dog barking in need of a trainer.

jay567

Hi all,
I have 2 dogs a german shepard and a mix. The GS keeps barking, since we got her. I have tried everything (and i mean everything) to control this over the last 3 years. I even moved house rather than give her up. But now my new neighbours are complaining and it looks like a court case for us.

Can any one recomend a good dog trainer close to swords in dublin?

Downtime

I can recommend a good trainer but he couldn't be further from Swords - www.wendenkennels.com or the pet behaviour centre in rathfarnaham is good too.

The Pet Behaviour Centre in Rathfarnham
contact: Jim Stephens, 01-4972723
Website:: www.petsbehave.com
Qualified companion animal behaviour counsellor (MSc}. Solutions to your pets problems. Working with families to address their pet problems. Also work with Emily Dogs - who provide assistance dogs for the disabled.

Try http://www.irishanimals.com/care/behaviour.html for more information.

Or get an ASBO slammed on the dog.:rolleyes:

homerhop

Did ya try an electric collar?

jay567

Tried so far (all without fear to the animal)
Moving the areas they are staying.
Citronella, its a lemon scented spray that when they bark sprays lemon towards them from the collar. (only dog on the planet it fails with is a femal GS neutered)
Elec collars.
Dog shrink (only 2 fully qual in ire)
Freeze food over night so keeps them entertained during the day.
Rescue remedy (advised by a pro) small amounts to relax her.
Aternating our work paterns so someone is in the house at diff times.
Abuse (in the right way)
Different patterns for going on walks.

Still nothing. We got her from a pound so dont know the full history. Really dont want to lose her but its getting legal now.

Anyone out there with something im forgetting?

Fuzzie Bear

Try :
Julie Holmes Ch.M.I.A.C.E
ANY BREED
ANY AGE
ANY PROBLEM
Tel/Fax 01-4513324
Mobile: 087-2426738 tagnrye@eircom.net
- Breed Suitability Advice
- Puppy Rearing & Development
- Canine Management & General Advice
- Dog Training Courses
- Basic Obedience
- Competition Obedience
- Problem Solving
- Private Tuition [One-to-One in your Own Home]
- Over 25 years Experience in Training All Breeds
- Nationwide Service
- Gift Vouchers

or else, you can get free training advice here :

http://pet-bliss.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/index.php

delly

http://www.brighterimage.ie/products.asp?CategoryID=3 , but you may have already tried some of these.

jay567

Hi Delly,
I tried the "Bark Free" outdoor thingy, i got it from the states but never worked, may try this one. Thanks.

jay567

Hi Fuzzy bear,
thanks for the details! i just spoke to the lady (v nice) and she was saying that we have done most things already and that she prob wouldnt be able to do much more. But she did give me some solid advise on some new things to try, so fingers crossed.

Thanks again for the help.

peasant

My guess would be that she has separation anxiety, for whatever reason she just can't / won't stay alone for long.

Unfortunately there are no quick fix solutions for that. It takes training and time and your full cooperation. She needs to learn (gradually !!) that it is ok to be alone and that nothing bad happens when you leave. Depending on her history, it might take a lot of traning and a lot of time.

A one-to-one assessment by a good trainer is the only way to go. This case really needs to be judged and approached individually.

Keeping fingers crossed, that a trainer can sort it before the neighbours' patience runs out.

Word of warning though: some dogs just CAN'T be left alone ...even training might not work

Fuzzie Bear

Glad I could be of help !

sensate

We had similar problems with a rescue dog until recently. Not so much barking but pulling so much on a walk that it was becoming impossible to exercise him.

You do need to see someone - we have seen both Julie Holmes and Jim Stephens. Julie was, to be honest, a waste of money - her basic introduction into using trainings discs, clickers and face collars was fundamentally wrong as pointed out by Jim when we saw him several months later. Paddy the dog is now much calmer on walks after weeks of persistence following Jim's advice.

Jim was great - calm and reasoned. Everything he said made absolute sense and the nicest thing about him was that you could see he would have faith in even the most troublesome dog! But as stated somewhere else on this, 5% of this is going to the specialist - the other 95% is your own effort.

Give Jim a try ... definitely worth the trip to Rathfarnham.

jay567

Hi peasant, im not so sure this is the prob, ive read up alot on seperation and the workings and im thinking its not it. (but still could be)

Hi sensate, sounds like you have been through a bit yourself. Any chance of Jims contact details?
A little late im sure, but dog harnesses are brilliant for eager walkers. The slightest pull of the lead pulls their front legs back (nothing extreme) and they soon get used to it.

peasant

Well, whatever it is, separation anxiety or not, after three years of "successful" barking and trying everything, it definitely needs expert advice and commitment.

So good on you for looking for a trainer

sensate

jim's contact details, as posted above by downtime are -
The Pet Behaviour Centre in Rathfarnham
contact: Jim Stephens, 01-4972723
Website:: www.petsbehave.com

Paddy went through 2 harnesses before meeting Jim - our arms used to ACHE after walking him! only thing to control him was a face collar that fits over his nose. just as important was its usage which jim was excellent in telling us about.

jay567

cheers for that sensate. Cheers everyone, lets wait and see.

Baffled

Nothing worse than a dog constantly barking. I have 3 german shepherds and when one of them was a pup, she never stopped barking. What I did was I filled an empty spray bottle with water and every time she barked i would spray her on the nose. It took about 3 weeks for it to completely work but it sorted her excessive barking. Shouting at them just increases the tension and they'll just bark more.

Barking is a form of communication for dogs. You cant expect them to stop forever. But they also have to learn when to bark and when to keep quiet. If my dog barks once for something (say theres someone at the door), I acknowledge her bark and praise her for alerting me. Anything more than a bark or two gets a spray on the nose. Now she knows when to bark and when its not acceptable.

I know its a pain in the ass carrying around a bottle of water. I had to get up several times during the night but its totally worth it.

Hope that helps. I heard lots of people talking about this method and I would be very surprised if it doesnt work.

tagnrye

I am disappointed that the author of the above remarks did not come back to me to air their grievances instead of publishing them in a one sided and innacurate way. Just because a method does not work for one owner training their dog does not mean it should be dismissed. Dogs are like people as in what works well for many may not suit the occassional one.

peasant

tagnrye

It might help your case, if you explained which remarks exactly you are referring to.

tagnrye

sensate's remarks about the training - "Julie was, to be honest, a waste of money - her basic introduction into using trainings discs, clickers and face collars was fundamentally wrong"

peasant

Ahh ..that one ...

Well ...two trainers, three opinions ...nothing new about that.

tagnrye

No most certainly nothing new about that - but the manner if which she expressed her opinion was unfair to say the least, especially when it was only by chance that I stumbled upon it.

EGAR

Hi,

IMHO excessive barking is usually a sign that the dog is very insecure and/or that something is wrong in the pack/dog/human dynamics. I personally abhor the use of electric/citronella collars.

If you want you can PM me and tell me a bit more about your dog.