Yorkie Barking Issues - 5 month old yorkie

[YorkieMiki]

I live in a pretty dense neighborhood in Los Angeles, there are a lot of small yappy dogs here and you run into lots of people walking around with or without dogs. There are little dogs in my neighborhood which bark constantly and I think Theo hears them and has started barking back, even when we are in my apartment.

I thought I socialize him well when he was younger,He mainly stayed in my arms or in a carrying case that u could see through. I would take him out almost every day on errands, the movies, parks, pet store, he met other dogs/people etc. He used to be so quiet. People would actually comment on how sweet and quite he was. Not until I started taking him on walks does he start barking. He particularly likes to bark at other small dogs behind fences or if they walk by us and also children.

I've tried the "turn around method". Where you turn him around and walk other way when he growls or barks at a person or dog. It seems to work a little just to stop him because I'm avoiding the situation. I don't think it's actually keeping him from barking long term. The next time I take my puppy out he will be belligerant with other dogs again. Even humans he will sometimes lunge at (he's only 3 lbs so he doesn't scare anyone). It's really getting annoying as I've been taking him for walks 2-5 times a day and he continues to do this. I've also tried to walk him away and give him a treat when he is away and stops barking.

Also I tried what was said in the sticky a under training where you teach a dog to "speak" and to be "quiet". I'm still not sure about this because he seems to just bark more. He just doesn't seem to get it. He actually seems to be barking more since I have been telling him to speak.

Anyone have any other advice. Do you think I should get him neutered, would this help with the aggression? I'm guessing it's mainly fear based barking, but he will really lunge and bark fiercely at other dogs.

SHould I be distracting him more? Scolding him with QUIET or NO when he barks during walks or when he thinks he heres something outside?

I feel so frustrated

[gracielove]

Neutering is always helpful with this type of issue but it may take a while to see a change as it takes some time for the hormones to get out of his system. But it will help him with aggressive and territorial issues.

An obedience class might be helpful. A place where he can take a class with 1 or 2 other dogs and learn how to behave with other dogs and how to walk properly on a leash. It should be a good experience for everyone.

Try keeping him on a very short leash so he is right at your side all the time and you can make a correction easily even before he actually lunges at someone or barks.

[YorkieMiki]

I took an obedience Puppy class with him. It was really difficult because he would just bark at the other dogs. They had to remove me from the main class and I would have to watch it from like 30 feet away.

None of the other dogs barked as much as mine.

The instructor said that small dogs often have this issue and Yorkies are notoriously bad barkers... I wish I had known

I will continue trying. I take him on walks 3-4 times a day and take him on errands and to visit people all the time.

As far as when he barks at other dogs, people and noises he hears, do you guys think I should scold him with QUIET/ NO! or UH UH UHHHH right away, or should I just remove him and reward him when he isn't barking?

I try to reward him when he sees another dog or person from far away. I give him a treat or praise when he is NOT barking. Then when he gets close to them he starts lunging and barking aggressively. I usually will say NO or QUIET or UH UH UHH and walk away or get in between him and the person/dog

am I doing this correctly?

[gracielove]

It's hard to say without being there but it is usually best to anticipate the situation and stop or distract your pet before he actually has a chance to react. When you see a person or dog approaching and your dog locks on with his eyes. Try to tell him no and do a correction before he gets the chance to react. Once a dog gets to the barking stage it's hard to break that focus so if you can distract, correct and redirect before it starts you are ahead of the game. Make sure he knows you mean it and that you are calling the shots not him. I know it's hard. Did the the people at the class you attended give you any advice other than the 'Yorkies are notorious barkers' line?

Hopefully someone with more experience in advanced dog training could help you.

[Yorkiedaze]

Originally Posted by YorkieMiki

I took an obedience Puppy class with him. It was really difficult because he would just bark at the other dogs. They had to remove me from the main class and I would have to watch it from like 30 feet away.

None of the other dogs barked as much as mine.

The instructor said that small dogs often have this issue and Yorkies are notoriously bad barkers... I wish I had known

I will continue trying. I take him on walks 3-4 times a day and take him on errands and to visit people all the time.

As far as when he barks at other dogs, people and noises he hears, do you guys think I should scold him with QUIET/ NO! or UH UH UHHHH right away, or should I just remove him and reward him when he isn't barking?

I try to reward him when he sees another dog or person from far away. I give him a treat or praise when he is NOT barking. Then when he gets close to them he starts lunging and barking aggressively. I usually will say NO or QUIET or UH UH UHH and walk away or get in between him and the person/dog

am I doing this correctly?

