Barking! Can't take it anymore...
 

I have two yorkies, a female that is one and a male that is almost two. I am home quite a bit and yet they run out the doggy door (if I leave it open as they haven't learned to go thru it on their own) at anything in the yard that bothers them and agitate each other into a barking frenzy. I've taken to only letting them out when it seems they need to pee, but it's become a game to them I think. My neighbor just cussed me out over the back fence even though she has a dog too, but my two sense when this dog is out and go nuts, causing her (neighbor) to go nuts too. I do stop them when I'm home but sometimes a person has to get groceries, etc! They are relentless when the doorbell rings as well and my teenager's friends have started calling to say they are outside so the dogs aren't "disturbed". We've tried the "coins in the can" trick but that doesn't work. The male has even recently started biting toes of some that come to visit. I am actually thinking about finding a new home for these dogs. It's become a love/hate situation. I've had dogs before but had no idea how much work indoor dogs and maybe this breed would take. They are soooo needy and yet they get tons of attention. Any thoughts?

i would suggest having a trainer come to your home.

Any idea what that costs? My hubby just took a huge paycut and these Yorkies maintenance is already costly.

i'm not sure how much it costs. when i get some extra $$$ i'm going to invest in a trainer. we have barking and marking issues.

there are training devices that you can buy at petco that release a high pitched sound when they bark. some devices need to be attached to the dog but some don't need to be. i'd get one that doesn't since you have two dogs. i've heard that these work very well.

I have 4 dogs and they all bark. I saw this on a TV show, buy a bike horn and when they bark say enough and toot the horn. It has helped with mine about 70 %. I don't think they bark when I'm not home though so I don't know what you can do about that. I hate to see you have to give them up.

When mine don't bark I think they are sick :D But if you find the answer please let us know :D

If you are thinking of rehoming than it time to do so.. your hearts not in it and the dogs know it.
Give a yorkie rescue a call and see if they have room.
I thining that all the attention at barking was reinforced it so much that a change will be hard. On top of that the males learned toe nipping gets even more attention.
The Cycle you are in can be broken but it will take time and indeed more money. Trainers for in home privates run fro 50 to 150 an hour.

JL

My sister had a simular problem and started watching the Dog Whisperer and applied his training. She has very few issues anymore. It does take time and dedication.

i would also recommend watching its me or the dog! hehe

When I got my baby he barked quite a bit. So I started popping him into his cage every time he barked too long/too loud/too much, etc. If he kept barking I covered the cage with a large blanket (the whole thing so he couldn't see anything). When he calmed down, first the blanket came off, then next he got a treat. Then after a few minutes of calm, I let him out. I never ever let him out while he was still excited, whether he was barking or just bouncing around the cage. But I agree with the poster that said if you're thinking about giving them away it's probably time. Good luck.

What kind of crate did you use? How old where they when you did this??

Bike Horn for BARKING???
 

Do you mean the kind of "Bike Horn" that "HONKS"??LOL I am up for any new suggestions anytime and will try anything!!! Spray bottle doesn't phase Lily and neither does pennies in a can!!!

My male wants to bark at any one who comes in the house. I think he trying to be protective. You never have to wish you had that electronic warning system for your home.
I talked to a breeder who had the dogs surgically nipped for the excesseve barking. I thought that was alittle extreme but she is having horrible neighbor issues and she only had it done to dogs she intended on keeping herself if need be otherwise she sold the dogs in question.

for zaknnana
 

I used a cheap dog crate from Wal-Mart, an open wire design. It has a door in one long side and a second door in the short side and came with a partition to either make it smaller or to split into 2 parts. I've never used the partition at all--I just keep a soft blanket or pillow in there for Lucas. Its about 2 ft long and 18 inches wide (approx--I'm not good with measurements). It's roomy enough for a yorkie to move around in but small enough that they're contained. And I got my furbaby when he was a little over a year old from a breeder who decided that he didn't "need" him. (I don't know what his living conditions were like before I got him. For all I know, he lived in a cage.) At any rate, he now feels safe and comfortable in the cage and goes in voluntarily to sleep and doesn't fuss if I pop him in when we have company. :) Before I got my yorkie, I kept a puppy in it--that puppy was part Rottie and part lab so was a large puppy! And he was comfortable in it as well (I got him when he was 6 weeks old and used it until he outgrew it--he still occassionally tries to get in).

Cheap Crate
 

I have that same crate and while they will go into it, they don't want the door closed. The female sleeps in a smaller crate at night and the male doesn't. I do want to get him back into a crate at night but the large open air crate is downstairs and it doesn't work to put them both in it. I don't have space for two that size. If I can get him retrained to a smaller crate (I have 2 & the open crate) then next I'm going to move the small crates downstairs during the day and hopefully get them used to being in it when I have to leave the house.

That sounds like the exact crate I got when I first got Lily!! She screamed in it horrible!! I am not kidding she would cry all night long and do it for a solid week!! I tried everything!! I might try her in it again now that she is older?? She used to not ride in the car in a carrier without screaming and throwing up and she does great now and even flew in the airplane and didn't make a sound!! I might give that crate a try again when I go back to WV in a couple of weeks and see if she will sleep in it now?? She does fine in the house so far (7-1/2 months old) but that could change from what I have read on here and she could start chewing up things?? If she would start that I would have to put her in the crate. Hopefully she won't!!lol She is doing alot better as she gets older really.

May be too big...
 

