Charlie has a very big mouth. He barks and barks and barks at everyone! Anytime the doorbell rings or if they knock he goes barkining crazy. He also has to bark at every male he sees at the dog park. We tried the rattle can thing and he compleatly ignored it. We also trid the spray bottle but this didnt work very well either as he just runs away if he sees the water bottle and contiunes to bark.

Is there anything else we could try. We are taking Tucker to an odedience class starting next month and I will probably see if she could reccomend anything, we may have to have her do a few private training sessions too.

Wow - I finally get a chance to read about a problem I had and fixed!!! Smokey used to bark at everything right after we first got him. It was easier for me to do this because I always had bits of treats in my pocket. Every time he would start, I would tell him sternly "no bark" and repeat it until he stopped. then I gave him a treat. Now, he rarely does this. Sometimes he is in the bedroom with Bandit and for no reason at all he starts to bark. Now, he can't see me but I say "no bark" and he stops and comes running for a treat. Try this, It worked for me and I must have read this in here somewhere.

I used one that shot citronella in her face when she bark. She was barking in her kennel when I was not home. www.muttmart.com/CitronellaBarkCollar.html

Training one dog to not bark is very accomplishable... but remember you are asking the dog to do something that comes totally natural to him... so you need to be aware upfront that teaching a dog not to bark can indeed be a challenge. I think it's important to understand that barking is COMMUNICATION to a dog. It ALWAYS means something, despite the fact that we humans usually don't know what it means.

Barking is arguably the most obnoxious doggie behavior and is definitely the most difficult to fix. Since dogs bark for different reasons and in response to varying stimuli, it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact problem. However, you should know that it is possible to teach your dog not to bark, as long as you have patience and the desire to stop the behavior.

You have to break the training down into something "handle-able" -- in other words -- just hollering "shut up" won't do anything and you can do it all day long (I have YET to teach my husband this! LOL) . Not even saying "no bark" means anything ... YET. Until you TEACH what you want done they just are not going to get it. Some of this will become more clear... but realize for now that you can't hold them accountable to doing something until you really make them understand it.

Yelling does nothing except make the dog more prone to bark.

You can teach the "quiet" (or "no bark" is the one I use) command the way Bill described... it works. Or.. you can use the squirt bottle method which works too. Many of the training options for teaching a dog to stop barking are corrective in nature. This is because this is one of the easiest ways to teach this behavior. With this type of training the owner waits until the dog begins to bark and then takes a corrective measure (such as squirting him with a water bottle). This correction is intended to be uncomfortable and unappealing to the dog in an effort to help the dog make the association between barking and this uncomfortable consequence. Once this association is made the dog will be less inclined to bark because he will not want to experience the undesired consequence. The use of loud noises and bark collars are two popular methods used to deter a dog from barking.

Please remember that if you do decide to go with a negative correction such as a squirt bottle or jerk of the leash.... plase always offset that correction with a positive... such as a yummy treat combined with lots of praise.

I taught Bailey the "no bark" command with the use of treats, and it took a LONG time (over a year of consistency). However, when he's with the other three dogs and they start barking... he barks too and it's pretty impossible to get them to all stop at once. They feed off each other's energy and the adrenaline starts flowing ... and that's when hubby starts yelling "SHUT UP!" haha (and that doesn't work).

Good luck !!

I just had to add my two-cents worth!  Whenever the NBC chime goes off for the weather (on TV), Molly barks!  I think she thinks it's the doorbell. LOL  But, yes, she does bark at unexpected noises.  So far, it hasn't gotten out of hand.  Yet, I think the "NO BARK" command would work though, if used consistently and following it up with a treat.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... the doorbell cuprit! So familiar to all of us! haha
Yes... the "no bark" command does work when properly and consistently trained AND reinforced.
One other key to success is not asking the dog not to bark in situations where you know you're inviting failure. For example.. at least during the training period... if you are walking outside and your dog meets a stranger and starts barking, it's fine to attempt to calm the dog down with treats... or divert the dog's attention to something else if possible...but to actually expect your dog to totall shut up is asking a lot, and you will more than likely be doomed for failure. In ALL training... don't invite your dog to fail. Dogs don't fail... we humans do by asking them to do things they simply can't do. Make sure the command is engrained and THEN expect the dog to respond appropriately... but not until then.

Sometimes it is necessary in order even to keep the dog.  For example, if a dog is barking excessively when you aren't home and you live in an apartment...others may complain and  you may be asked to get rid of the dog or move.  In a case like that you do what is necessary, like Colleen with the citronella collar, to protect your dog.  Make sense?

i could only imagine... i have 2 and that is enough for me!

well said.