How to stop dogs from barking

[weeniecat2442]

it drives me crazy when my own dog parks. i dont mind a bit of barking at the window (we live in a city) when someone walks by- he's a dog thats what they do & i like people knowing we have a dog in the house. i just want to get to the point where he will stop when told to.
our trainer had us teach him "speak" or to bark on command and then teach "no speak" or "quiet."
it is an ongoing thing with us. sometimes he responds well, especially if we can redirect him, other times hes too focused on whats out the window.
i think its more of an issue of training us, the owners, than the dog. i still need a lot of training too
as much as the barking drives me crazy, anytime i walk in the neighborhood every other house has a dog barking at us from the window.

our bigger barking issue is when he's on a leash and people come up to him. he gets nervous and barks. if people take a few mins to say hi to him he stops. there's also certain people that come up to him that he instantly loves.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have a barker lab mix and a border collie mix.

For starters these breeds will be helped by daily exercise walks from you. It helps with energy burn and establishes you as the "pack leader".

Then you have to supervise "outside time" every time. We correct mr. barker with "no bark or quiet". In addition we reward with "good quiet".

The goal is to "be the boss of the yard" and it is not easy to reestablish. I recommend some on leash training in the yard as well. Start with the dog that is the most barky. Correct the other ones as well as the dog on leash. If you have two barkies put them both on leash in the yard and correct. They need to get the message of what you want from them.

Ultimately we supervise the dogs at all times.

Your borders should be easy to teach and if they are like my border, she will "attack" mr. barker to get him to fall in line.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

To answer some of the questions. They don't always bark all the time they are out, but our yard backs on to a park/playground so there are always kids running around, people walking dogs, dogs running free, etc. So they find lots to bark at! They kind of set each other off - if one starts to bark, the other two quickly join in. But I try not to leave them out for more than maybe 10 minutes.

The dogs are all older. One was my daughter's (I took her when my daughter wasn't able to keep her, but I've had her for many years now), the other (Guy) I just got in January when my dad had to go into a nursing home. Guy lived on a farm and didn't see many people going by, so he is particularly excitable, but I actually thought he was improving lately and getting more used to it. I do have tethers on both Guy and Toby (the lab) as Toby can dig under the fence and be out in like two seconds. Guy doesn't dig but I'm afraid he'd follow Toby.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to walk them, (or afford a dog-walker) and I know that's a problem.

Since the police came last night, I have gone out with them every time I let them out, and if one of them barks I run and hold his/her mouth closed and then take them in. Then problem is that I am having to take them out very frequently because they aren't always "doing their business" because of this. (And it will be a lot less fun when it's raining.) The neighbours got less barking but they did have the pleasure of seeing me out in the yard in my nightie first thing this morning.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Our new Border Beagle puppy barks when he sees other dogs and/or people near our property, but does not bark at those same people or dogs when taking him for a walk around the neighborhood.

He also barks if he hears another dog barking.

(Plus he's teething right now, so barks randomly as well)

 

[IndyRnRfan]

We have the same problem with out neighbors. Plus, their cat tried to attack our dog the other day. They just don't care. One of them laughed and laughed when DH let her know that we would prefer the cat stay out of our 100% fenced backyard because we fear for our dog (12 year old Beagle with a few teeth and a bad back). Their dogs bark and bark and bark. And they don't want them in the house during the day because "they are so obnoxious". And they plan on bringing a puppy into the mix later on this month, which would make them one over the city ordinance of 3 pets and require them to have a kennel license, which I know they won't get.

We had an issue with a neighbors cat a couple of times. After we talked to the owner who appeared to not be able to control the cat, I took matters into my own hand. A nice pellet gun to the hind quarters and guess what no more cat on our property. Negative reinforcement works well in certain matters. My last option was to let our dog out and it would have killed the cat but I didn't want that to happen.

If they bring another dog into the mix, call the correct people and have them investigate.

