Since we all hate barking dogs.....

[jrgwdenner]

please share your tricks for helping a dog to stop barking. Greta is a wonderful dog but she does bark whenever she sees another dog or hears something suspicious. I think she does bark only when we're around. She usually goes into hibernation when we're gone and hides. She is truly a major wimp.

[DHenry]

During the obedience training we took our last dog to (a Rotweiller) the instructor taught us that we should have at the ready a lime juice bottle (plastic)and when our dog barked when it should not, we should then firmly say "Duke, no bark! then at the same time we should give him a quick squirt of the lime juice aimed at his mouth. The lime juice won't hurt him and he really did not like it so after a few squirts and the command no bark he did not do it any more. Now our little Lexi learned without the juice, she stops at the command.

[jrgwdenner]

Lexi is just a sweet little dog, Doug. I may try that trick with Greta. She'll probably start to like lime juice! Thanks.

[Dustytuu]

Our dog trainer told us not to use lemon or lime juice because if some should get in their eyes it could do some damage.

We bought two very mild bark collars. Soon as our dogs found out what the collars do when they bark, we took the batteries out and they don't know. Works and doesn't hurt them. When we are expecting company we put the collars on and they don't bark. Also the head collars also work to help control them when out in public. They are better behaved when they have those on. Lead well too. Doesn't hurt either. Another name is "gentle leaders" Works like "power steering!!!"

[jrgwdenner]

Dusty, we've considered an electrical collar for Greta. She also chases cars in our cul de sac and needs a wake up call for that behavior, which is much more serious. I think we'll invest in something like that which will help her.

[trukdoc]

At petsmart and petco they have shock and chemical collars all are effectice. We have the shock collar, we have all large dogs. We also have the collars that go with a radio fence.

[DHenry]

The lime juice never hurt any of the dogs in our class. If they did get some in the eye it may sting for just a bit, but we never noticed any of the dogs that they were training this way have a problem with it getting in the eye. I have never been fond of shocking a dog to get it to mind. I never liked getting shocked so I suppose that is the reason I will not use that method on any of my pets to train them, there are so many other ways to do it without shocking them into doing what you want them to do. Obedience classes are worth there weight in gold. JMHO.

[exav8tr]

I was a Beta tester for a Citronella collar for one company. It seemed to work at first but then I think my dog got used to the smell as it didn't deter him after awhile. Samson also went thru obedience 101 and learned the "no bark" command, but it only seems to work when we are with him. Maybe he flunked OB 101. Love him anyway, even with his faults as I probably have many more than him.......Aren't dogs great????????

[Ozzie]

I really do appreciate an owner that is concerned or even aware of their animals behavior. The owners that think it's cute when their animal is misbehaving apparently have blinders on to not realize it could be creating a problem.
I've had mostly dogs nearly all of my life and for the most part, they want to please their owners. Most of their behavior is learned either by training or lack of it (still training). A dog can be trained not to bark (best done at an early age), but lack of enforcement from other family members can quickly undo the efforts.
These bark collars and squirting also do work, but the animals usually are smart enough to know when they're not present and can act accordingly.

This is a tricky proposition to curb your animals barking. Your animal may respond and it may not. Use the desire to please it's owners to your advantage. If they can learn barking makes you unhappy, they can also form a new habit not to bark. Be persistent.
Training classes are good too - for both owners and pets.

[Tincup703]

I use an electronic bark collar on my German Shepherd. GSD's are notorious barkers as they are very naturally protective and will basically bark at anything that moves.

My dog learned after only getting zapped by the collar twice not to bark. Without it on, he barks his head off, put on the collar and he immediately stops barking. Dogs are a lot smarter than most people give them credit for.

FYI, if you decide to use an electronic bark collar, buy a professional training collar and not one of the flashing blue light el-cheapos! And remember folks, these things work on low voltage batteries and poor little poopsie is not going to get electrocuted!

