NA - Training a dog not to bark
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MooneyDriver78
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Tom
I had a dog (not mine) start chewing on my shoes today, I gently put my hands underneath his chin and pulled him up. Problem solved.
You can be firm but not confrontational.
colojo
Line Up and Wait
I've heard that holding a crucifix up to the dog's face can stop Transylvania Hounds from barking.
Bella sure is a beautiful pup. We adopted a German Shepherd last year. He's 13 months old now. Thankfully he's not a barker. Good luck!
Bella sure is a beautiful pup. We adopted a German Shepherd last year. He's 13 months old now. Thankfully he's not a barker. Good luck!
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SoonerAviator
I don't think he's trying to stop the dog from barking permanently, lol. I think he just wants to stop the barking for "no reason". I've got a golden retriever, and he doesn't bark at all unless:
1) someone he doesn't know is ON/NEAR the property
2) warning bark to a cat/dog/other large critter if they are near property line
3) he is at the back door and wants to be let in
Amazingly enough I didn't really "train" him to do that, it's just what he does. If he is barking at someone walking by, I just tap him on hind quarters and he'll relax. Before he went deaf, I could just tell him to hush and he'd remain on point but just woof under his breath, lol. In my opinion, he barks in exactly the situations where I want him to.
I have plenty of friends who have dogs which bark like crazy when they are letting people into their home (no sign of distress by friends), or bark at every noise. They yell at the dog, the dog ignores it and finally settles down after a minute or two then inevitably starts up again at the next noise. I'd reconsider having a dog if that's the way it would always be.
Ted
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iFlyNothing
A lot of people don't spend much time around dogs or research the tendencies of the breed before buying or adopting one, then they have issues. Of course some of this is a learning process but it's easy to fall into the trap of dog = dog, when that's really not the case.
Years ago (when he was popular) I read Cesar Milan's book. A lot of people have issues with Cesar and his techniques, but like most things I found if you read it and analyze there's some good material in there. His techniques I found normally worked better on more alpha type dogs rather than a lot of the typical lab/home breeds. Hounds bark, just kinda who they are but some training can be done.
One thing that he emphasized that I think does apply is that a dog needs a job. Not true for all dogs (like people...) but a lot of dogs like having a job if you can find one and teach it what its job is.
If we could just teach them to talk they wouldn't have to bark at us.
Last night I was sitting downstairs watching a movie that went a little past bedtime. Our Doberman walked downstairs and barked at me to tell me to go to bed. He then waited for me until I walked upstairs, then he followed me and went straight to his bed.
Last night I was sitting downstairs watching a movie that went a little past bedtime. Our Doberman walked downstairs and barked at me to tell me to go to bed. He then waited for me until I walked upstairs, then he followed me and went straight to his bed.
Agreed.
I've been trying to teach mine to do oil changes but it's just not working out....
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SoonerAviator
Hank's job consists of getting the mail (and newspaper back when that was a thing) as well as carrying in groceries from the truck to the kitchen. Oh, and letting the 4yr old/1.5mo old pet him too hard or lay on him, lol.
Very good points in your post. I just returned from a training session with my hard-headed Spaniel... she is 2. Her "Crime" is that she gets too far out and doesn' respond to a verbal "stay close"... as soon as I put the "Shock" collar on (I don't shock her, i have it on the lowest setting, which again is more like a tap on her shoulder)... I tapped it once...and viola' she was an angel for the rest of the session. It really does work and to your point, "IN THE RIGHT HANDS"... shocking a dog for punishment can have massively bad consequences.
Matthew
Touchdown! Greaser!
I was chatting with a buddy's neighbor. He had 2 dogs that he let run loose, each had a shock-collar and he had a remote on a lanyard. The dogs were trained to return whenever he buzzed them. He said he could select the collar to buzz and dial up the voltage as necessary
He said, "Watch this!" One of his dogs was underfoot, but the other was running around in the back yards somewhere. He buzzed that dog, but it didn't come back. He buzzed it again. Then he dialed up the voltage and buzzed it again. He turned it up to full, but the dog didn't return. Eventually the dog right next to him started whimpering. Then he said, "Oh, ****!!! Wrong dog!"
Don't be that guy.
He said, "Watch this!" One of his dogs was underfoot, but the other was running around in the back yards somewhere. He buzzed that dog, but it didn't come back. He buzzed it again. Then he dialed up the voltage and buzzed it again. He turned it up to full, but the dog didn't return. Eventually the dog right next to him started whimpering. Then he said, "Oh, ****!!! Wrong dog!"
Don't be that guy.