 

[threecrazykids]

I know this is isn't the same thing, but I look at my pets behaviors and loosely compare it to humans behaviors to determine what others generally find acceptable.

Would I let my kids stand at the back fence of our yard and scream at the top of their lungs for 30 minutes straight (let alone hours) while the neighbors have company, are outside reading, playing with their pets or kids, or enjoying time outdoors? No way.

Would I allow my kids to go poop on the sidewalk or in our neighbors yard? What about peeing on the flowers my neighbors have spent so much time on? Not a chance.

Would I open my front door let my kids wander aimlessly from house to house while traffic screeches to a halt while they play in the street? Nope.

Therefore, my pets don't get to do those things either.

 

[yoopermom]

Tethering is tricky, I understand you're doing it for safety, but it also creates a lot of pent up frustration and possible aggression.

Is there ANYONE that might possibly be able to walk/exercise them for you? Maybe a teen that needs to do community service for boy scouts or school? If not, you're going to have to come up with some "inside" ways to run off that energy, google dog games, and you should get lots of ideas.

I'm anti holding the mouth closed, because it can easily make a dog headshy. Just me...

Have you tried putting them out one at a time? Have you tried standing out there just that one, and rewarding it with little tiny treats for going potty (since you said they're not going right away), and to distract it from barking when a stimulus goes by?

Terri

 

[Teresa Pitman]

No luck with getting anyone to walk them at no cost. Believe me, I have TRIED. I do try play with them a lot indoors (mostly fetch).

I'll stop holding the mouth closed, I can see how it can be a problem as they really dislike it.

Letting one out at a time is difficult - the other two go nuts. I will try.

 

[CaoilinnsMom]

I have a dog who barks, inside and out. If I left him outside he would go crazy barking at everything. He really seems to be unable to stop himself without any help. We have a collar but it really does not work. You can only leave it on for a short period anyway. I never leave my dog outside, and I supervise him when he is. He knows if he barks he has to come back inside. He responds best to an active response, just like children. I don't yell at him from across the room or yard, I walk over and get in his space and make him do something for me like sit or lay down. My ex used to yell at him all the time. It did not work, and my dog seemed genuinely depressed all the time. Sometimes I get really frustrated with him, but I just have to keep on him. It will probably be a constant battle until he is gone, or deaf;-)

Oh, and in my town, they don't even have to be outside to be considered a nuisance. If someone calls then it is a problem.

 

[wenrob]

Chicago's animal noise ordinance is 10 consecutive minutes or intermittently for a significant portion of the day (or night), and I'm grateful for it. There are many owners who use the "dogs bark" excuse to make little effort to limit their dog's noise.

For the record my previous response was that my dog comes in the second she barks. There's no excuse to let dogs bark incessantly, I agree but you also can't keep them quiet 100% of the time either. The OP made it sound like dogs are not allowed to bark at all which seems unreasonable to me.

 

[RitaE]

One thing I'd suggest working on inside with them is getting them all into a Sit position together at the same time. As I said, right now it is going to be really difficult to have them all in the backyard at once because you can really only keep your hands and attention on them one at a time. Getting them to where you can get them all to sit and stay at the same time will help when you eventually get them all outside together. Do they have crates? If you have to, put two dogs into the crates and take a third out in the yard with you for now. Don't let them sit at the windows or door watching the dog outside and barking and making noise so you'll come and get them.

Try to figure out which dog is leading the hyper-alert barking too and work the hardest on getting that dog to quiet first. The other two dogs will be more likely to alter their behavior when they see the leader change it's actions.

 

[HM]

If you can't curb the barking what is supposed to happen?

 

[yoopermom]

If you can't curb the barking what is supposed to happen?

Unfortunately, after X number of warnings, she could be ticketed, and, if it happens again (aka if someone keeps complaining) she could continue to have escalating offenses against her, leading to more fines, loss of her pets, having to move to keep them, etc.

