Barking Babies
 

Ok, I absolutely love having my two yorkie boys, but one thing that erks the heck outta me is the fact that even though they have been socialized - lived with other pets, have playdates, been to daycare, etc they continue to bark relentlessly at other dogs when we are on walks. It's so embarrasing! I feel like the mother, who's child is throwing a temper tanturm in the grocery store cause everyone just stares at us. The second one of them sees the other dog he starts growling, which then alerts the other to join in and before I know it they are going bulistick and crazy!! Two crazy yorkies barking their little heads off like they want to attack the other dog. I don't understand and I've tried a few things and nothing has helped. I tried repremanding them, I tried shaking a water bottle with pennies in it, I tried shushing them and poking them behind their shoulder blades (like on the dog whisperer), I've even hired a trainer!! Now when the trainer does it them calm down alot faster, but for me - no way! I'm so frustrated with them both. I'd love to go to a dog park without them sounding so vicious and scaring everyone before we even go in - or to a local yorkie meet up, but I'm ashamed of how they act. It's to the point where I try to even schedule our walks for when no dogs will be out. Does anyone else have this problem? Or have suggestions??

Aw, I'm sorry you're having such a problem.

Have you tried a small squirt water bottle that you can spray in their faces when they bark? It'll be a pain to carry around with you but it may work! Just a quick squirt in their face. It always works for Jackson indoors when he barks at the cats, but he never barks at other dogs on walks. I just keep walking and act like I don't even see the other dog(s) and all is well. And if another dog walks right beside me, Jackson likes to take a quick sniff and be on his way.

It sounds like you're doing your absolute best! And, it seems you watch the Dog Whisperer, so as you know... energy is everything and I really believe that. Dogs understand vibes more than language. You said it's better with your trainer than with you... that's probably because what's happening is you are getting tense during these situations, causing your dogs to be tense as well. You're probably anticipating this behavior on walks and going "Omg, they're going to embarrass me again! " etc etc. Dogs can feel everything you're feeling through that leash. Take a DEEP breath, stay totally calm and cool, and literally just keep walking. Totally ignore the other dogs and act as if you don't even see them. Give a slight tug to your boys and on your way. Do not the let your dogs pull you or direct you where they want to go, you're going to go where YOU want to go and that's that.

Also, is one of them more of an instigator than the other? Try walking them separately one day and see if they continue the barking behavior or not. Sometimes, two of them can influence each other. If it's just one of them, work on him the most!

i am sorry you are having trouble with your dogs barking. it must be so frustrating. milu is not a barker. but i know a lady at the dog park whose dog just goes NUTS when he sees other dogs and is not allow to sniff them.

that dog is usually such a nice little dog. and then he just goes nuts and there is nothing that lady could do to keep the dog quiet! (she even tries to hold the dog's mouth shut with her hands)

i think you are making some progress, because you said that the trainer is able to get the dog to be quiet. give it some time and be persistent. i wish you good luck with the training.

sorry i don't have any advice to offer. i just want to let you know that i know how you feel because i feel really bad for harley's mom (the lady i met at the dog park)

if you do figure out how to train your dogs to stop doing this, could you please let me know how you did it. so i can tell harley's mom? :D

btw, you are a very good mom. you are doing everything you can to try to correct this issue. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: hang in there! :)

Since you said that the trainer has calmed them down but they don't do it for you there is something that you are either doing or not doing that lets them bark

What will work for you is to get them acclimatized to other dogs being around on walks
get a friend to help one with a dog
have your friend come from a distance
when your dogs start barking you turn ... and go in the opposite direction until they stop
you keep doing this and doing this until they allow the dog to come to them
once they tolerate the dog coming to them
make an effort to bring them to do dog parks where they will become used to other dogs

Yes, the trainers can calm them down faster, but it may be because they are using their own dogs which my dogs have gotten used to seeing and being around. We've gone with the trainers to a local dog walking area and they still take forever for them to calm down.
I've also tried the turning around thing until they stop barking and I've also tried stopping completely to make it so that they don't get to be rewarded for barking - the walk will stop if they bark... But nothing has worked. I don't think most people will understand the degree unless they actually saw them - my dh thought that I was overexagerating until he came with me on a walk - he was shocked at how they acted. I'm at my wits end.
If they get to sniff and meet the dogs they are fine, but people are very weary (even if they are little dogs) and I can't let them meet every dog anyways... I'm begining to think I'll just have to live with it because I can't keep paying trainers if it's not working. :(

Oh if they're going wild when they see a dog
what might be the problem isa complete lack of socialization

When they see a dog what happens is a mixture of wanting to get to them and heightened fear and awareness
...... this excited state leads to manic barking

instead of them being trained merely on the lead
This is a symptom of the problem and not the problem at all
They need to be properly socialized

That's what I thought too, but they are socialized. Deegan has gone to puppy school & day care, and before I got Trooper he lived with several foster homes who all had many cats & dogs, and I still have playdates for them with friends & families dogs. Wouldn't that be enough socialization for them??

i hope you continue to work with the trainer and not give up. especially if your dogs are making progress.

i don't think it will be easy for you to live with the barking problem. i know i wouldn't be able to. if my dog had that problem, then i would end up just being too embarrassed or frustrated to take her out. and that's really no fun for the doggies. :(

good luck to you and your doggies. yorkies are stubborn, and it takes time and patience to correct problematic behaviors. hang in there and feel free to vent anytime you need to! :D

I was planning on continuing but I just heard from them tonight. They are two sisters. Apparently they won't be taking anymore appointments for a while because one of them was just diagnosed with stage 3 cancer and so they're concentrating on that... I do feel for them and totally know how hard of a road that will be for them cause my mom died two years ago from cancer, but now what do I do?? I'll have to find a new trainer now... Ugh! I'm so frustrated!

i am sorry to hear that. :(
i hope you will be able to find a new trainer that can help your doggies.
have you tried looking online to see if other dog owners had gone through this problem?
i hope someone on this site will be able to offer you some advice!