Your instructor is WRONG!!!! Not all small dogs are excessive barkers. I had a tiny Chihuahua for 16 years that rarely barked and now I have four Yorkies and none of them are excessive barkers. They bark when they hear the door bell or a knock, but soon as I open the door, they are quiet. They watch people and people walking dogs from the window and don't bark. They hear dogs barking in the neighborhood and they don't bark. I have new neighbors who move beside me 3 weeks ago that have two small mix breed dogs (looks like Chihuahua mixes and they are mainly kept outside) who bark when I take my girls out, and my girls will run up and down the fence line without barking back at them. I don't allow them to bark where it isn't needed.
When you take him for walks, take along very tiny bits of dried liver or his favorite treat, and each time he starts barking back at dogs, just stop, kneel down and hold his collar, say ACK, or SHHHH till he stops, then reward him. He will soon relate the other dogs barking as a good thing and will look up at you for his treat for being quiet.

[YorkieMiki]

Well the instructor was telling me something similar to have him kind of get him away from the situ and pull him away while saying "uh uh uhhh!". The problem was is he was not listening to me and just in 'attack mode'. I had to keep him like 30 feet away from the rest of the class and watch from afar to keep him quiet. There are like 11 other dogs in the class and none of them were near as bad as mine... very disappointing.

I spent a lot of time socializing him so I don't get why he has such a problem, when other people have dogs that are just automatically calmer.

It's hard to get him to pay attention to me a all. The minute I walk outside or towards the door for his daily walks, he will start growling or barking.

I thought at first that it was fear based. But it's almost fun for him. He thinks he's a tough cookie... he is like a little napolean LOL. If I have my door open and he can see outside he will bark at a tree moving in the wind and I have to scold him.

I will keep trying, thanks for the advice... He won't pay attention to me when he sees things to bark at (which is almost anything). I am very active and have exposed him to so many situations...maybe I over exposed him? Like I said before he never used to bark, he would just be quiet when I would take him around

I will try anything. A friend suggested a little collar that just vibrates and makes the dog uncomfortable. anyone else with suggestions?

[Teresa Ford]

How to TEACH QUIET

Unwanted barking. Is 99% your fault. Are you thinking, Oh great, blame the parents every time.? Sorry tough love and honesty made me say it.

Training your puppy to be Quiet, is better than correcting your dog after there is a pattern of problem barking.
1. Three Alert Barks are allowed. Say Good BARK. This lets them know they have done their job. You will take care of it from there. Then, Say your cue word for them to stop, always use the same word. We say 'ENOUGH' and when they are quiet, say Good Quiet.


2. Start by teaching your dog these three words Bark, Enough, and Quiet. When you are doing regular things together like, playing ball, when feeding etc. When the dog barks say ’Bark’ this puts a name on the behavior. (or Speak, Talk what ever seems natural to you) Allow three barks. Cue with ’Enough’, I automatically make a slicing motion when I say Enough. I don’t teach this as a hand signal but, people have pointed out I do it every time. So maybe it is a verbal and visual cue for the dog. When your dog gets quiet, Say Good Quiet and reward *.

[Teresa Ford]

If they keep barking cue with 'Enough' wait a few seconds, it takes about 5 seconds for them to understand and do what you ask. Then spray with short swift blast of water. The water is just to break that barking trance. Do not drench your dog. Redirect them if they are fixated on something. As soon as they are quiet, praise with ‘Good Quiet’.


3. You can teach your dog bark on cue. .When they Alert Bark we simply say ’Bark, bark, bark. It only take a few days for a puppy to understand that they can start and stop barking. Barking is something they do and it doesn’t just happen. Like potty training, self control is taught concerning barking too. After a few days of hearing Bark, Enough, and Quiet. Your dog is ready to learn to bark on cue. Just before you feed your dog or give a very tasty treat, cue him with ‘Bark’ it may take a few minuets of dancing and spinning but, he will bark. Praise with Good Bark and reward with the food or treat.

*
This is really important, never reward barking that you DID NOT ask for.
Yorkies are smart. If they learn they can bark when they want to, then stop when you say Enough, then sit and be quietly they will get a treat.. What do you think they will do ? They will bark to get a reward. Good Quiet is simply verbal praise, like good potty, good sit and so on.

Follow this little lesson plan and you will have an amazing well mannered companion. Quietly he will prove he knows all about barking protocol. After all he is a Yorkie and proud of it, and his people have a right to brag about him.

[Yorkiedaze]

Have you taken movies of his behavior? Take them and send to Cesar Milan. He can solve your problem in nothing flat. First off he wouldn't let the dog outside till it was calm, and then you go out first..........always! I think positive reinforcement is better than those collars that vibrate or spurt some kind of liquid in it's face.

[gracielove]

Teresa:
Do you think she should spray the dog while on a walk if he does not respond correctly? Or do you think she should keep him inside until he learns the behavior?

