View Full Version : Barking mad!
Hi guys,
Our puppy is 7 months old he's a good wee pup, however his barking is driving me crazy, in the garden he barks like mad which must drive my neighbours nuts! I've tried going out with him and taking him in when he barks, tried a collar that makes a high pitched noise when he barks that was a waste of money! Over the past week he's been barking like mad through the night, the kids have slept through it so far but I need to nip this in the bud now before it gets worse, any ideas please?
Thanks Deb
Hi Debbs,
Barking is a difficult one to solve. And your dog is still very very young. What breed of dog is he (some breeds are very vocal compared to others)? Is this the first dog you have had? What is he barking at? Is it movement, other animals? Noises? Separation anxiety (is he nervous about being left in the garden or in a room where you are not)? Do you become very anxious when he is barking (if you do, your anxiety will carry on feeding his anxiety or will to protect you)? If he barks for long enough do you "give in" and allow him to sleep in your room or give him what he wants? Are you the "alpha dog" in your family or have you let him become it? You need to try figure out what is triggering the behaviour. Have you thought about working with a trainer to see if they could help you? I know that in Wick there is a man who did good work with a dog I know that was quite boisterous. Unfortunately i don't know his name but could try find it out for you if you want.
The high pitched noise might make a dog that reacts to noise even noisier. There is ( http://www.youronlinepetshop.co.uk/TrainingCollars.htm ) a collar that worked really well on some dogs that bark. It realeases a spray with a citric smell when the dog barks. Dogs do not like the smell at all and also do not like the blast of air close to their head.
What Victoria Stillwell tends to do is use the comand "quiet", put the dog on the lead as soon as he barks, take him to a room on his own until he stops barking. then take him out again. You will have to repeat this time and time again and hopefully he will get it.
If he barks at dogs when you walk him, you need to watch your dog and notice the moment when he spots another dog; then get his attention with treats or a squeeky toy so he doesn't pay attention to the other dog and keep him busy until the other dog has passed.
Praise him and make a big fuzz of it if he's quiet and does things right.
There's no quick fix - it's all about repetition ... repetition ... repetition ...
Make sure he gets enough mental and physical stimulation and is walked regularly. If you start training him now the problem won't carry on into his adulthood. You need to make sure you don't let him get away with certain behaviours, especially in his adolescent period when he will challenge boundaries, as they will be more difficult to deal with when he's grown up.
Hello,
He is a lhasa apso, cavalier king charles cross, watching him in the garden he barks at noises, cats, birds, leaves blowing about in the garden - i have tried to go out and take him in when he barks but the little devil runs rings round me. I bought an extra long lead and i'm waiting for it to come home so that i can let him have run of the garden but i can take him in when he starts barking. I know he understands commands, sit, wait, lie down, and come - he does it when he chooses to.
We take him out for a walk a couple of times a day and he does get off the lead for a good run on one of the walks, another reason for the long lead he does come back sometimes but i get a bit nervous when he gets over excited and doesn't come back straight away, (we only ever let him off on the beach etc never near roads or anything) he doesn't really bark at things alot when out walking, it's worse in the garden.
When we first got him we had a dog cage for him so that our kids knew that when pup went in his cage we had to leave him alone and so that he had somewhere to go that was his, he always went in his cage no bother until one night about a month ago when he barked until 3.30am, i went down to take him out to the garden, gave him fresh water sat with him and nothing stopped him barking then the next night i lasted an hour and let him out the cage and let him sleep in the kitchen, that was the end of the cage. Hes been barking in the early hours of the morning (not evey night though) and i have no idea why, possibly noises or maybe he wants upstairs with us. He has a bed he seems to like, toys, water, there is no way he is getting out of the kitchen at night as he will end up sleeping on kids beds or something. He does come out with us most of the time, he comes with us when we go down south, which is a fair bit, he doesn't bark when we leave him to go shopping or pop out quickly - unless he starts after we've gone, he seems calm when we leave and return.
I will ask around for that guys name,thanks. Maybe the vets surgey will know.
I might try that other collar with the spray.
Thanks for your comments.
Wouldn't recommend spray collars as he needs to learn from you when not to bark; you need to find out the reason why he's barking at everything. Problem is when he's barking he's so excited that his brain is not paying attention to your shouting etc.
Just noticed that The Original Factory shop sells a "Pet corrector" for £5 stating it'll stop barking etc. by emitting a hissing sound - might be worth a try.
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The way you reacted when he started barking the first time made him realise he'll get your attention that way so he kept doing it.
Maybe you should let him have his own bed upstairs so he feels he's still close to you.
You should also start training him to obey your commands using a clicker and treat and make a big fuzz every time he reacts properly to your command - then gradually phase out the treats. You need to be more interesting to him than anything else and he needs to obey when you ask him, not as it pleases him.
When he gets older agility training should be great for him too.
Debs, he sounds like a pretty dominant fella! If you try to consider him as a 2 year old toddler, doesn't he sound like he has figured out how to get his own way? :)
When he is in the garden and you want to recall him, do not run after him. He is getting you to play a fun game of chase! Try get him to chase you while comanding come or whatever command you want to use for come. Once you get him going on obedience and make it fun for him ( and you!), then controlling the barking in the garden might become easier. I also think you need to establish your dominance because he does sound like he is protecting his pack/you from "the evil" leaves, birds and noises. If you are alpha dog, he will take lead from you about what is dangerous .
One way dogs determine heirarchy is the order in which they eat. If you feed him before everyone else, he is alpha. So take a bite of a biscuit in his site, before he eats. If when you come home he is jumping all over you asking for attention and sniffing for news, do what you have to do (like put away the groceries) before making a fuss over him.
When he catches up to you make a fuss a reward. I suspect he is barking at night to get someone from his pack to come and fetch him/give him attention. And it does work. If you take him upstairs to sleep in your room, sleeping in the kitchen will go the same way as the cage.
He is a young dog, but a small breed. They tend to mature more quickly than bigger breeds. So hopefully he will grow out of an exitable teenager and into a more quiet adult sooner rather than later. I am pretty sure that the vets do have lists for obedience classes and I will try find out the name of the man who worked with a friends dog.
By the way, just out of curiosity, does your little guy have a heart murmur? They are very very frequent in cavalier king charles' but as he is a cross hopefully he does not have this problem.
well the extra long lead arrived today so when he is in the garden and starts barking i will say NO then take him in the house and then let him back out when he is calm, will make it fun for him in the garden to take his mind off leaves and birds etc.
( i have ordered a clicker to try using this with him if i need it) I know he is a smart wee thing and i'm sure that with plenty training we will get there.
I really don't want to give him a bed upstairs because i know he will end up sleeping on the kids beds and thats something i don't want, he loves the kids and is always following them about.
At meal times i get us settled at the table to eat then feed pup when we're done, i had read that this was a good routine to get into when you have a dog and so we will continue to do this.
I don't know if he has a heart murmur, would the vet have picked this up at his puppy checks? Should i get him checked?
Thanks Deb
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