I am so glad i am not alone on this one, Harley barks too when we are on our walks and he sees another dog probably 80% of the time ,now and again he will suprise me and not do anything but that is rare..i too have hired a trainer but didnt find it helped me that much either..i too am at my wits end somedays and have tried every trick in the book..i am consistent and make sure Harley knows i am boss..i call him my devil dog somedays..:) and people are so suprised that he can make so much noise for a 5lb dog..any advice would be greatly appreciated..:) I am making him sit now when he makes a fuss and will not continue our walk until he is quiet..easier said then done but i am hoping it will be come effective:confused:

Ahh ...how are they on the playdates?
Do they bark there too or is it just on the lead?

What I would suggest is get a friend with a dog to help you out
Take them out and have you friend with their dog come to you from a distance
Have you pups see them and then quickly distract them with a treat BEFORE they go bonkers
Best way to do this is hold the treat in your hand so they can smell it but not get at it
repeat this a few times
do it again but let them see the dog for longer and longer periods
If they start barking you turn and walk them away in the opposite direction until they stop and then go back to start over

It's a long process but what you are doing is stopping the need for them to feel they have to go into alarm mode

Barking Dogs
 

I saw an episode of It's Me or the Dog with dog trainer Victoria Stillwell. A couple had this same problem. They thought their dog was well socialized because he went to doggie day care with no problems. However when Victoria observed his behavoir there he was infact afraid of the other dogs. To me he looked fine but to a professional she saw something totaly different. Sometimes dog aggression is brought on by fear.:confused: Check out her show on Animal Planet 8pm eastern time on Sat.:thumbup:

I've tried making them sit, but trying to make two yapping dogs that are struggling like crazy is harder than it may seem. But I wish you luck as well...

Thanks JoeyP for the suggestions, but I have literally tried this too. For over a week with no improvement. Once they see the dog, they don't even care that I have a treat. And when I turn in the opposite direction, the just pull, yank, bark and go bullistic while I'm trying to get them to pay attention. It's more like I'm dragging them, because they don't listen one bit.
As for playdates, they are good when we have them here because I usually have them in the backyard and I bring the playdate pups in through the back gate. They are fine, just run up to them and sniff & play. Mind you they can't see the dog until he is through the gate because it's wood.
However, if we have to go to a playdate they go crazy once they see a cat or a dog until they actually get to meet the dogs, but once they do they are fine.
What I should do is record it and post it so people can see how bad it is.

Will do - thanks for telling me about the show. I've never heard of it before.
I'm willing to try anything - especially if it's free!

I watched Dog Whisperer and It's Me or the Dog religiously for the first few months w/ Jackson and I owe it to them why he's good.

I just wanted to share with you the positive effect i have found this week after purchasing a 'Gentle leader' harness for Harley..we have been on several walks now and i cannot believe the difference,as soon as Harley starts to head in the direction of the other dog just by gently pulling on the lead it seems to get his attention towards me and we keep going..he is walking much better and staying on the one side of me more..i still cross the road when i see another dog:confused: but am hoping that one day we may be able to pass on the same side without all hell breaking loose..will keep you posted :)

Hmm... I thought about buying those for them, but thought I would try training them myself. But I admit, it's starting to seem like a good idea, esepcially if it's temporary. I just thought they'd be too small for them. I assumed that they were bigger dogs, but I see that they do sell them for our size of dogs so I'm seriously considering it. Thanks for mentioning and keep me posted on Harely's progress while using it.

PS - I love your Audrey Hepburn avatar!!

I managed to find the xs size at paulmacs..i went to several stores first but found the small size too big and like you i always thought they were for bigger dogs until i reasearched a bit more..i am to the now point i will try anything!!...:confuse2:

I second the Premier harnesses. I have the Premier Easy Walk harness. Worked wonders with Jackson and stopped him from pulling nearly immediately.

Well, I bought a Gentle Leader for both of my boys and while it was ok - they sometimes still have fits when we come across another dog. Some days they're not as bad as usual. And other times they are really bad - like the other day. They looked like little tazmanian devils barking and going crazy, even fighting with each other because they're so riled up. This time their fit was so outrageous that I was scared they were gonna snap their necks cause they were wearing the gentle leaders and just plain outta control. I seriously have never been so mortified by them before and this was the last straw.
So now I've come to the decision, even though I don't want to do this, but I'm going to start walking them separetly. I've done this the past two nights and I gotta say - it's been less stressful for all of us. The boys get "one on one" time with me - I can actually jog with them to burn even more energy outta them (cause I can't jog with two - cause their endurance levels are different) and when they see another dog and want to throw a fit it's much easier to concentrate on correcting one, than two. Plus they don't have the bad energy of each other to feed off of.
Anyways - that's my update. Anyone else ever had to do this?