Make the barking stop!
 

So my precious 5month old, Molli, has learned to bark. She barks at everything now, she barks when I'm getting her food or shes playing, she barks if I walk away for even a minute! I have her crate trained and she doesnt bark in their but I am trying to expand her area to the kitchen but if shes gonna bark all day then I can leave her out.
I tried the pennies in a can thing, she thinks its a toy and barks at it.
I tried ignoring her but I live in an apartment and sometimes she barks late at night and thats not good.
I tried clapping my hands and saying "no" but that just makes her bark more too.
Is squirting with water mean? I don't want her to be scared if things, I feel like water might be a bit harsh but I dont know what else to do.
Suggestions???

If you figure this out please share with me. I have 5 dogs here and when 1 barks they all start in on it. Sounds like I have a kennel. Maybe more get togethers with little Mac will wear her out more so she will sleep more and bark less. LOL

Barking for food is fairly easy to fix. If she barks, sit down and don't serve her food until she stops. Use a key phrase like "no bark" or a sound, "shhh" and give the command once and sit down. Teach her to sit to wait for her food. Praise profusely when she does it correctly. You could check out the "Nothing in Life is Free" program which is similar.

For other types of barking, I have read here that people have had success with different methods: the bark repeller, spray bottle, and more traditional methods like teaching to bark on command first and then teaching the quiet command. I have had the most luck with traditional training for Max, who is an alarm barker. He feels he needs to alert me to too much.

I guess I was spoiled with Chibi, he only "alert" barks when people are at the door. He is such an angel I forgot how tough the puppy stage is :rolleyes:
I'm gonna try training with treats but I have to give a treat to both when one gets one.....I hope Chibi doesnt get fat :p

I wish I could give you advice but I'm in the same boat.. my little Sophie barks at the door when any one comes over, and then if we are out.. she will bark at anything that moves! It gets frustrating, cause i really love taking her with me.. but now it is taking a toll! I think she is becoming a little OCD.

My father used the water squirt bottle method w a Scottie he had who was a real barker. Worked very well. He would squirt while saying the command "quiet".

Just a question, I read you are crate training. Sometimes when mine didn't get enough exercise during the day they would seem to bark more, kind of like they had energy to burn and were a little bored. If you can try to give them more exercise, it might curb the urge to bark some. What's that old saying "A tired dog is a well-behaved dog." I might not have that quite on the mark, but I'm close.

I was taught that the most reliable way to teach a dog the 'quiet' command was to first encourage him to bark. Catch your dog in the middle of barking and give a command like 'talk!' to get him to keep barking. For every 'talk!', have him respond with a bark. After a few rounds of this, switch to a 'quiet' command. Your dog may be confused. Reward only when he is stunned to silence.

Repeat several times daily when you feel up to it.

I feel you
 

My Bentley only barks (more like churps like a fire alarm battery getting low), when hes in his cage for longer than 30mins. No matter what we do he doesnt stop and it drives my husband crazy! Lol

I know nobody wants to hear this, but I tried everything and nothing worked. I finally tried a small bark collar and that did the trick. By following the manufacturer's instructions I was able to reduce the "charge" on the collar.

I will say that before you use a "shock" collar you might want to try a collar that vibrates and some spray citronella which dogs don't like.

I normally let him do his thing, and if he alerts me to someone at the door I reward him with lots of love, but if I really need him to be quiet I only have to put the collar on and he stops. No bark, no shock, no nothing. At this rate the battery will probably last forever, and I may take the battery out and see what happens.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/off...-shocking.html Please do not use a shock collar on a yorkie. On the link to the thread I included, I did a comparison between the joules (measurement of "electrical current emitted") of a tazer and the joules of a shock collar advertized for small dogs online. Please read that info before purchasing a shock collar for these small dogs.

She is only in her crate at night, otherwise she gets the kitchen if she cant be supervised. I've started using the water bottle, I think it might be working. I would never use a shock collar, I've seen first hand the burns and skin irritations caused by those. She may have to be wet for a while but I think I'm gonna try the water squirt and maybe a treat when she is quiet. Thanks for the suggestions, its nice to know I'm not alone in this problem. My first dog is not really a barker so this problem is new to me.

