My yorkie is barking at other small dogs - YorkieTalk.com Forums

yorkie__14 · 09-22-2011, 06:09 AM

Lately I've been noticing how Pyper is around other dogs. Around big dogs, she is great. I used to talk her with a roti/sheppard mix and they were amazing together(it was a female as well). But when she is around other small dogs, it seems to make her go crazy. I was walking her last night with my boyfriend and from across the street she seen a fairly small dog (bigger than her though) and started to bark uncontrollably. I just couldn't get her to stop. I was getting so upset/frustrated over this. She is normally a very good dog. But the second she started barking, she was all riled up and once the dog was out of site, she continued to bark. I made her stop, and sit and I tried to calm her down before continuing our walk. But it was of no help.

I really need some advice or suggestions on what i should do.

Is it that she is trying to be dominant against another small dog?
Is she not socialized enough?

Anything please

It is very heart breaking when she does this. It makes me feel like I am a bad owner.

roseylovestosho · 09-22-2011, 06:17 AM

Has she been socialized around small dogs?

yorkie__14 · 09-22-2011, 06:32 AM

Well we do not have any other pets.

I've brought her around my friend 6lb Chihuahua and at first Pyper was fine with her, but the second that her owner picked up her dog, Pyper went barking crazy!!.
I have even taken them on walks together, but this hasn't seemed to help..

Do you think doggy day care would be something to look into ? To help socialize with more dogs?

chachi · 09-22-2011, 07:22 AM

I think doggie daycare would be a great way to get some socialization

Teresa Ford · 09-22-2011, 07:26 AM

Without being there to see and hear the barking, I can't say if she is saying come play with me, I am afraid, I want to fight or something else. I wish I knew why she was barking then we could work on the cause.
You can correct the barking by a firm NO and squirt her with water, turn around and go the other way. You may have to turn around a lot at first. You have to break the trance zone they get into. After you walk the other way a few yards and only in extreme cases, you may need to squat down and gently cup her mussel and say No firmly. Do NOT Squeeze the Muzzle or shake, always remember correct not punish. One advantage is you can pick up a Yorkie make eye contact and say NO when cupping the muzzle. The correct way to cup a muzzle, is like you are holding a rail, thumb and first finger facing you and pointing down. Your little finger is facing the doggie. NOT like holding a hose, you can accidently apply too much pressure.
Teach her the Quiet command at home and treat when she is quiet. Once she has learned Quiet you can use this on walks also and may not even need a water spray bottle. If you do not know how to teach the quiet command I can help you with that.

roseylovestosho · 09-22-2011, 07:44 AM

It's possible that she is not socialized enough. I take Teddy on long walks as often as I can and we encounter dogs of different shapes and sizes. However, because he is an only dog he starts whining because he wants to play with every dog he greets along the way. Dogs sometimes bark at each other for attention because they want to play (of course that's not the only reason they bark).

I think doggie daycare would be a great way to socialize your dog. You should definitely give it a try and see how he does.

yorkie__14 · 09-22-2011, 07:47 AM

thank you to everyone for the advice.

to Teresa Ford - I do like your idea. I would like to try the "Quiet" command at home. We do say it to her if she is barking, but she is much easier to control inside the house, rather then on a walk. Can you please describe to me the best way to teach her is?

Teresa Ford · 09-23-2011, 07:20 PM

Training mean teaching and correcting never punishing. You have to practice and be consistent. Use a normal tone of voice. Yelling will only frighten your dog. Believe it or not it is easy to teach them to be quiet, if they understand barking is a choice. Dogs bark mostly as a reaction to something, an empty water bowl, another dog in sight and so on. But barking can quickly become a bad habit too. For the lessons you will need a water bottel set on stream, not mist, filled with plain water. Treats. Make ahead a little bowl of tiny rice sized treats (I like using boiled chicken, boiled chicken livers, turkey hot dogs. It is better to have several kinds of treats in the same bowl, that way the doggie is not sure what they will get.) Lesson 1 : Start by doing something you know will make her bark like showing her a treat, toy, her food bowl etc. When she barks say Talk (or Bark what ever feels right to you) and Treat. Now tell her Talk, and when she barks, treat, praise, pet . Do this about 4 or 5 times. What you are teaching her is that she can bark for you and get a treat. Lesson 2 : When she barks on her own let her bark 3 times, then say firmly Enough. If she keeps barking let her do three, then say Enough. Look sad and frown and If she keeps barking after three barks, say Enough and squirt her with water. What you are teaching is barking is ok if you tell her to talk, or she can give an alert to tell you, hey mom some one is walking in our yard, the kitty has my toy etc, but she must stop, when you say Enough. You will check it out and take care of things. Her job is only bark three times to alert. Repeat and Practice this lesson for at least 5 days. It may not click in her mind right away, but she will get it.
Enough is an excellent Word to use, because our face looks like a Mama dog snarling, it also sounds like a doggy growl. (No will work too.) After she understands Talk and Enough. Practice on short walks, if she barks at another dog, say Enough and quickly turn around and go the other way (Flexi leashes are not good when doing training lessons.) When she is quiet. Praise with Good Quiet and treat. Some stubborn doggies will require the PL (pack leader or parent leader) to cary the water spray bottle, on a few walks too. It is ok to use the tools that work .
She will quickly learn Enough means stop what you are doing right now. I only use the words Good Quiet when they are quiet, it is not something I want them to do, it is what they are already doing by being Good Quiet. Later when she has more maturity and self control You will be able to tell her good quiet before she barks on walks and she will stay quiet. After she has the lessons down pat continue to treat once in awhile that keeps her interested. Hope this helps you

