Barking help

[Trndewendy]

Background: we live in a condo with 5 other dogs on our floor and we're the closest unit to the elevators...

Veruca is sooo smart. Veruca and I have been working on the "shh" command where she'll bark at stimulus in the hall (she hears EVERYTHING) and I'll say "no. shh..." and she'll stop barking and gets a tiny, tiny reward. Well today Veruca started barking at the door without a stimulus, just to get shh'd and quiet down for a reward. I have intermittently just given verbal praise and no food reward, but I'm not sure what to do about her new cunning ways.

My husband is at his wits end and talked to our friend who owns a maltipoo and she suggested a collar that sprays a little water when the dog barks. She also lives in a high rise and said it worked wonders on her dog.

I don't want Veruca to wear anything in the house... especially something annoying like that. She already dislikes getting wet. thoughts?

[tjdmom]

I teach "bark" and "quiet" and you have to understand that she thinks it's her job to let you know about those things. That's the real issue here. You need to convince her that you are capable of handling those "noises" in the hallway and also teach that bark and quiet command or whatever you choose to call them. The biggest thing you need to know is that she loves to be with you and she loves to get "paid" for doing a good job. (by dogs like liver treats but whatever pay works for yours is fine) This is a great site for training...
SATZ_Main : Safe_Alternative_Teaching_Zone
You'll be amazed by the things people on this site have trained their dogs to do!

[ziggy925]

There are many devices to stop your dog from barking. One of the more popular is an ultrasonic device that sends an unpleasant sound to the dog and only the dog can hear it. Some people have tried water guns, rattled coins in cans and spray collars.

Pretty much everybody on this site hates me because I got Ruger a "shock" collar when the other things didn't work. IMHO barking is one of the hardest problems to correct, but I would definitely try all the other methods before going with a bark collar.

[intilis]

I had good luck in the past with the "ultrasonic device". It was blue & I bought from the harriet carter catalog. That device worked great for me in the past, but did nothing to deter my new "barking machine"! I tried the device, when that didn't work I tried "sshhh" & then a treat when she was quiet. That worked great until she figured out to bark @ nothing, quiet down & get a treat. Smart lil stinker! Right now I am using "sshhh" & squirting her with a water pistol right after saying it if she does not immediately stop barking. It seems to be working really well so far..... hope I didn't jinx myself!

[intilis]

Ziggy925, I don't hate you! I COMPLETELY understand how difficult barking can be, and would also try a collar if all else failed.......