My Yorkie watches TV .... and barks at ...
 

CJ watches TV and barks at absolutely every animal; dog, cat, squirrel, horse, bird, bear ..... even cartoons with animals she will bark?? How could she possibly know the difference in cartoon form but she knows. she also will recognize the first two sounds in a commercial with an animal and will run out of the bedroom to go and bark at a commercial because she knows an animal is coming up on the screen. She is so smart. BUT, it is driving me crazy! How can I break this. I have even searched for filters to go on my TV for dogs to no avail. I have tried the coins in a can as well as the squirt bottle, NO, raised voice, whispering calm voice. She is 4 if that helps with ideas. Thanks in advance for your ideas.

Could you mute the T.v when the adds are on. Or give some great playtime or treat to distract her when they come on.

Hello and welcome to YT


For what ever reason, Dexter doesn't always bark at every dog bark on tv.
He does seem to bark when, someone knocks on a door on tv. He does bark at some things on tv but, I can't recall what it was now

You could train her to stop barking on command. I did that with Tibbe and he considers obeying commands a big win for him as he gets a mini Milk Bone or kibble treat and hardy, heartfelt, big-time praise , both of which he's been trained to highly value. We're both equally proud of him when he quits blessing out something once I give him the 'quiet' command/hand gesture as he reaps his rewards! He just bristles with pride in his big win and kind of struts around to say 'see what I just did'!

You could say 'uh oh' and immediately turn off the TV every time she begins to bark at anything on the screen. You could say 'uh oh' and automatically remove her from the room the moment she begins barking, taking her to another room and shutting her in the room. Either way, if you are absolutely faithful and don't let a single bark go by without instant action, after a couple of weeks of this, never missing a single barking session, she will get the message that her barking brings unwanted consequences and begin to restrain herself, as dogs can stop barking anytime they wish.

Funny, yours sounds EXACTLY like my boy. He is seven and I hate to break it to you, I don't see it changing. We love ours like he's one of us, so we don't mind so much. I think it's great that he's interactive and smart. I'd rather him be this way than a bump on a log.

I know, right? I'd rather have an involved dog than one that shows little interest in anything but another dog walking down the sidewalk, his dinner, nap or potty time. But here's some soapbox about training. I'm passionate about it as dogs adore it!

Still, you can have just as involved, happy, feisty a dog as can possibly be, one that has been conditioned by the method of training that doing what you ask is a big-time win for him, and shows great excitement at his big win - doing what you've asked for your sincere praise at his achievement and his paycheck - getting a reward that he values from you. And the training is totally upbeat, fun, totally interactive and involves real teamwork - just the two of you working together to communicate and bring out your dog's achievements and your pride in him. And he feels pride in himself - it's very obvious. It's so much fun to see your dog totally happy with himself, feeling in control and smart, knowing you're proud of him for what he just did. He feels so good about himself when he learns what it is you're working to communicate to him - and you feel it, too. Training your dog to simply do what you ask is so rewarding for both of you and you never come home to a messed up house, chewed furniture or shoes, potty in the big middle of the bed!

I still allow Tibbe to bark a great deal - it's his form of voicing his feelings and why shouldn't get get to do that? A barking dog really doesn't bother me unless they go on for minutes. He barks anytime he wants, appropriately and he's a wonderful watchdog. Now if he growls, low and menacing, I sit up and pay attention! I love to watch him bark out the window as he 'controls' his territory even when indoors. But after a full minute or more of that, after say 11 pm, after I've checked out whatever he's barking at, I love having a dog I can simply say "quiet" to or give a hand gesture and he'll go quiet - because he wants to please me, same as we love to please them with toys, a long walk or fun play. A trained dog like Tibbe wants to do what I've asked more than he wants to continue to bark because he'd rather have my pride and approval and his paycheck reward more than anything and he feels very smart for showing me he knows just what I've asked him to do! He's anything but a bump on a log anytime - he's more aware, just as feisty and terrier-spirited and attuned to life and me than he ever was before training. He's still a black-hearted little terrierist hellion at heart - haha.

But I'm his teammate and we work for each other's pleasure but it's clear he wants my sincere approval and that rewarding paycheck - be it a piece of kibble, a chew stick I hold while he chews it or a squeaky toy I throw for him to chase. If one makes training upbeat, fun, the rewards seem exciting and fulfilling, our dogs would rather do what we ask for our pleasure in them same as we love giving them what they want for simply seeing their pleasure in getting it. If you could see Tibbe, you could see he's no automaton but a happy, in-charge little terrier enjoying his life and a such a joy to live with! Uh - oh, soapbox ran long!!! Sorry!!!!

