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farmergurlyo

Ratastic

09/03/2008 6:45 PM
getting my puppy (finally) in about a month and just realized i never took barking into consideration! i'll have neighbors that i'm sure don't want to have some crazy dog next door lol any ideas/suggestions/products that work on controlling barking?

Ashley~ mommy to rattie kairi

ivy

Bratty Ratty

09/03/2008 7:56 PM
Ivy only barks to alert me to strangers and I taught her from the very beginning (8 weeks) the word enough and that meant thanks for the stranger danger alert but I can take it from hear.

michelle_custer

Rat-A-Tat-Tat

09/03/2008 11:54 PM
mine only bark when they see a cat there not to fond of them or when they see someone they dont know or someone knocks at the door but they know when enough is enough

My Rats are my babies and I wouldnt trade them for anything in the world

storm

Ratterific

09/04/2008 6:44 AM
Absoultely! From the beginning, teach a word or short phrase that means stop. Praise them well when they do. (Clicker training is a beautiful thing for this.) Rip barks at cats and the door, but when I say "quiet" he sits and waits, looking at me. (This was especially interesting to train with him, since we have a big-mouthed GSD who likes to back him up whenever he makes a sound, lol!) I attached the sit response to the command as well, as it's harder for him to bounce and be...um...threatening?...when he is sitting.

Puppy pics at http://stormcarver.com/Family/Dogs.html "There are essential and inessential insanities." ~Tom Robbins

rattytatty

Training Moderator

09/04/2008 7:40 AM
Barking is as natural to puppies as breathing. It’s how they communicate, show fear, seek attention, play and warn us of an unexpected visitor or intruder. While it is understood that we cannot stop barking entirely (nor would most dogs owners want to) there are ways to control to barking, so that it does not become excessive. One mistake that many dog owners make is unintentionally reinforcing the unwanted behavior of barking. When your dog barks because he wants attention and you rub his belly or talk sweetly to him, that teaches him that barking is a way to get you to spend time with him. Even worse, if you try to ignore him but eventually give in, that teaches him that it takes a LOT of barking to get your attention. He’ll bark even longer the next time he is lonely for you. In order to avoid reinforcing this behavior, dog owners must be careful to avoid rewarding it. A tactic often used by novice dog owners it to yell at the dog when it barks. The problem is that when your puppy hears you yelling, he thinks you are barking along with him. Experts say it’s better to use one word every time you want your dog to stop barking. Try a simple command, such as “Quiet”. Remember that consistency is important in bringing about the desired results. When your puppy barks... say 'QUIET" and the VERY INSTANT your dog stops and looks at you, click the clicker and give the puppy a treat. Success will not happen overnight (after all... you are training something that goes against the dog's very nature), but by being consistent, you will teach your dog to stop barking on your command. Some dogs bark at the sight or sound of a certain thing, such as a vacuum cleaner. If you notice that a certain object or sound always causes your dog to bark, you can then work towards getting your dog used to that object or sound. For example, if the vacuum cleaner causes your dog to bark, try having someone else turn it on while you pet your dog. Talk soothingly to him and try to get him to be as relaxed as possible while the vacuum cleaner is running. Once he learns to be relaxed while the offending noise is present, that will help stop his barking in the future. Some choose methods other than behavior modification to help control barking. There are “no bark” collars for sale that produce a mild electric shock, emit a high-pitched noise or an offending odor whenever the dog begins to bark. Most experts agree that these collars alone will not stop the barking, but that they can be a good addition to behavior modification. I prefer the clicker training method, although I have a bark collar for each of my four dogs and have used them in the past. I don't use them anymore, but they do work. My dogs respond as a group to the command "SETTLE". When someone rings the doorbell and they come "unglued" with barking... I say "SETTLE" and they do, in fact, settle down... sometimes quicker than other times though! LOL

~Nora~ Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, OA, OAJ

farmergurlyo

Ratastic

09/04/2008 11:12 AM
i'm glad to hear that you've all had success at training them to know when enough is enough i was thinking about getting a clicker for training. sounds like a good idea the more i hear about it... should this be enough to control their barking behavior when i'm not home as well? or would a "no bark" collar be a good addition to reinforce this while i'm gone? (are those ok to use on puppies?! :/ )

Ashley~ mommy to rattie kairi

rattytatty

Training Moderator

09/04/2008 11:38 AM
It is the general thinking among trainers that bark collars of any type should not be used on a puppy that weighs 3 lbs or less.

~Nora~ Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, OA, OAJ

farmergurlyo

Ratastic

09/04/2008 12:47 PM
Thank You!

Ashley~ mommy to rattie kairi

alice4512

Firehouse Big Dog

09/04/2008 2:06 PM
Alice "was" a BARKER and being 2 yrs old when we got her the clicker training wasn't really working. We then went to the squirt gun tactic and I can't believe the results. The first time we squirted her little behind she looked at us like we were out of our minds but she did stop barking. Now all we have to do is have the squirtgun in the living room and no more barking. Same thing outside. We only squirted her for barking at squirrels, birds or nothing at all. People passing by we let her bark so we were warned. It really worked so unbelievably well.

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too ~Mom to my good boy Fred and my crazy girl Alice~ Proud applications coordinator for Ratbone Rescue

farmergurlyo

Ratastic

09/04/2008 2:15 PM
hahaha maybe i should get one for my boyfriend too! "put the toilet seat down!" squirt squirt!

Ashley~ mommy to rattie kairi

SuzieRedhead

Bratty Ratty

09/04/2008 2:16 PM
I knew it'd work, Val!! I use citronella collars for outside with 6 dogs. I'd be filling up my squirt gun 10 times a night if that was the case LOL! But I use the squirt bottle inside, and it works great.

Sue Carello, Scotia, NY (near Albany) Ratbone Rescues Fostermom, etc... www.ratbonerescues.com Fostermom to Oh Mickey (ADOPTED!), Prince and Spring Ratbone Who do YOU GoodSearch/GoodShop for? Go to www.goodsearch.com and type in Ratbone Rescues!

alice4512

Firehouse Big Dog

09/04/2008 2:28 PM
I am telling you, it was a Sunday morning like 8:00am and Barky McBarker was at it and I wanted to KILL HER. I went right to Wal-Mart (it's close to us) and they had this thing of squirt guns, like 12 of them for 4.50. I got the pack. Now only like 6 of the squirt guns worked but it was enough to put in each of the rooms she can see out the window and outside too. Sometimes she tries to run and bark if it's a real important squirrel but then she stops pretty quick.

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too ~Mom to my good boy Fred and my crazy girl Alice~ Proud applications coordinator for Ratbone Rescue

bbsmom

Rattie

09/04/2008 4:19 PM
when we got BB he would not bark at anything until he seen the Chihuahua and starting barking at him cause he was on our lawn but any other pet on the yard was fine but him when we brought our older dog here i had to train both of them to stop barking at people going by on the road (we live close to a school so a hour of barking at 6:30 is a big nono here) (our older dog would bark and BB would join in) i found using the squirt bottle works on our older dog but with BB a very firm "no" or telling him to "lay down" or even telling him to leave it be works and he stops altho he still barks at butterflies from time to time telling him no works for me they still do bark if another pet is in our yard or if a car pulls in our drive way (if they are paying attention)

Just call Dani mom to a Monster on 4 legs we call BB

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