FormerHangie
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I was thinking the same thing, if you get a hunting hound breed dog, it's going to bark, that's what they do. If he'd gotten a greyhound, they seldom bark. It's sort of like bringing home a Siamese cat and trying to get it to stop meowing, that's part of their nature. That, and being difficult.
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jsstevens
The lack if opposable thumbs just complicates everything.
Ted
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iFlyNothing
I was thinking the same thing, if you get a hunting hound breed dog, it's going to bark, that's what they do. If he'd gotten a greyhound, they seldom bark. It's sort of like bringing home a Siamese cat and trying to get it to stop meowing, that's part of their nature. That, and being difficult.
Exactly. Our greyhound really never barks. World’s worst guard dog.
When I had a Rottweiler and Akita they made an interesting pair.
Rottie: barks at lots of things. Super friendly, loved people. Great guard dog, but not defense/attack dog
Akita: sit there, silent, never barked. Would wait for a criminal to get into the house and then kill him.
They made a great pair. Bark AND bite. The Akita was too smart for her own good though. Our greyhound is dumb as a brick.
Matthew
Touchdown! Greaser!
My brother had a Doberman that didn't bark. But if you messed with my nephew (he was a baby back then) you would hear a very quiet growl, and feel hot breath on the back of your neck.
SixPapaCharlie
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Sixer
An interesting thing we have discovered in our house. MY son is now as tall as me and he and I wrestle and roughouse.
One day he was practicing his karate and I fake fought him and we quickly learned our largest doq will "attack" anyone on offense in a fight.
Meaning I can walk up to my son and start pretending to punch him and my big dog will rush me, get in my face and bark.(He is clearly distressed and we don't do this much but we experimented a couple times)
Whomever was "throwing" the fake punches ended up on the receiving end of my dog Tiger barking at them. Never trained him to do such things but it seems he has an instinctual protective nature. Could be fear that his Alphas are going to get hurt or something. I don't know but it is somewhat comforting that in our anthropomorphistic view of him, he seems to want to protect us.
455 Bravo Uniform
Final Approach
This might sound stupid. Use the word NO! when he’s on a vocal tear, and if he stops for a second or two, even simply because you distracted him, reward him with praise and a tiny training treat. Slowly back off the treats. Then slowly back off the praise. Keep the word NO! This might take a few weeks.
Ted
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iFlyNothing
I know I don't need to tell you this - that is both a good thing (dog will come to your aid should there be a true aggressor) and also something to watch out for (dog may falsely identify an aggressor and cause harm to a neighbor). If a dog ever does actually bite someone who's not understanding about dogs, even just a nip that doesn't actually leave a wound, it usually means they get put down if it's reported. Not trying to worry you, but there are a lot of people who don't understand dogs at all and those people tend to call animal control a lot.
When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle had a dog who was extremely protective. In her case, she viewed hugs as an attack. So you had to be careful to make sure that hugs weren't in view of the dog. I got bit by her a few times.
I guess at this point I've been bitten by dogs more times than I can count or remember. Throw in some cat scratches and bites for good measure as well. In animal rescue it happens sometimes. Doesn't bother me unless the dog is actually aggressive without cause, which is rare.
Sounds like the perfect pet. Intelligence is way overrated in a family pet. Very often, the people I know with dog behavioral issues have really smart dogs but nothing to keep them properly stimulated.
Ted
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iFlyNothing
Agreed. My akita was very smart, and it was a problem. The same goes for birds, most of them are too smart for their own good.
The creepiest dog behavior I ever saw was when I went to go meet with a client at his house. He had this very large dog. I don't recall what it was. Maybe a larger German Shephard or Rhottie. It went crazy when I knocked on the door (ok, not unusual.) When I came in and sat down, it just laid quietly at its owner's feet, and I pretty much just forgot about him. But when I said good bye, and reached for the door handle to leave, the dog just leaped up and lunged at me, and I mean it wanted blood. Fortunately, the owner was expecting it, and had grabbed his collar at the last second. It took his whole body to hold the dog back. I guess that's great dog behavior if you are keeping abducted girls in a well in your basement.
My brother-in-law had a Belgian Sheepdog. Those dogs are wicked-smart. She was a great dog, and sweet. But she was trouble. She would hatch plots, like barking at the front door to make them think someone had arrived so she could double back and grab the birthday cake off the counter. (True story.) Definitely had to be on your game around that dog.
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
Yeah, I only do civil work. No criminal. I didn't know the guy at all, which is typical for insurance defense work where we are retained by the carrier to defend their policy holder. Of course, nothing says serial killers can't buy insurance.Knowing your profession....