OP, this is the book I recommend (order it from your library, if you can't afford to buy it):
http://www.amazon.com/101-Dog-Trick...TF8&qid=1439933811&sr=8-1&keywords=dog+tricks
You have very smart breeds, who would pick up on all of these quickly, and it would keep their minds active.

Another thing to think about is training your dogs to do specific, assistance dogs tasks like listed here:
http://www.iaadp.org/tasks.html
They may seem overwhelming, or not useful to you as a nondisabled person, but they are actually fairly easy to teach (sequential, and many build on each other), would keep your dogs busy, and would make them more helpful around the house .

For example, in the tricks book, the author teaches you how to teach your dog a good retrieve of any item. This could then morph into you teaching your dog how to retrieve a specific item. Dogs can learn hundreds of named items, and you'll never have to worry about dropped keys again . And don't worry if you don't have physical stamina, I was laid up once for three months, and taught my hound with the brain cells of an amoeba how to do many of these from the comfort of my own recliner, really!

Terri

 

[phamton]

I have owned dogs my whole life, just about every breed and all have been taught to stop barking when told. I've had mutts, cocker spaniels, pekineses, basset hound, corgies, border collie, dalmatian, golden retriever, and labs.I am almost 65 so have owned tons of dogs since childhood.They can all be trained not to bark. I held the snout closed and sternly said "No Barking." After awhile all it took was a stern look and they knew to zip it. First. you are going to have to take them out one by one. Make sure, the dog is calm before you let him out the door. No jumping around in excitement, etc. Talk calmly and firmly. I would suggest a leash so if he does bark that you can correct him immediately. Make sure that they don't go crazy with barking in the house either. You have to be the pack leader. I also taught most of my dogs how to speak, so they could bark it i asked them to.

 

[dotfurio]

I had a terrible barking dog once.

First I had to teach him "Sit" and "Down." Then I would take him to highly excitable situations such as seeing other people or other dogs. I'd put him in a sit or down position and when he'd wiggle or make noise, I'd put my hand on his bottom and say "Quiet." Then I'd work telling him sit or down and put distance between us and he'd learn to maintain that even if I wasn't within touching distance from him. If he'd bark he'd get "Quiet!" and I'd move back to him to put my hand on the butt again and make him sit quietly.

Eventually he picked up Quiet as a completely separate command but he also picked up that he didn't need to sound the alarm at every person, dog or leaf that blew by our house.

This is pretty much what we did, as well as small treat rewards when he complied. This is what finally worked, not the collars. It wasn't 100%, but it helped immensely and enough for the neighbors to quit complaining. Our other dog rarely barks. I think some dogs just like to bark. Just like some kids like to play loud. I would never call the police or even expect the neighbor kids to be quiet while they're out playing in their pool in the afternoon. It's kind of crazy to expect anyone to ALWAYS be quiet.

Backstory - He didn't start out a barker, but when we moved into a new home it was the first one finished on the block. We were the only ones on our cul de sac for about 4 months. When people started moving in, he started barking at every little thing. We borrowed a shock collar from a friend who said it worked great for them. We left it on about 2 minutes - he barked, it shocked him, he yelped, it shocked more, etc. It took 3 adults to hold him down and get it off. Then we tried a citronella collar. He had a really bad reaction on his nose, so that was an expensive vet trip and still didn't stop the barking. I felt terrible for putting him through all that when he didn't understand.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Thank you for all your tips. My dogs do know "sit" and "down" but I don't think they even hear me when they are at the back fence barking. And they have no trouble barking while sitting.

It is hard to do these training things with three dogs and very limited time. I don't have a way to work with one at a time, and trying to teach a trick or something to one with the other two there just doesn't work.

