Please stop the barking!!!

DBJackson25 · November 2014

I know we have a bunch of pooch loving ladies on here as well as dog knowledgable ladies so here I am groveling. Does anyone know a remedy to stop my dogs from barking at every damn thing? When someone walks by outside they bark, or they hear a different noise they bark or when people walk in the door they bark. I just want it to stop. I've tried squirting them with a water bottle and that doesn't work. I've also tried loud noises to counteract their loudness and it doesn't work. Please help!! Any suggestions are appreciated because the barking to wake me up in the middle of the night isn't cutting it anymore and won't cut it when LO is here. @kefttsc‌ I'm lookin at you! Thanks in advance!

krysmill · November 2014

My dogs don't bark at night but during the day they will at squirrels, if someone's out on the water that's close to the house or when someone comes in. We use one of the big Smart Water bottles and have coins in the bottom. When they bark longer then I want I bop them on the head with it. Something about the noise and the thud shock them. You don't hit them hard just enough to make the noise! When my dogs see me grab it they stop. A trainer we know taught us that. Good luck!

maltwin1 · November 2014

What breed are your dogs? My black lab isn't a breed known for being a barker so he was able to be trained out if it. But we've also had a Pomeranian who was bred to be a barker and there was literally nothing you could do to get him not to bark. It was part of the breed characteristics and NOTHING could change it.

Alygohome · November 2014

My dogs are trained to never bark or make a sound in their crate unless there is an emergency ( ie. the doggy runs) so then don't wake us up at night. I did this by covering their crate with a blanket everytime they barked. During the day they drive me crazy with their barking I don't know what to do! I've tried water, that is enough ( our cue to settle) sending them to their crates ect. So looking forward to some suggestions too! I will try the coin thing and see if that helps.

Jensoprano82 · November 2014

When my dog out of control/nuisance barks, only shaking a soda can with coins in it makes her knock it off. Unfortunately, the noise really bothers her so I rarely use this. Works though

firelizard83 · November 2014

These are always difficult situations to address. There are several factors to address. Breed plays a role. Having multiple dogs plays another since they feed off each other to a point. This is best addressed by a trainer coming to your home and observing. The first step to possibly correcting this is to find their motivation to bark, which might very well be different for certain situations. Once motivation is known, a plan can be constructed from there. This being said, it can't always be totally fixed. Barking comes with owning a dog. Unless you are willing to play a very bad guy, it will never be eliminated completely.

Jensoprano82 · November 2014

Oh @krysmill‌ sorry I didn't realize you suggested virtually the same thing. Sorry!!!! For mine, the noise itself gets it done. (Actually with my dog in particular all she has to do is see me put a coin in a can and she's silent for hours)

DBJackson25 · November 2014

We have a half schnauzer half shiba inu named Clover and a schnauzer named Charlie. Charlie seems to bark because Clover is. I don't mind some barking just lately it's a lot more. I want to try the coins thing but it makes me nervous because they are both rescues, one from a puppy mill never touched grass before us and one was severely abused (think we couldn't carry a paper around or her leash for month because she thought we would hit her). I don't want the loud noises to make them regress. Is that a valid concern or not something I should worry about?

lulu4087 · November 2014

They do make bark collars that are humane. One sprays citronella scent everytime they bark. It really does work well. I've never used it but a coworker has.

Jensoprano82 · November 2014

DBJackson25 said:
We have a half schnauzer half shiba inu named Clover and a schnauzer named Charlie. Charlie seems to bark because Clover is. I don't mind some barking just lately it's a lot more. I want to try the coins thing but it makes me nervous because they are both rescues, one from a puppy mill never touched grass before us and one was severely abused (think we couldn't carry a paper around or her leash for month because she thought we would hit her). I don't want the loud noises to make them regress. Is that a valid concern or not something I should worry about?

I think you're being really responsible and if you have a rescue/abuse situation you don't want to really jar them or spook them.... Poor pups, glad you have them! They may need special attention from a professional behaviorist if the barking gets bad. You know your own pets and if you worry about that you're probably right.

Neesey · November 2014

The citronella colars are FABULOUS!!! I used one on my shih tzu when she was a puppy and it worked really well. My sister uses them on her cavaliers too. It got to the point where I didn't even have to put citronella in my pup's collar. The soft click it made was enough.

Valentino2013 · November 2014

We trained our dog with the command "enough" when she is getting carried away with the barking. A trainer also recommended a can of air (specially made for pets). You spray is beside not on or at them when they are exhibiting the undesirable behavior. It gets their attention and allows them to refocus on you.

schnitz9 · November 2014

My little guy barks constantly. He barks in his sleep. he even barks at his own reflection in the sliding door. I've tried it all. I'm actually on the verge of trying a bark collar with the little vibration. I have a neighbor who uses one and it seems to work. I'm not too worried about the bark bothering the baby. My neighbors have 2 little boys and their dogs bark more than any dog I've ever seen. She told me that the babies got so used to the dogs bark in utero that by the time they were born they weren't phased by it.

kefttsc · November 2014

I find this to be a complicated issue because I don't mind if my dogs bark when someone comes to the front door. I'm home alone a lot so it can sometimes be comforting. But it angers me to no end if they bark at another dog, a squirrel, random people walking in the street, etc.

So we have two different responses/trained behaviors in our house.

If they are barking at people coming up to the house/knocking on the door, we have a "Thank You" command for them to SHUT UP. For the nonsense barking, we have a "HUSH" command. I wanted to make sure they sounded different.

We trained them both pretty much the same way. I will start by saying that I am totally NOT opposed to bark collars or citronella collars, they just don't work for me since I am okay with them alert barking for someone approaching. I also am not opposed to spray bottles or shaker cans, but I don't want my dogs afraid when people approach the door and my dogs are silly sensitive.

I train for one at a time while letting the other behavior pass. So, for instance, we work on stopping barking when I say THANK YOU when someone approaches the door. We did this with a clicker. If you aren't familiar with clicker training, there are so awesome YouTube videos on how to use a clicker and the timing of its use. My pockets are always loaded with treats during training time (which was weeks during this process since I can't MAKE people come to the door!). Every time someone barked at the approaching UPS man, etc. I said THANK YOU and the second one looked at me, I clicked and gave treats. Kind of a distraction/reward of sorts that rewarded them for stopping the barking and LOOKING AT ME. Once this was fairly solid, I transitioned it to the other issues for when they bark at dogs, cats, squirrels, etc. That was a more firm HUSH command, but they got the reward with the same timing.

The key is that the end goal is that when you see something outside, don't bark, but rather LOOK AT ME and there will be treats in it for you!!

Let me know if that didn't make any sense at all.......

Mrs. Zee · November 2014

We got a citronella collar after trying for about a year to get the barking to stop through redirecting and treating when she listened to us. It is just the dogs going by that she barks at that we wanted to stop and she just won't. She was pretty surprised the first time the collar went off but it is effective. She is a JRT/chihuahua mix rescue, lots of energy

lorifromwi · November 2014

Our dogs are barkers, but they are both Papillon it is part of their historical breeding. It does get out of control sometimes, but I also knew this about the breed before I brought them into the house...so I have a tough time getting too mad at them. I'm just thankful E sleeps through them...hoping the little man will as well!

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