Train dog to stop barking

tw0nk

Hi All ,

my dog (just over a year old) is barking a lot and Ive had a string of neighbours in complaining, its gotten to the stage now that I may have to look for a new home for her.

Ive tried everything to try get her to stop (throw a cup-full of water at her, bring her inside, even brought her to vet) and the last thing I can think of is one of those collars that emits a high frequency when a bark is detected.

Please dont give out to me for this request as I understand everyone here is an animal lover, but does anyone here know where I could get one in the south dublin area? (rathfarnham,rathmines etc)

Thanks.

carwash_2006

Have you had a dog trainer to help you with this? dogtrainingireland.ie are great for helping with difficult situations. The problem with the collars is that because you don't treat the cause, only the symptoms, the dogs can become acclimatised to any sort of collar and start barking all the time again.

tw0nk

So those collars dont work? Are those dog trainers expensive? Ive always been good with dogs and house training dog etc was no problem but for some reason myself and dog are at a loss here.

carwash_2006

Best thing would be to have a look at dogtrainingireland.ie. They have training courses that you could sign up for or you could see if you could get them out to the house. I don't imagine either option would be much more expensive than the collars, but would be much more likely to be successful.

The collars can work if used under supervision and in circumstances where you already have assessed why the dog is barking and are using the collar as an aid. If you just stick the collar on the dog and leave it to it you will almost certainly find after a time that it loses it's effectiveness.

tw0nk

I follow what you are saying re the collars, im just jumping at whatever solution I can think of at this stage, the neighbours were quite aggressive tonight with me.

Do you have first hand experience of dogtrainingireland.ie?

If worst comes to worse and I have to find a new home for her, Ide like her to go to a family or at very least a dog lover, Im at my wits end here.

carwash_2006

I do have first hand experience of DTI, plus many other people I know who think they're fantastic. Tara and Lisa will be almost certainly able to advise you on the best course of action, then it's just a matter of you being able to follow their advice.

I know what you are saying about rehoming, if you find you can't follow the advise (like if they say someone needs to be there more of the time, it's not always feasible in reality).

Have you tried keeping the dog inside when you are not there? I am assuming that most of the barking is occuring when you are out. If you are out at work for long periods maybe you could arrange with a neighbour to drop in and let the dog out for a bit or better still find someone to take the poor wee girl out for a walk. Most barking like this is a symptom of boredom. But, you would be best advised to have an expert come and have a look at what is going on, advice over the internet without assessing the individual circumstance is not the best way to solve things for good.

Hope it works out for you.

Intothesea

Hello there. If your neighbours are up in arms
about this I would tell them you intend to consult
a dog behaviourist in short order. In the meantime
I'd work on a few basic issues that are most likely
related to it. As Carwash says, boredom is a prime
suspect. Ensuring your dog is walked adequately
(anything exceeding 1 hour in total, broken up
over two or three walks) will cut down on that
contribution. Play sessions with you (one or two,
15 mins each for example, and involving fetching
or the like) will cut down on mental boredom.

If exercise and play are all under control and your
pup is impossible to stop barking once she starts,
the issue is likely lack of clear discipline. Generally
a dog that respects you as the top brass will not
bark in your presence: only your opinion on whether
something is a threat or not really matters. If throwing
water in her face and shouting (dogs usually interpret
shouting as you 'joining in', believe it or not) doesn't
register, I think basic training to establish positive
dominance over the dog is needed. Barking when you're
missing is another issue, but directing it from the inside
(yourself) out is the way to approach it.

A dog trainer will demonstrate quick ways for you
to project control, and advise you on the daytime
barking. Best of luck

kerrysgold

You need to find the cause of the barking. is she bored? lonely? getting enough exersize?
depending on what sort of dog she is, she needs between 30 mins and 2 hrs exersize per day. also, if she is left outside in the garden all the time, bring her indoors and let her be part of the family.