Barking Issues

:pawprint: Hello everyone! :)

I have a six & a half year old black lab/shep mix. I was hoping I can find some way of calming her barking. Casey barks at everything & anything she hears or sees. :frustrated:

When Casey was a pup I taught her how to speak & I almost regret it now. ;) Everyone jokes with me saying, "well you're the one that taught her how to speak" Hmmmmm Is there a humane way of getting her to quite down a little?

Thanks so much! :thumbs up

A Victor ~ Not A Victim
NiNa :pawprint:

Is there a humane way of getting her to quite down a little?

teach her QUIET or NO BARK. you taught her TO speak, now teach her to be quiet when asked.

Some people also suggest not to yell the command because they think you're joining in the barking...

teach her QUIET or NO BARK. you taught her TO speak, now teach her to be quiet when asked.

Thanks! I already taught her quite & no bark but it's like she just doesn't want to listen anymore. The older she gets, she can be very stubborn at times. What do you think about using a muzzle?

A Victor ~ Not A Victim
NiNa

Muzzles are NOT to be used to prevent barking.
You would have to put a muzzle on extremely tight to prevent her from barking, and it would impede her breathing, keep her from drinking, and hurt her nose.
If you're having trouble with your dog listening to you, the barking isn't the problem the not listening is the problem. Your dog doesn't feel you're worth listening to. She has no incentive to listen to you.
You should probably seek out a professional trainer to teach you how to get her to listen if it's that big of a problem. Try to find a trainer that can explain pack leadership and doesn't use harsh methods and negative reinforcement to get the dog to obey.

Also, get some books that explain pack leadership and how to teach your dog that you're worth listening to.

The only one I can think of offhand is Cesar Millan's book, but it's not the best one out there, so maybe someone else will have some recommendations.

:pawprint: Thanks!

We've already established that I'm the Alpha. She does listens for the most part. It's when the mailman is coming or the UPS truck things like that is when I can't get her to stop barking. :dog:


A Victor ~ Not A Victim
NiNa :pawprint:

Get a shaker can full of pennies. It worked for me. Soozie used to bark incessantly and now she is allowed to warn her pack with 1 or 2 barks and that is it. She is really good at it and it only took us a few weeks for her to catch on.

Now this is just my opinion but,I wouldn't say that teaching him to "speak" is the cause of all his barking.

I have taught all my dogs to speak on command.And they only did it when I asked them to.And none of them became barkers.I also gave them the 3 bark.That means that after 3 barks,I would say "enough" and they would stop.It got to the point where I didn't have to say "enough"..It's like they knew they had to stop after 3...To me,dogs need to bark.It's their nature to do so.But it's us who need to limit the barks.

You say that she does this most when the mailman or UPS truck comes.Well this could be a territorial thing.She may be barking to protect her territory(home) and protect you.

Is she left out all day when no one is home?..Does she spend alot of time outside alone?

I would definately not use a muzzle.This will not stop her from barking.

I have to agree with MyBirdIsEvil,the barking is not the problem here,it's the not listening.

Thanks we3beagles! :) I'll give a shaker can a try. :thumbs up


Thanks mona for your opion as well! :)
To answer your question about if Casey is left outside all day, NO she's an inside dog & is rarely ever left by herself! :love: I consider my dog as if she were my daughter! I thought maybe I spoiled her too much & family members would often say to me " Casey is lucky to have you as her master"

I do agree & think she does carry on this way to protect her territory and to protect me. She is very protective of me!

We've already established that I'm the Alpha. She does listens for the most part.

That may or may not be the case, but your dog either doesn't understand the no speak command well enough, doesn't feel an incentive to listen, or doesn't feel you're paying attention.
The first 2 I'm sure you can figure out by reading some training advice how to fix.
Maybe she doesn't feel you're paying attention or that you have everything under control.
She could be barking at all these things to say "hey! don't you understand! there's someone there!". She may not feel you're aware enough of the situation on your own and that she has to warn you. You have to make her know that you're aware of EVERYTHING around you and she has no reason to warn you.

How do you react when she barks? Do yell at her to stop? Do you ignore her? If you yell at her she may feel you're joining in the barking and think there's something wrong. If you ignore it she might think you're not aware of the "danger".
When she barks, try calmly calling her over to lay down and make her stay there until whatever she's barking at is gone. Then reward her for being calm and quiet.

The can of pennies thing may work, but some dogs just learn to ignore it after awhile. If you use it then reward them for being quiet, some dogs learn that if they bark you shake the can and then they get a treat. I'm not saying don't try it, but it doesn't always work if the dog's very fixated on something.

do agree & think she does carry on this way to protect her territory and to protect me. She is very protective of me!

I still suggest you do more reading on pack leadership. A dog that tries to protect "her" territory and "her" people doesn't see you as pack leader. It is YOUR territory, and YOU are the one in control of yourself, not the other way around. If she's being overprotective of you or your territory, she thinks she is the one supposed to be in control of things because you can't handle it yourself.
Pack leader should be in control of all situations, and the other dogs should have no reason to be on alert or overprotective.

The reason I asked if she was left out alot is that dogs that do tend to become barkers....But that's not her case...:)

There is absalutely nothing wrong with her being protective..It's their nature to protect us.BUT,it's up to us to reasure them that everything is ok.

I have raised GSD's for 23 years now..And trust me,they were very protective...My current GSD is a retired Police Dog,and times thinks he is still working...:rolleyes:

He is very protective of us...But we reasure him that everything is ok.Dogs have different barks...He has a bark that tells us that somethings not right.He also has his bark that tells us someones coming..But when we check things out and it's ok,we let him know..We'll say,it's ok Tron.Then he will just wonder off and do his own thing.

You just need to reasure her....:)

My dog Soozie gets very fixated on things when she barks. She is not easily distracted and doesn't even hear me when I say "no barking". The shaker can merely got her attention and distracted her enough for me to give her that command. Plus she hates the sound of it and associated a negative response to too much barking. I only used it when she barks more than 3 times and now after 2 she waits for me to give her the "no barking" command and quiets down. She knows I heard her alert and is satisfied with that. In no way is she confused about who is alpha. She simply needs the puppy equvilant of Paxil as she is a bit compulsive and fixates on things. In most other things she listens extremely well. We are working on a few other issues as well, but that was by far the most annoying and the easiest to fix.

Thanks Mona! :thumbs up

Reassuring her works like a charm. :)

He is very protective of us...But we reasure him that everything is ok.

It's ok for a dog to be protective, there's nothing wrong with that. The problem is when the dog keeps barking and barking and doesn't stop even when you tell them to. My chow-mix emits a low warning bark a couple of times and then looks at us. When we say "it's ok" she stops. Either way if we tell her to shush she stops. If a dog doesn't stop it feels you're not in control of the situation.
Another example. I used to have a rottweiler, and normally she wouldn't bark at much if I was there. If someone walked up behind me without saying anything though, it triggered her to growl because she wasn't sure if I knew the person was there. It was a situation she thought I wasn't in control of, but once I turned around and said hi to the person and acted friendly she was fine.

I let both my dogs bark warnings, and there's nothing wrong with that, but once the dog is reassured it should stop, because it knows you're in control of the situation.