i got bijou about 2 months ago. she's about 4 years old and she was a rescue. for the first couple days, she did nothing. i think she was a little out of it with all the change.
then, out of the blue, in the middle of the night, she got started when she heard something outside the door. it scared me out of my sleep, but i immediately snapped my fingers and firmly said "shhhhhht!!" then i whispered loudly "no bark!". it startled her and she was quiet.
over the next week, she did the same thing a few more times, usually in the middle of the night when she heard something outside the door (this outside noise is constant, as i live by the elevator). i had the same response every time.
on the couple times she did it during the day, i would notice that she would start to growl before barking (always having heard a sound) and when she started to growl, i would say shhhhht and then she would be quiet and i would immediately pet and praise her.
she hasn't barked inside since. i don't mind if she barks outside, though, but she rarely does.
i think the key to stopping it is to have an immediate response every single time. if you're not consistent, they won't learn. |