[YorkieMiki]

Teresa so I've read that sticky a few times the past month or so. I've been doing everything on there except when I tell him ENOUGH and QUIET I usually just say NO or QUIET in a harsher tone and remove him from the situation or block him/ distract him. I've done this consistently especially when he barks on walks or sees a dog/person/(or tree lol)

Maybe I just need to continue repeating this over and over and he's too young? He's only 5 months and a 1 week old. I have tried the corrections QUIET, etc like a thousand times already in many different situations so I don't know what's the deal..

I will say this dog is very "watch dog"-like. I've never had one so aggressive. The minute I open the door he will jump out barking. I'll usually tell him enough and quiet then turn back around or not let him out on leash until he has settleed down..which can take a while

As far as spraying with water and doing this on walks, I wonder if he's already just too agitated like someone above said. I take him with me all over the place and am with him most days. He's usually pretty chill, but once a person/dog approaches he will go into 'attack mode'

I think he's a very just got a lot of hormonal aggressive watch dog-like traits right now. Maybe it will go down as I continue to correct him..

PS I'm a guy haha not a yorkie momma!!

[deonk1]

I have a barker.. he is highly reactive to other dogs. originally it was only larger dogs, but now it's just any other dog. We train in agility and I think the atmosphere of other reactive dogs has started to wear off on him.

Here are some of the things I do, cause the above stuff didn't work for me either:

1- we go to a weekly tiny dog class that is put on my trainer. While at these classes while others are working on puppy training, (I've been training with her for 2 years) I work on more advanced stuff and then reward calm and quiet. For me walking away from the issue DOES NOT HELP. So during this class we noticed that if Harley is taken away from me (the mothership, or in your case fathership ) he quiets down. By being with me he gets more tense and wants me to "protect him" he calms down and has learned that if he wants to stay with momma, he has to be calm and quiet, and episodes while in this class and he is taken away from me until he is quiet. This class allows him to build confidence with dogs his size who cannot hurt him if they are rough or loud.

2- If you know the dog he is barking at isn't going to eat him, do one of two things. While in a secured and fenced area, drop the leash. I can almost guarentee you he'll stop barking when he realizes you're not holding him and the other dog reacts calmly, he'll have an OMG WTH momment, and run behind you... if you're not in a secure area and you know the dog wont eat him, then stand there, do not move, or pull on the leash... let him bark (it may take 10 min the first time, so thank the other person for their patience) as soon as he stops say "thank-you" if he decides to turn towards you say "good" or click if you use a clicker. Give a treat if he comes all the way back to you (I'm assuming he'll be pulling on the leash to bark at the other dog). He will likely start barking again, just keep doing this. Eventually it will get worse, and then he'll realize that barking does NOTHING and he gets treats for calmly coming to you. Distinguish between "thank-you" meaning thanks for letting me know there is a dog, and "good" which means you stopped and stayed quiet so now you get a reward.

3- you mentioned you went to obedience classes and you had to stay far away. This is ok. A GOOD trainer will assure to accommodate and help you. I also attend agility classes weekly, and during this class the other 5 dogs stay in the ring, and I have to sit outside the fence. I started bringing a partner with me to help me reward quiet. We stay outside the ring unless it is our turn to work on equipment. I always pick him up to transport him from the quiet area to the actual ring. He usually growls in my arms. I've also started bringing a crate/xpen with me and play crate games while it's not our turn, today was his quietest day yet.

So one thing my coach told me is to pick one battle at a time, I allow him to squeal and growl thus far in my arms. So long as he isn't all and out barking I don't care. Once that improves then I'll attack growling, and squealling.

I'm sorry this is such a book, but it seems like you said traditional stuff isn't working. I am experiencing this right now. I've been doing the tiny dog classes for 4 weeks and I have seen a MEGA improvement. The fact that he is able to learn to socialize with these small dogs allows him to build confidence around other dogs too. (this class has an off lead portion to it where we let all the puppies play together).

Best of luck, if you need clarification don't hesitate to ask, you can pm me too. I have a huge weekly ritual I've been doing to try and work on this barking.

[Teresa Ford]

Originally Posted by gracielove

Teresa:
Do you think she should spray the dog while on a walk if he does not respond correctly? Or do you think she should keep him inside until he learns the behavior?

I think it depends on the age and stage of training the dog is in. A very young pup should not need a spray at all. Use the cue word 'Enough' only and a change of direction. Reward with Good quiet a pet and or tiny treat.

An older dog that has already formed the bad habit of barking and or surging ahead needs to be taught to heel as well as to be calm and quiet on a walk. The quick squirt of water should only be used if needed and AFTER the cue Enough is given and the quick change of direction.