Teresa Ford · 09-23-2011, 07:32 PM

I am not sure how old Pyper is the first answer I gave was for an older dog who already knows what NO means. The second answer is from my Puppy training class.

yorkie__14 · 09-27-2011, 10:25 AM

Okay I'm going to try my hardest and teach her "Quiet" because she knows "Speak" and we can get her to bark on command. That's where I thought that we went wrong. So now I am taking a few treats on my walk and telling her "Quiet" when I can tell that she is going to bark and i stop and give her a treat when she listens. Although this morning I tried to stop and let Pyper meet the other dog, however it was only after a few minutes that she started to bark so I said "Quiet!" and we started walking the other way and I gently held her mouth for a couple seconds. This time she did not go crazy and continue barking. It wasn't good, but definetly wasn't as bad as last time. I am going to try to walk her tonight with a little Chihuahua that she has gone on walks with before. Will give updates on how it goes.

09-22-2011, 06:09 AM	#1
yorkie__14 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 83	My yorkie is barking at other small dogs Lately I've been noticing how Pyper is around other dogs. Around big dogs, she is great. I used to talk her with a roti/sheppard mix and they were amazing together(it was a female as well). But when she is around other small dogs, it seems to make her go crazy. I was walking her last night with my boyfriend and from across the street she seen a fairly small dog (bigger than her though) and started to bark uncontrollably. I just couldn't get her to stop. I was getting so upset/frustrated over this. She is normally a very good dog. But the second she started barking, she was all riled up and once the dog was out of site, she continued to bark. I made her stop, and sit and I tried to calm her down before continuing our walk. But it was of no help. I really need some advice or suggestions on what i should do. Is it that she is trying to be dominant against another small dog? Is she not socialized enough? Anything please It is very heart breaking when she does this. It makes me feel like I am a bad owner.

09-22-2011, 06:17 AM	#2
roseylovestosho Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: #4 PRIVET DRIVE Posts: 1,685	Has she been socialized around small dogs? __________________

09-22-2011, 07:22 AM	#4
chachi I Love My Yorkies Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana Posts: 37,147	I think doggie daycare would be a great way to get some socialization __________________ Chachi's & Jewels Mom Jewels http://www.dogster.com/?132431 Chachi http://www.dogster.com/?132427

09-22-2011, 07:26 AM	#5
Teresa Ford Therapy Yorkies Work Donating Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Central, Florida Posts: 3,863	Without being there to see and hear the barking, I can't say if she is saying come play with me, I am afraid, I want to fight or something else. I wish I knew why she was barking then we could work on the cause. You can correct the barking by a firm NO and squirt her with water, turn around and go the other way. You may have to turn around a lot at first. You have to break the trance zone they get into. After you walk the other way a few yards and only in extreme cases, you may need to squat down and gently cup her mussel and say No firmly. Do NOT Squeeze the Muzzle or shake, always remember correct not punish. One advantage is you can pick up a Yorkie make eye contact and say NO when cupping the muzzle. The correct way to cup a muzzle, is like you are holding a rail, thumb and first finger facing you and pointing down. Your little finger is facing the doggie. NOT like holding a hose, you can accidently apply too much pressure. Teach her the Quiet command at home and treat when she is quiet. Once she has learned Quiet you can use this on walks also and may not even need a water spray bottle. If you do not know how to teach the quiet command I can help you with that. __________________ Teresa & Rubin, Gracie, Abba, Ginny Joy and Julia Rose Act like a dog, be kind, forgiving, and loyal.

