# Barking help please



## glitzydebs (Jun 10, 2011)

Pushca has just started randomly barking at other dogs and people. Not everyone and not every dog. What can I do to stop it please? Do I shout, and if so what command do I give. I have used STOP and NO but just need some advice. The poor Virgin media man today got her wrath and I had to lock her outside....
Thanks guys


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## Ali79 (Mar 30, 2011)

Beau would bark at us when we came in as she wanted to go out for a walk straightaway and also at people who came to the house. We tried everything from time out to commands but nothing worked. Our local pet shop recommended buying a Pet Corrector which you can also get from Pets at Home. It is a can of air that makes a loud sssshhhhing sound and is £6.99. Beau hated the noise and we only had to do it twice and she stopped barking. She now just runs to the door and bounces up and down but without barking and when people come to the house she is still bouncy but without the awful barking all the time. The man at Pets at Home said they sell a lot and they definitely work which of course it did for Beau


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

Hi, I know the cans do work but it may also be worth trying the 'teach to speak' method where you basically teak them to bark and so then you can control when they bark, with a hand signal. Look up victoria stilwell, I know she uses this type of method and I think a few on here have found it quite useful. Just worth looking into


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## Soo (Dec 16, 2011)

I usually advise the teach to speak then add a shush command. But I usually do have a back up for once the dog knows the shush command and chooses to ignore it because barking is so much more fun and quite often self rewarding. I usually start with dog training discs. They tend to work really well with a food motivated dog and not so well if they arent.

http://www.doggiesolutions.co.uk/mikki-dog-training-discs-1926-0.html

You condition the dog that the sound means he is losing his reward. You do this by putting down a treat and as the dog goes to take it you drop the discs which make a noise as you whip the treat away. You repeat until the dog just looks at the treat and waits for you then you tell them to take it and let them have it. It doesnt usually take many reps for the dog to hate the sound of the discs and they can then be used to interrupt other behaviours. I usually only use them on one thing at a time and sparingly to stop the dog getting accustomed to the sound and then them losing effect.

While I believe that training should be done purely with positives I do believe that once a dog understands totally what is wanted and chooses not to do it then there can be a place for certain negatives. If the discs didnt work then I would be looking at the air can as a possible back up plan to them.

I also think it needs dealt with quickly as it will be becoming more and more of a habit that really needs broken now.


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## Enneirda. (Mar 5, 2010)

Kikipop ROCKS.

If this works, it's a youtube search of 'kikopup' and 'barking' She is brilliant. I think she can really help, take a look! She has vids on barking at objects, people, dogs, doorbells, and odd sounds, among many other great subjects. 

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Kikopup+Barking&oq=Kikopup+Barking&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=545l3243l0l3482l12l7l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0


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## janail (Sep 2, 2011)

The training course we are attending, with Kiaya, uses 'clicker training'. At the last class we brought this up as kiaya has just realised that she can bark and we want to do something about it before it gets too bad. We were told that

1. As soon as she stops barking, even for a second, click and treat. 
2. Remove her from the situation if necessary.

Whatever you do you mustn't speak as the dog thinks that you are joining in with the fun.

We're finding it really good as you are able to praise (click) immediately she gives you good behaviour. We've just been using the clicker whilst grooming her and we really felt as though we were getting somewhere (mind you, there were three of us doing it. One brushing, one clicking and one treating.)

If you don't have a clicker handy you can decide on a sound or word to use in its place Apparently the clicker and sound are interchageable.


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## Soo (Dec 16, 2011)

Clickers are fantastic and I use them all the time in training and have done for about 16 years including teaching classes with them and what you do have to be very careful is that what you are clicking and what the dog thinks you are clicking are both the same thing. Ive seen plenty of supersticious behaviour from dogs who were doing several things when clicked so thought they had to do it all to get the click. 

I would be careful just clicking a seconds quiet as the dog may think the behaviour being clicked is bark, not bark instead of just not bark so leading to an increase in your dog barking at you then stopping to get a click and treat.

If I was going to do that then I would def train the bark to a cue (command) and then train a separate shush cue so the dog got the difference.


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## jackster (Sep 18, 2011)

Archie has started randomly barking at me, i think it is to get my attention. I spend lots of time with him so i don't think it's boredom. I try to catch him to give him time out but he knows now so makes a run for it. I won't try and catch him otherwise he will think it's a game so i just walk out the room. He is left bewildered and does'nt quite know what to do,is this right? Might try a pet corrector.


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## Soo (Dec 16, 2011)

You can either use a house line on him and use it to move him out of the room without looking, touching or talking to him as soon as he barks. Wherever you time out him you must make sure he is quiet before you finish the timeout and dont make a big fuss of letting him out.

Or you turn your back on him and leave the room without looking, touching or talking to him. You are teaching him both ways that if he barks at you he looses your attention when that is what he really wants. You often find that the behaviour gets a bit worse before they give it up as it has worked for them for a while so they get a bit more determinined with it but as long as you keep up the ignoring he will get the message and stop.

Ive done this with the girls from the start and while they still have a yap at times its getting less and less frequent and stops quickly.


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## Pollypiglet (Oct 22, 2011)

Hattie is the most 'talkative' dog I have had, she often grizzels and makes a funny annoyed bark if things are not going her way. Only problem is I can bark louder than she can so usually I win ( thats if I'm not having a laughing fit!)


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## glitzydebs (Jun 10, 2011)

Thank you I will try that. She is starting to bark much more now even at 3 this morning at a fox she (imagined) or otherwise in the garden. Now she barked to be let back in whereas before she would sit before I opened the back door. And we are talking 2 minutes outside. Hardly hours like some poor dogs.


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## Soo (Dec 16, 2011)

Oh the girls have tried the bark to get back in one on me too. The rule is the door isnt opened unless they are quiet. I figure the neighbours are better listening to it for a while at the moment and then it stopping than have the dogs bark forever more to get in. It is working, the barking is getting less and less each day.


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