I wish pennies in a can worked for Howie! That only seemed to tick him off and make him start barking furiously. Sigh. Same thing with the squirt bottle.
Ok, here's what's given me relative success. First I got one of those bark boxes they sell at Petsmart. It's a small box with a button on top and speakers. When your dog starts barking it emits a high pitched noise only the dog can hear to quiet it down. You can also press the button yourself if you want to use it as a training tool. My problem with that was that the one I bought didn't typically pick up Howie's barking (which seems impossible to me) so I always had to press the button. Effective for awhile but eventually he got accustomed to it and didn't care.
Then I watched an episode of "It's Me or the Dog" and not surprisingly this same issue with two yorkies was one of the stories. What she taught on the show is to keep treats in your pocket. When the dog starts barking at the door, a noise, wherever bring out a treat and make them sit and stay. By the time they get the treat they forget what they were barking at to begin with.
When all else fails, good old fashioned yelling usually does the trick. |