[jrgwdenner]

Tincup, Greta's problem is that she is too smart. She now knows that is she tolerates the spray bottle (plain water) for a while she can resume her bark and then wipe her face on the carpet. But she is sensitive and I think a little buzz from a shock collar will get her attention quickly. We have been thinking about using one to deter her from chasing cars at the stick house which is our main concern. Thanks, everyone, for your hints. We are blessed by our pets.

[simonsrf]

quote:Originally posted by jrgwdenner

We are blessed by our pets.

Judy,

May I also suggest; "Pets are blessed by their owners"?

When we met Greta, she was very well behaved and a pleasure to be around, thanks to her owner’s diligence and attention....and you are still looking for solutions to obedience problems! Thank you.

Typically, the bark collars do NOT have a button that you can push when Greta is chasing cars. The collar only works when they are barking...the barking is the trigger for the shock.

I once used an invisible fence for my Springer spaniel. While the collar was on, and she got within 2 feet of the boundary wire, the collar would give an audible warning with NO shock. She would walk the boundary wire until she no longer heard the warning (she'd wear the battery down) and then she would breach the fence line.....so, IMHO there is no solution to a smart dog except an intelligent owner.

I understand why there are so many bad dogs; there are too many people who don't care about their pet’s behavior or the effect those behaviors have on other people. In my opinion, the owners are the culprits, not the pets.

Robbie

[jrgwdenner]

Thank you, Robbie, for your kind comments. Greta is a really good dog and brings us a great deal of joy. She is impulsive though and it becomes a safety issue. When she is in the truck, she would probably defend it to her death. If we're driving, she'll jump around, even in her "seat belt", trying to get to see a dog on the sidewalk. This can be distracting to the driver and therefore dangerous. It's the same with chasing cars. She won't listen to us. In fact, if we call her, she believes that we're joining the chase and becomes more vigorous in her pursuit. Greta actually chased a truck when we were at Quartzite and put herself and another dog in danger. Scarey!

I thought some of those collars had a remote control that would give her a buzz. She's so sensitive that it won't take much.

[Ozz]

Thank you for caring, good luck with it.
Ozz

[DHenry]

Dustytuu, I hope that you do not think I was accusing anyone of mistreating their pets by using the shock collar to train them. I only stated that method was not my choice of training. Yes I do use a seat belt harness but that is not the subject of this post.

[simonsrf]

Dusty & Don,

I just went through and read all of the posts again, and I have to agree with Doug, no one accused you of mistreating your animals.

If there is something I might have said that upset you, I apologize; but my comments were for Judy and her dog, and your reading enjoyment. Every one else was speaking from thier own experiences.

Who got back from the hospital from surgery?.....you or one of your animals?

Robbie

[HomeOnTheRoad]

Please understand everyone has the right to post an opinion. I do not see anyone accusing anyone. The idea is to share thoughts and ideas. Let's keep it civil so we do not have to lock this thread. Thank you.

[prariepoodle]

I do not believe that this topic should be locked because there are some very good idea's posted here and I am sure that there are more out there. I have to try some of them on my kookie, most of the time he minds I can tell him no bark or most of the time I just tell him to shut up and he will for a little while and then something will make a noise and you guessed it he is at the door barking his little head off. Many years ago I was holding a CB antenna and It was too heavy for me and I got it into a power line and got the shock of my life, so I don't think I could use the collars either but have got to try the lime juice.

I for one have learned a lot from this topic so I say please don't lock it. I have learned about crates and lime juice and seat belts and some other things.

[315RLS]

We have a Golden Retriever who can be a barker. The first one we've ever had this problem with in 35 years with the breed so I guess we can count ourselves lucky on unlucky depending on how you look at it :-). Anyway we use a Citronella Anti-Bark Collar, the same as in this url, http://www.muttmart.com/CitronellaBa...FQksYQodoGXPRA
not sure where we bought ours from but it does work great. It is a bit comical to hear this girl mumble versus bark when we need to put it on her. We don't have to turn it on (has an on/off switch), just having the collar on now serves the purpose.

[Tom Gina 06]

We have used the shock collar but now all we have to do is take it out and Mr. Bailey shuts right up and gives us the look.