naps daily. I can´t stand it.

What can I do???

 

[maddiemouse]

Is he neutered?

 

[Freyja]

Yes he is

 

[golfgal]

We started very early on with our dog to teach her not to bark. We had a can of coins that we would shake when she barked when we didn't want her to be barking. It didn't take long for her to learn what was ok and what was not. Now if she barks when we don't want her to be barking, we say "no bark" and she stops.

 

[RNMOM]

Barking is a pain in the neck. Our golden's were easy to train but our setter is not. He is a "talker" and likes to respond back to commands.

Have you established dominance over him? Our training taught us to gently push him to the ground and hold him there several times a day for about 5 min while looking at him to prove you are dominant. No rough treatment but doing as all dogs do. I use the command "quiet" with Tucker and most of the time it works but not always.

Some people use a can with coins taped to make a loud racket and then the dog barks toss it in their direction to startle them and give the quiet command. They need to have their behavior redirected from the thing that they are barking at.

If that isn't working I might think of doing the dominance press to the ground thing when he is just beginning to bark and showing him you are in charge and will not tolerate unnecessary barking. Be careful with this as if he is being aggressive with his barking he may turn that on you. That is to say, make sure he realizes it is you who is touching him and not whatever he is barking at. You will need to be on him for several days in a row whenever he barks until he realizes you will not tolerate his barking for any reason.

I don't feel the non bark collars are fair but if you and your vet feel this is the answer, go for it. There are a lot of trainers out there and a well trained dog is a happy dog with a happy family. Good luck and remember, you are the boss.

 

[maddiemouse]

I wondered because you said it started at puberty. The shaker can with the coins is a good idea, it distracts them and gets their attention. There is a good book out by Cesar Millan, called "Cesar's Way" that addresses this and other common problems.
Basically, training, patience and perserverance can solve almost any behavior problem with dogs...I know, easier said than done. Fortunately I am currently blessed with a dog that must have been born perfect, 'cuz I certainly didn't have any thing to do with it. She was a rescue and came housebroken and apparantly able to understand English, but believe me, I have had some doozies in my life and have paid my dues training obnoxious dogs, or actually good dogs with obnoxious habits, which I think describes about 99% of the dogs in the world.

 

[Freyja]

Thanks for the replies. He is aware that we are the "boss" and usually responds well to commands, however the barking is a huge problem. I know that non bark collars work, but I must admit I don´t like the idea of them. Will try to look up some more dog training info on the internet, as well as talk to a dog trainer (we are already signed up for 8 training sessions in September). If everything else fails, I might try out the collars, but otherwise not.

Thanks again.

 

[doxdogy]

Isaiah likes to bark just to hear his head rattle. Sometimes the no bark command works and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't work, we have a water pistol that we use. Shuts him up.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

Flame suit on!!

Can rattling, water guns, yelling no-no-no.........we tried several different things for months. Talked to our vet, got the ok for a non-bark collar. Greatest money we've ever spent. We have a lab, who is a wonderful dog, but barks and yelps constantly...........if my boys are riding their bikes in the front yard and she sees them from the back yard (fenced it, I don't want her running after the boys in the road) she's barking/yelping. Anyway, 2 days on the bark collar and she was cured. We only used it for short periods, ALWAYS when we were home, and never in the house. Now the battery is out on the bark collar, but we can still put it on her and she doesn't bark.

 

[Freyja]

What type of bark collar was it?

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We had a no bark collar (citronella) for our barker dog, but I never really liked the idea of it because I wanted her barking to alert me to certain things (stranger coming to the house, etc). I don't want to punish her for any barking, but I want her to stop barking when told and I don't want her barking outside of the house.

We worked with a trainer and now when she barks we see what she is barking at, tell her "good bark" if there is something there worth barking at, and then "quiet". She then has to settle down, which is not easy for her, but she does it. I have no doubt that when someone comes to the door and we're not home, she goes nuts. I don't think that anyone even knocks on the door if they don't have true business at our house.

When we were training her, we would give her a correction with a leash (if we were closely monitoring her) if she continued to bark. Or if the leash was not on we would squirt her with water. It really didn't take long for her to catch on. She still barks when things go by, but at least she settles down faster.

 

[maddiemouse]

A good friend of mine had an English Springer she adopted as a rescue, he was a great dog, but in his later years, started barking at times for no reason at all. She got a bark collar for him, and senile ol' Hobie figured out how to time his barks so as not to activate the collar.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

We had a no bark collar (citronella) for our barker dog, but I never really liked the idea of it because I wanted her barking to alert me to certain things (stranger coming to the house, etc). I don't want to punish her for any barking, but I want her to stop barking when told and I don't want her barking outside of the house.

We worked with a trainer and now when she barks we see what she is barking at, tell her "good bark" if there is something there worth barking at, and then "quiet". She then has to settle down, which is not easy for her, but she does it. I have no doubt that when someone comes to the door and we're not home, she goes nuts. I don't think that anyone even knocks on the door if they don't have true business at our house.

When we were training her, we would give her a correction with a leash (if we were closely monitoring her) if she continued to bark. Or if the leash was not on we would squirt her with water. It really didn't take long for her to catch on. She still barks when things go by, but at least she settles down faster.

I was concerned about the same thing. That's why we really only use it when we're outside playing in the yard, and she's in the backyard. If she's inside and barks at someone at the door that's fine with me!

We got ours at Petsmart, sorry I don't remember the name brand. It was about $70 though.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I was concerned about the same thing. That's why we really only use it when we're outside playing in the yard, and she's in the backyard. If she's inside and barks at someone at the door that's fine with me!

We got ours at Petsmart, sorry I don't remember the name brand. It was about $70 though.

Is yours a citronella collar? Ours is and it smells so good. We still have it and have used it on occasion on our other, older dog. He didn't used to bark at all, but the dogs picked up each others bad habits (like kids ) so now Magic barks and Sheena jumps on people. Anyway, we've been known to put the collar on Magic when we are desperate (my DH works at home), such as when I'm going to the bus stop to pick up my son and we know people will be walking by with dogs like they do every day that time.

I wish our neighbors would use something when their dog is outside. That dog barks at any and everything for as long as he's tied outside (which can be for a good hour if not longer). Maybe I could slip our collar on that dog.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

Is yours a citronella collar? Ours is and it smells so good. We still have it and have used it on occasion on our other, older dog. He didn't used to bark at all, but the dogs picked up each others bad habits (like kids ) so now Magic barks and Sheena jumps on people. Anyway, we've been known to put the collar on Magic when we are desperate (my DH works at home), such as when I'm going to the bus stop to pick up my son and we know people will be walking by with dogs like they do every day that time.

I wish our neighbors would use something when their dog is outside. That dog barks at any and everything for as long as he's tied outside (which can be for a good hour if not longer). Maybe I could slip our collar on that dog.

No, ours is the shock one. Honestly it isn't as bad as it sounds. DH held it one time while our dog was barking and it's not a "shock", he described it as a vibrating buzz. And ours rings when it buzzes also. I think it depends a lot on the type of collar a person gets, checking with your vet first to get the dogs health checked, and using the collar wisely. We were really at our wits end, and it's worked wonders for us.

 

[Disney Doll]

I have a Springer and they are a very "vocal" breed. They can be taught to repsond to the command "quiet" (or whatever word oyu want to use)...it takes patience and consistency.

What we did was to take ted by the collar when he was getting out of control, look him in the eye, and say "quiet" in a stern voice. He got the message eventually.

Now he's older and we have become a bit "looser" with our obedience, so every once in a while he gets rambunctious with the barking before we stop him.