[Teresa Ford]

Hyper Horses wear blinders don't they ? The Hyper Barker.
Some dogs think barking is their only job. You have to teach them (especially) on walks you are the one in charge. Your pup is very young and needs to be desensitized. Practice walking and heeling in a boring minimal distraction area at first, like a long hall, your own house and yard. Praise when he is quiet all on his own too, like when you are just hanging out watching TV, pet him and say good quiet. Good Quiet is a praise cue NOT a do this cue. He needs to learn being quiet and calm is a good thing. Just like you can say Good Sit when he is just sitting because he happens to be sitting. Be patient. Take baby steps in training. Training time is so worth it ! Even if it take three months . Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could do your dishes every day for three months and for the rest of your life the dishes would do them self because you taught them how ? OH YEP that is how training works. Hugs Teresa

[YorkieMiki]

Originally Posted by deonk1

I have a barker.. he is highly reactive to other dogs. originally it was only larger dogs, but now it's just any other dog. We train in agility and I think the atmosphere of other reactive dogs has started to wear off on him.

Here are some of the things I do, cause the above stuff didn't work for me either:

1- we go to a weekly tiny dog class that is put on my trainer. While at these classes while others are working on puppy training, (I've been training with her for 2 years) I work on more advanced stuff and then reward calm and quiet. For me walking away from the issue DOES NOT HELP. So during this class we noticed that if Harley is taken away from me (the mothership, or in your case fathership ) he quiets down. By being with me he gets more tense and wants me to "protect him" he calms down and has learned that if he wants to stay with momma, he has to be calm and quiet, and episodes while in this class and he is taken away from me until he is quiet. This class allows him to build confidence with dogs his size who cannot hurt him if they are rough or loud.

2- If you know the dog he is barking at isn't going to eat him, do one of two things. While in a secured and fenced area, drop the leash. I can almost guarentee you he'll stop barking when he realizes you're not holding him and the other dog reacts calmly, he'll have an OMG WTH momment, and run behind you... if you're not in a secure area and you know the dog wont eat him, then stand there, do not move, or pull on the leash... let him bark (it may take 10 min the first time, so thank the other person for their patience) as soon as he stops say "thank-you" if he decides to turn towards you say "good" or click if you use a clicker. Give a treat if he comes all the way back to you (I'm assuming he'll be pulling on the leash to bark at the other dog). He will likely start barking again, just keep doing this. Eventually it will get worse, and then he'll realize that barking does NOTHING and he gets treats for calmly coming to you. Distinguish between "thank-you" meaning thanks for letting me know there is a dog, and "good" which means you stopped and stayed quiet so now you get a reward.

3- you mentioned you went to obedience classes and you had to stay far away. This is ok. A GOOD trainer will assure to accommodate and help you. I also attend agility classes weekly, and during this class the other 5 dogs stay in the ring, and I have to sit outside the fence. I started bringing a partner with me to help me reward quiet. We stay outside the ring unless it is our turn to work on equipment. I always pick him up to transport him from the quiet area to the actual ring. He usually growls in my arms. I've also started bringing a crate/xpen with me and play crate games while it's not our turn, today was his quietest day yet.

So one thing my coach told me is to pick one battle at a time, I allow him to squeal and growl thus far in my arms. So long as he isn't all and out barking I don't care. Once that improves then I'll attack growling, and squealling.

Thanks for that thorough response. It looks like my dog is similar to yours. He is definitely a feisty littly barker. I don't think he's just protective, he's just an aggressive little guy he loves to bark at people.

Just the other day I was at the gas station and I forgot to harness him into his booster seat. He saw a woman holding a baby and he just darted out of the car yapping and growling at her. She said she actually was scared he would nip her. He doesn't nip though, he just barks and seems aggressive. He's under 3 lbs though so most people just smile when he's barking at them LOL Even on walks he will sometimes start barking at a trashcan or tree....frustrates me.

Here's in response to your numbered recommendations:

1. I will try this. I have not really tried it in the class or with strangers. I guess he is very attached to me.
2. makes lots of sense I will try this. he can calm down with dogs eventually, like he's been around my friends dogs, and though he'll bark tons at first if you put them in a room together he will stop after he gets it all out.
3. yes I will continue with the classes, i think exposure and repetition is necessary

Also, Teresa thanks for your recommendations. I will keep doing the QUIET and no bark. I am now saying quiet then GOOD QUIET as a sort of praise/command. I'm doing this all the time with him. I expose him to lots of situations with people, dogs etc, so he should overcome this.

I have been commending him for being quiet over and over again so hopefully this is starting to catch on in his head

Perhaps I was over exposing him to situations making him bark? I will practice leash walking him more in the house instead of out in the real world...