09-22-2011, 07:44 AM	#6
roseylovestosho Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: #4 PRIVET DRIVE Posts: 1,685	It's possible that she is not socialized enough. I take Teddy on long walks as often as I can and we encounter dogs of different shapes and sizes. However, because he is an only dog he starts whining because he wants to play with every dog he greets along the way. Dogs sometimes bark at each other for attention because they want to play (of course that's not the only reason they bark). I think doggie daycare would be a great way to socialize your dog. You should definitely give it a try and see how he does. __________________

09-22-2011, 06:32 AM	#3
yorkie__14 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 83	Well we do not have any other pets. I've brought her around my friend 6lb Chihuahua and at first Pyper was fine with her, but the second that her owner picked up her dog, Pyper went barking crazy!!. I have even taken them on walks together, but this hasn't seemed to help.. Do you think doggy day care would be something to look into ? To help socialize with more dogs?

09-22-2011, 07:47 AM	#7
yorkie__14 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 83	thank you to everyone for the advice. to Teresa Ford - I do like your idea. I would like to try the "Quiet" command at home. We do say it to her if she is barking, but she is much easier to control inside the house, rather then on a walk. Can you please describe to me the best way to teach her is?

09-23-2011, 07:20 PM	#8
Teresa Ford Therapy Yorkies Work Donating Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Central, Florida Posts: 3,863	Training mean teaching and correcting never punishing. You have to practice and be consistent. Use a normal tone of voice. Yelling will only frighten your dog. Believe it or not it is easy to teach them to be quiet, if they understand barking is a choice. Dogs bark mostly as a reaction to something, an empty water bowl, another dog in sight and so on. But barking can quickly become a bad habit too. For the lessons you will need a water bottel set on stream, not mist, filled with plain water. Treats. Make ahead a little bowl of tiny rice sized treats (I like using boiled chicken, boiled chicken livers, turkey hot dogs. It is better to have several kinds of treats in the same bowl, that way the doggie is not sure what they will get.) Lesson 1 : Start by doing something you know will make her bark like showing her a treat, toy, her food bowl etc. When she barks say Talk (or Bark what ever feels right to you) and Treat. Now tell her Talk, and when she barks, treat, praise, pet . Do this about 4 or 5 times. What you are teaching her is that she can bark for you and get a treat. Lesson 2 : When she barks on her own let her bark 3 times, then say firmly Enough. If she keeps barking let her do three, then say Enough. Look sad and frown and If she keeps barking after three barks, say Enough and squirt her with water. What you are teaching is barking is ok if you tell her to talk, or she can give an alert to tell you, hey mom some one is walking in our yard, the kitty has my toy etc, but she must stop, when you say Enough. You will check it out and take care of things. Her job is only bark three times to alert. Repeat and Practice this lesson for at least 5 days. It may not click in her mind right away, but she will get it. Enough is an excellent Word to use, because our face looks like a Mama dog snarling, it also sounds like a doggy growl. (No will work too.) After she understands Talk and Enough. Practice on short walks, if she barks at another dog, say Enough and quickly turn around and go the other way (Flexi leashes are not good when doing training lessons.) When she is quiet. Praise with Good Quiet and treat. Some stubborn doggies will require the PL (pack leader or parent leader) to cary the water spray bottle, on a few walks too. It is ok to use the tools that work . She will quickly learn Enough means stop what you are doing right now. I only use the words Good Quiet when they are quiet, it is not something I want them to do, it is what they are already doing by being Good Quiet. Later when she has more maturity and self control You will be able to tell her good quiet before she barks on walks and she will stay quiet. After she has the lessons down pat continue to treat once in awhile that keeps her interested. Hope this helps you __________________ Teresa & Rubin, Gracie, Abba, Ginny Joy and Julia Rose Act like a dog, be kind, forgiving, and loyal. Last edited by Teresa Ford; 09-23-2011 at 07:22 PM.

09-23-2011, 07:32 PM	#9
Teresa Ford Therapy Yorkies Work Donating Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Central, Florida Posts: 3,863	I am not sure how old Pyper is the first answer I gave was for an older dog who already knows what NO means. The second answer is from my Puppy training class. __________________ Teresa & Rubin, Gracie, Abba, Ginny Joy and Julia Rose Act like a dog, be kind, forgiving, and loyal.

09-27-2011, 10:25 AM	#10
yorkie__14 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 83	Okay I'm going to try my hardest and teach her "Quiet" because she knows "Speak" and we can get her to bark on command. That's where I thought that we went wrong. So now I am taking a few treats on my walk and telling her "Quiet" when I can tell that she is going to bark and i stop and give her a treat when she listens. Although this morning I tried to stop and let Pyper meet the other dog, however it was only after a few minutes that she started to bark so I said "Quiet!" and we started walking the other way and I gently held her mouth for a couple seconds. This time she did not go crazy and continue barking. It wasn't good, but definetly wasn't as bad as last time. I am going to try to walk her tonight with a little Chihuahua that she has gone on walks with before. Will give updates on how it goes.