Hi, Chantel. I had the same problem with Remy my puppy. At the age of 9 weeks the neighbor was complaining about her barking ( well I had to admit it was unusually loud for a 2 1/2 lb yorkie !)So like you I tried voice reprimands and the tapping on the nose but those didnt work. Sooo.. drastic measures were needed... I bought a citronella collar with a remote control. I felt awful making her wear this heavy collar and the first time she barked I gave her a short spray , it knocked her on her butt, but she stopped barking. Keep in mind the collar sprays an odorless spray and it is a sharp mist that shoots up in front of the face ,not into the face directly. Remy learned very quickly not to bark at every thing. I made her wear the collar off and on for a few weeks. OH ,I should mention that every time she got a spray I gave the command NO BARK! Remy is now 16 weeks old I havent used the collar for about 2 weeks now but I have switched over to using a squirt gun that has a good sharp squirt to keep reinforcing the NO BARK rules , as she will test the rules from time to time. Most of the time I only have to show the squirt pistol now and she is quiet. I didnt like having to resort to heavy handed training but she was never hurt by the spray..there is no electric shock with this type of collar.
Eileen |