My brother-in-law uses a method taught to him by their dog trainer. He keeps a mini water bottle with about 10 coins in it. When their Yorkie barks, he gets close to her and shakes the bottle. She is startled into silence. He did it repeatedly until she got the correlation. She is now at the point that you only have to shake the bottle once and the barking stops for good. I have a 13 week old and plan to try this method if she ends up being a barker.

I guess I'm lucky, my Bentley rarely barks, and if he does it's not excessive. He's just alerting us to something outside. Though he has started barking and growling to wake me up from a nights sleep or even a nap, so not sure how to combat that, but it's not too bad. I'll be adopting a puppy sometime next year probably and will probably have to learn how to stop excessive barking. Bentley used to whine a lot when he was in his expen and we worked with him to get him to stop it. I don't remember what I did but it seems to have stopped the barking problem that Bentley was developing. lol I hope I can remember what we did before I get my new female next year. :) Good luck all!

I read something recently about giving a no! Command and poking them in the neck with your finger-(obviously not hard). it's the same as an alpha dog in a pack setting biting their neck for compliance. If they look away from you, it means they are not challenging your authority.


Rather interesting stuff.

Alpha Boot Camp for Dogs
This is one article. There were several others on this page that talks about establishing "alpha" dog mentality and position with your pets.

Proper Human to Dog Communication

Here's the one that talks about the poke in the neck to simulate a bite.

Has anyone tried the "Bark-Off" device? It is apparently harmless. I tried the water and the can w/coins, nothing is working. She likes the water and she thinks the pennies in a can is a toy. I dont think training her to bark and then quiet will work because she loves treats and I think she will start barking to get treats. I don't know about poking her, most of the time she is running and barking like a crazy head, I dont think i could poke her if I tried.
Heres the link to the Bark-off
How does Bark Off work?
Id love to hear any opionions on this

Ok,its wrong ,but I was giggling thinking of you chasing Molli around trying to poke her. Im sorry,a doggie barking isn't funny,but the visual was. Besides I spent part of a day with her and know that she just never gets tired. Where DOES she get all of that energy!!!

Oh, my goodness, Tibbe went throught this phase 5 or 6 months after I got him at age 9 mos. and he barked at everything! I was in the process of teaching him obedience as behavior modification so I added teaching him to bark on command. He loved it - learned it quickly and loved the treats he got for good barking. After 2 weeks of that, I taught him to stop barking on command and he loved that - learned it quickly and loved the treats he got for good stopping barking! Soon, I taught him to stop barking with just a pointed finger and now it's just a look. My little guy just does his trick of stopping on command and now no longer expects a treat - it's just learned behavior now. On the other hand, he's allowed appropriate disobedient barking - barking when he is alarmed due to an odd noise or the presence of a person on our property. He is rewarded with praise and an occasional treat for that type of barking and he knows the difference. Even if I give him the "no bark look" when barking, if he's hearing something inappropriate - out of the usual - he knows it is okay to keep barking and I encourage it. I want anyone approaching the house to hear him raising the roof. It is amazing how smart these little guys are with a little guidance and come to know what kind of barking is considered appropriate. Tibbe has turned out to be a nonbarker in the house unless there is something unusual going on and then he barks his little heart out with his mommie's total approval and hugs and treats in gratitude. Of course he is allowed to do normal dog barking - to bark at all squirrels, large bird, cats and other dogs and people he sees from the window even when he's in the house.

When I get frustrated at Celine for barking she whisper barks. It makes me laugh and angry at the same time because obviously she knows what I am saying.

Thank you very much for that link.

Proper Human to Dog Communication

My mother in law has something like this for the neighbors dogs and it works.

It would be a work out for me that's for sure! :p
I dont know where she gets her energy but it is making me tired. I still love her but the poop eating thing and the barking, makes me never want a puppy again. I think if I ever get another dog I'll adopt a >10yr old that sleeps all day- lol.
I can try the training, I've tried everything else I can think of!

I send you both pets and hugs!

I had to chuckle at your post. We used to have a 13 year old who was very sedentary. When we got Gidget (18 mo old), we were shocked. We did not remember the energy level of a young dog! We love her dearly, but we are so glad we did not get one any younger than she! We just try to keep up w her, knowing some day we will look back on these days and miss them! :)