Same problem. Its worse with the new HD TV"S LOL. Stay away from Animal Planet!

I have worked and worked on the "hush" command. But here's my problem... I tell him to "hush" and he barks back at me in a whisper. I crack up every time!! :)

They are so funny aren't they? Duchess barks if she hears other dogs barking on TV but she will only bark for a few seconds once she has figured out it's the tv. Now my cat loves to watch tv, she tries to attack what's moving on TV.....silly cat:p

Teasell does not bark at the things that interest her on the TV. She will show attention to most animals and stare for several seconds then go about her business. I have seen several cats show marked interest in animals on TV. Had one that would actually get on the TV trying to figure out how to get at birds on the program that was playing at the time.

LOL - I laughed so hard when I read this that when my sister called, a fellow doglover, I read your post to her. We both got a great laugh over your 'hushed' barking little Yorkie boy, so torn in his instincts and wanting to please mommie. How precious is that?!?!?! Yorkies are the most charming breed out there!

Haha... omg. This was too funny. I LOL'd too!! What a smart Yorkie! He's like, "mommy, I did hush". :D

How about doing training / play sessions with treats while the TV is on? The training/playing can distract him and with the treats, he can eventually becomes conditioned to the TV noises?

That little smarty is going to hold out for the 'quiet' command I guess!
:yelrotflm:lol tears:eyetearss Stilll chuckling just thinking about that 'hushed' barking!!!!

I'm kinda wanting to be Tibbe right now....

Kathy (and Morris)

Does your pup know the "leave it" command? I use to when my Cali decides she is going to get aggressive with another dog and it stops her immediately! Of course she gets treats for responding well:D

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Bark-on; Bark-off
 

Having had two previous dogs that were barkers, we were determined to train our new yorkie not to bark, understanding that she is a dog and that dogs do bark sometimes. Here's what worked for us.


After considerable research prior to getting her we decided on a strategy that seems to have worked - mostly. When she would bark we would turn our backs and walk away. Not shushing, not talking, no no-no's. No eye contact. She was ignored. We did this in every circumstance. And it worked. Occasionally she does need a refresher so we do the same thing. We would wait for her to be quiet and then turn back and invite her to join us with a lot of love (no food treats). A couple of circumstances needed special attention - first, the doorbell. We decided it's okay to alert to someone at the door but she has to stop on command. So, we give the sit command and she stops. It took some time, but we have succeeded. Before she got the hang of it, we would without a word remove her from the door so she did not get the reinforcement of the door opening. We do pick her up at the door after a good sit and she gets to see the visitors. The one interesting thing I found is that if there is a stranger at the door she will alert - not barking, but huffing. If I greet the welcome stranger with a handshake she stops. If I greet an unwelcome stranger with no handshake she continues on alert. No matter who it is, she can't lick, jump, etc. Basically, she's ignored until they choose to greet her. Even the grandkids.


Second, with regard to noises - like TV or sudden sounds - we had to employ the same strategy. She's so good now, that even as I am typing they are delivering our new roofing up on the roof with bangs and drops and hammers and she's silent and not even shaking.


Third, was when we would return to her after a time away. She was not greeted until she was quiet. And, no jumping allowed. There are plenty of wiggles and I'm glad to see you's but no jumping or barking.


The other thing we found is that we had to make sure there are plenty of dog appropriate play options available so she's not bored. Bored dogs will find something to do. And if what they want is your attention, they'll find a way to get that, too. Our pup knows now how to bring a toy and sit and wait or sometimes she'll just walk up and look at us with imploring eyes waiting for us to discern her desire. All without barking. Your pup may have decided that this is a social event with you, so the ignoring (turn off set and walk away) might work. Good luck! I know you'll find a way to help your pup find fun and excitement without barking at what my mom used to call the "squawk box". :animal36

He does live the good life but somehow seems to live with the 24/7 burden of living solely to hog all the attention in the room. He keeps me laughing so much every day - he's ALWAYS doing something clever and cute to get his way - my total attention on him. He's always pushing me to train him or play interactive seek games with him which he excels at. I do have to eventually turn him off with a word and stern look or he'd perform all day and night. Tibbe is a born ham.