Barking/Talking

[Nancy Ramos]

Hello. I am new to the group. My girl Freya is 8 months old. She loves and constantly barks. As soon as she goes outside, two other dogs with her. She will stare at the door and non stop bark. If she wants out of her crate, she will keep barking. Sometimes, it looks as the two older dogs are actually setting her up. "you keep barking" then we all get let back inside....  Any room I go in, if she cant follow, she just keeps barking. My co workers tell me to use a shock collar. I don't think I could do this. She is kinda crazy, absolutely fun and beautiful. I actually joined after reading the post about letting the dog have free roam of house. Some of the comments sounded just like Freya. I have enjoyed this website for a very long time. Thanks before hand for any comments. Nancy

[Teresa]

Helo Nancy,

Welcome to the site!

I am no expert, but I would not go with the shock collar for sure! Have you tried ignoring her until she stops barking and then reward when she quiets for a second? you might even try to add a  "quiet" command in time - I'm sure this would take a long long time, but i'd try it before shocking my dog!

I'm sure someone will either explain this a lot better or have another idea, because I'm no expert and have never had this problem that serious, but Pitanga understood quite fast that barking would not make me play with her - I'd drop the toy and turn my back on her every time she barked - in 2 days she gave up barking and has played quietly ever since.

[Nancy Ramos]

Thanks Teresa. No, I would never use that collar. I'm going to try even more exercise. back in another life, I use to show Bernese mtn. dogs, have taken classes with dogs etc. I've tried many things with her already, to no avail. She was just put in her crate to relax, after barking non stop at the cat, who ignored her.  I'm sure we will work it out.Thanks for the welcome.

[silvia]

i was really worry about oberon barking, since we leave close to other neighboroods. Since he was a puppy, we followed maniacally the usual approach to avoid ansiety separation: everytime you go out of home/of a room etc never look at him, just turn your shoulder and leave (dont give cuddles, etc, or say him something just before you leave). When you go back, never go to greet him first: just go in another room, change your clothes, do whatever you want and 5' later go to say goodbye to him..

 

i think the idea is that the "pack leader" (=you) is supposed to go in and out without to give any explanation.. whatever this means;)

 

is a bit difficult to ignore a little puppy, but it worked wonderfully for us: now oberon is 15th months and he  really doesnt care if somebody enters/leaves/rings the bell, or if there are noises outside. you can see that is just not his business..

 

as for a dog who's is already barking, a friend of mine has this problem and consulted a dog trainer. He suggested to ignore him if barking, eventually taking him in another confined room (so he knows that barking means "its over"- they have a space downstairs with washing machine, etc and they take him there.. seems to help..)

 

I am sure other more experienced people will give you lot of better advise - I hope it helps!!

 

I dont see how a shock collar can stop barking..

 

[Nancy Ramos]

Thanks Silvia. Your comments and suggestions really helped. I have done exactly as you said not to. As soon as I get home I go right to her, give her the cute voice and love on her. I will stop that to help anxiety separation. I will incorporate everyone's suggestions. Thanks again for your response.

[Susan Stone]

Hi Nancy

You are not the only one to experience 'a barking issue' and it is certainly not an easy one to resolve. I'm afraid there are no 'quick deals' ie fast remedies like shock collars that I could recommend.

I am at this moment dealing with a young Maltese and a young Jack Russel Terrier in my training classes with a barking issue. The question asked was similar to your own: what should I do to stop him/her barking?

Before I gave an answer to this question I met the dog & owner and had a chance to assess the dog's general behaviour. I had over an hour of watching both dog and owner interacting during the course of a lesson. During that time I also gave the owner the opportunity to tell me about the situations in which the dog starts barking.

What I try to do first is assess WHY the dog feels the need to to bark. I need to know the motivation for barking before I can suggest a remedy and I need to see the dog with my own eyes to be able to assess both dog & owner.  Treatment/recommendations depend on the underlying cause for the behaviour.

Very often fear is a cause for unwanted barking - especially when barking at other dogs or people. Fearful barking may never be treated with by punishing the dog, neither may the dog be reassured in the moment of fear. The dog must be taught that there is nothing to fear and then barking will stop.

Barking in the home can also be territorial behaviour. Unwanted territorial behaviour is another issue altogether and here again the training protocol is a different one.

It is quite possible that you are experiencing what is termed attention seeking behaviour. Many dogs bark for attention and very quickly learn that they receive it. They receive attention even when the owner thinks he is punishing the dog by telling him off and shouting at the dog. These dogs will stop for a few seconds and then resume...

The way forward would be to take small steps at a time and reward you dog for quiet and appopriate behaviour. You will probably need the help of a professional trainer who can tell you when you are unknowingly rewarding your dog for unwanted behaviour without being aware of the fact (sometimes just by looking at the dog, talking at the wrong moment, reacting to him in any way).

Sorry this reply is long... I am trying to explain why it is not possible to give you a simple: "DO THIS" reply.

You and maybe others will now see that it is not possible to assess the underlying cause of your dog's barking on an internet forum like this. However it is a good question and I hope my reply has still been of some help. 

I see you live in the US and I am sure you could find a recommended trainer who deals with behaviour issue in a kind manner without resorting to the use of electronic devices.

  

[silvia]

I though there  were good experienced people around , in fact Susan intervened:)

 

I forgot to add that the friend of mine who was suggested to confine the dog, did this after consulting a dog trainer.. this person went to their house for half a day and had a look at the environment and at the dog behaviour in different hours/situations, trying- exactly- to assess the cause of the barking.. is probably the best thing to do: trying to assess case by case..  

[Nancy Ramos]

Hi Susan, Thanks for your wonderful response. I do believe her actions are for attention. If she wants to come back  in the house, if she wants the ball sitting near the other dog, if she wants to aggravate the cat that keeps ignoring her, if your telling her no and talking to her etc. she will just continue to bark. She has to carry something in her mouth at all times. So, she has her ball and then will lay net to me and be calm. As soon as I start to walk, she tries to jump on me and grab my feet- herding me. Some of this is funny as she is so cute, but she is now 8 months. I know these behaviors will not be cute for long. I am going to try to find a class. Thanks again.

[Sue and Cash]

Hi welcome Nancy

I have had very barky irish and then some quiet ones.  My current dog only barks when he gets very excited while playing with other dogs.  He is very quiet at home.  In the past I asked for help with my last dog and he barked constantly in the car which made for very unenjoyable trips.  I would love to hear if you have an success with stopping this unwanted behavior. 

[Nancy Ramos]

Morning Sue, Thanks, I will let you know as things get better. When I was in my 20's we had irish setters. I don't remember this barking issue ever. Since I read the forum about "too old to have an Irish" I do not think it's me. She is just a major talker. Determined to try all suggestions...   have a good day.