My female is more comfortable in the smaller plastic crate and does well now. The first 4 months she pooped in there like crazy (my male NEVER did). This was discouraging. My male also became potty trained like overnight at about 7-8 months and my female (now 13 months) still is only at about 70%. This too is frustrating! She has cut down on the chewing though (male never chewed up anything but kleenex) and so that's positive. I think the big crate is too big when they aren't able to hold it long enough and gives them ample room to pee in the corner. If you do need to use it for bedtime, cover it with a blanket.

barking almost solved
 

Hi, I bought a Petsafe antibark collar for small dogs at Petsmart 10 days ago. 90% of the barking is gone. Kimberly and lily

I wish people would read about the breed before buying a yorkie...they bark. That is their nature.
They are very effective watchdogs...why? because they bark! So people shock them when they are doing what they have a natural tendency to do? I am sorry if I sound harsh, but seriously, I think that is wrong on so many levels.
I have one that was a rescue...she was in a shelter still wearing a shock collar. I did not know why. After about a week, I found out. She screams...it is not just a bark. That is her! Oh..I have toned her down with patience and time...but it is her way! When I first put a collar on her, she moped around all day.....I finally figured out why. She thought she was going to be shocked again. Very sad.
Just my thoughts...I know many would disagree. I just had to say it.

Have you tried Bitter Apples?

You can get it at Petsmart and it works wonders. You just spray it in their mouths when they do something bad and they really really really dislike the taste.

My last yorkie used to be a bit of a barker and whiner whenever she was displeased with something and Bitter Apples fixed everything. Good Luck.

My Buddy never barked then all the sudden he became a barker!!! I read on YT about how to put coins into a soda can and tape shut....everytime Buddy would start barking we would shake the can and say NO BARK!! He would stop dead in his tracks and stop barking!! It worked like a champ!!!! He hated that loud sound that the coins would make in the can. Now all we have to do is say, "no bark" and he stops. (it is kinda funny because he knows where we kept the soda can and he will look to that spot every time we say no bark!) Best of luck to you!!!

Barking
 

Yep...coins in a can work....and so does a spray bottle and those things do not taste awful or send some kind of shock through their system.
As I said, Dogs BARK .. I can see trying to stop excessive barking, but surely someone can think of some other ideas that are a bit more positive?

For instance, my Cookie was one who was barking to get attention...well, she screamed for attention and it was highly annoying. I taught her not to do that by ignoring her. I finally realized that I had been reacting by picking her up to shut her up if I was on the phone. It took a lot of patience...ignoring her when she barked...but she no longer sits in front of me barking for attention. She has found that if she sits quietly, she gets a ton of PRAISE and the attention she longs for. She actually sometimes *talks* to me...pretty funny stuff. She started making these funny noises and I kept saying she was a good girl and now if she sits and I don't see her, she *talks*!

Attention!
 

I am going to look further into this, but found this site that I think everyone needs to read. I don't know if this person is correct, but if so, the use of that Bitter Apple in training is NOT healthy!
Free Dog Training Tips :: Bitter Apple Spray

Spraying Bitter Apples (or similar product) in an animal's face, seems to me to be JUST WRONG and borders on animal cruelty. :thumbdown :( How awful for the dog. IMHO

Figures, I can't edit my own post now.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not accusing anyone of animal cruelty - I'm just saying spraying Apple Bitters or anything like that in a dog's face or mouth sounds so BAD for the dog. So sad.

So you know I have a problem with the use of sprays too but in this case the bitter spray is put on the object to stop the dog from chewing. One try and some dogs stop and some like it.

JL

I only use Bitter Apple on items my female was chewing. I haven't used it in months because the problem is gone. I've tried the "coins in the can" trick and while it worked at first, it only made them more aggitated. I think the very act of us shaking the can shows we're aggitated and this does not calm my dogs down. For those of you that it works...great. I think sometimes it is a different ballgame when there is more than one dog to set straight as one feeds of the other. My dogs don't bark at me just to "talk" and I DO ignore their barking behavior when I enter the room. They bark when others enter our house...or try to enter. We've been watching "Dog Whisperer" and "It's me or the Dog" and have been starting to use some of those techniques. They have helped, but I realize it takes time and patience and practice, practice, practice! The real problem is EXCESSIVE aggression towards a golden retriever who lives behind us. Yes, the golden retriever sometimes starts it but my dogs literally are ripping apart the fence and my female sometimes takes her aggression out on the male at the same time. I think we're going to seal off that 10" section of fencing that is shared by us and the retriever. Out of sight, out of mind... It most likely they aren't out for walks enough and so are territorial and we are making some changes (because no one really wants to get rid of the dogs and threats about that are leading to changed behavior and more feelings of responsibility). But, there is a boxer in the yard of another neighbor directly behind us (the rest of the fence) that they don't bother, and vica versa so they obviously just hate the retriever. I certainly READ UP ON THE BREED for 1-1/2 years before I got the dogs and understand terriers are barkers, but sometimes there is PROBLEM barking and that's why I placed this post. Thanks to all of you who gave "helpful" ideas.

Ok, Ok...I said in my original post I had no idea how much work these indoor dogs would take. I did read 2 books exclusively on Yorkies, so I did know what the books said....obviously terriers are barkers, but books don't cover every situation and so it's unlikely an average person will know all there is to know about a family pet. Thought I'd post this before I "heard" back.

Actually, in this case, someone said they use it to spray it in the dogs' mouths to stop them from barking and from other what they called I think....unwanted behaviors. It does work on *things* to stop chewing, but someone and I questioned the use of spraying it in their mouths and faces!
I posted a link where a trainer said he felt it could be unsafe....and I believe he/she is correct. The product was not made to spray in dogs' faces!
I would hate for someone to end up in the Emergency Clinic with their yorkie because they read on YT that they should spray that Bitter Apple in their dog's face.