I have never used crates with the other two, and Guy was kept in a crate for 12 hours a day for a long time and reacts so negatively to even seeing one that I wouldn't want one in the house. I hear the suggestion that the dog has to be calm before you let him out the door - what do you do if he is not calm? Toby (my lab) in particular gets very excited and jumps up and down. It's like he has ADD - you can have him sit, but once your hand is on the doorknob, he's bouncing in the air again. You have him sit again, he does, and then he jumps again when you touch the door. Half an hour later, you are still trying to get him to calm down - and Maya has probably peed on the floor because she couldn't hold it any longer.

It is working reasonably well (I guess) for me to go out into the yard with them every time and stop them and bring them in every time they bark. It does mean I have to take them out a lot more often which is kind of frustrating, but perhaps that will improve with time.

 

[phamton]

I hear the suggestion that the dog has to be calm before you let him out the door - what do you do if he is not calm? Toby (my lab) in particular gets very excited and jumps up and down. It's like he has ADD - you can have him sit, but once your hand is on the doorknob, he's bouncing in the air again. You have him sit again, he does, and then he jumps again when you touch the door.

Put a leash on him and don't take him out until he is calm and responding to your command. Let the other dog out but keep him in on leash and at the door until he is calm. I don't like everything that The Dog Whisperer (Cesar Millan) teaches but I do agree that your dog needs to be calm before you can teach him much. Maybe the hyper lab needs to be on the leash even when he is outside.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Put a leash on him and don't take him out until he is calm and responding to your command. Let the other dog out but keep him in on leash and at the door until he is calm. I don't like everything that The Dog Whisperer (Cesar Millan) teaches but I do agree that your dog needs to be calm before you can teach him much. Maybe the hyper lab needs to be on the leash even when he is outside.

We use the leash technique in the yard when needed. Esp. if neighbors are out and having a party. If my lab mix was not on leash he would be barking at them. He drives me to drink, lol.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

He's on a tether in the yard, always. Otherwise he digs under the fence. Putting him on a leash makes him more excited as he thinks he is going for a walk. What I find (as I tried to describe) is that (after quite a long period of time) I can get him calmed down and sitting beside me. But as soon as I reach for the door, he starts jumping up and down again. I stop, calm him down, wait, reach for the door - he starts to jump. If I let the other two out and keep him in, it's worse. He has been through obedience school twice, and the trainer found him pretty challenging. He is not food motivated (unusual for a Lab, I know) and has a very short attention span.

 

[yoopermom]

There are ways to work with your lab, but they do require time, repetition, and patience. First, I would use a different leash for walking vs going out in the yard (yes, dogs can figure that out). Then, you just break the entire task down into baby steps. Your goal is to be able to leash him, open the door, and walk outside ahead of him with him remaining calm.

So first you just have the leash at hand at all times, even while watching tv, doing dishes, etc. At first he'll freak out, but will eventually get bored and realize nothing is going to happen with it. The second that happens, you treat and praise him. Repeat until you can carry that leash around with you without it exciting him in the least.

Then you progress to clipping it on him (somewhere other than close to the door). If he prances around and gets excited, go do something else. In the beginning, you may only be able to get your hand with the leash within a foot of him, but if he will let you do so and remains calm, treat him. Rinse and repeat.

Then you start with walking him around the house with the leash clipped on. The second he starts getting excited turn and walk a different direction. If he remains quiet, treat and repeat.

Etc, etc.

Could this take days, maybe even weeks? Sure, but only minutes a day, once he catches on. It's also important that you *ignore* him (literally turn your back on him and cross your arms) whenever he gets excited. If he's being quiet in any way, shape, or form, praise him quietly and give him a tiny treat.

ANY DOG can learn self control but, just like kids, it's easier for some than for others .

And, yes, you can train only one dog out of three. If the other two won't respect your space, tether them to something during your training time with the lab (door handles work well, or anything solid). They will actually watch and learn, believe it or not. I belong to a dog club that has tethers mounted every 6' along all four sides of the room, and every dog sits and watches the demo dog in the middle, it's so funny! You wouldn't think they would learn that way (and some do learn faster than others), but they do.

Good for you for sticking with him!

Terri