# How to stop barking? Anyone tried ultrasonic correction?



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Don't know about the ultrasonic question, but your husband should put him back in his crate, in a quiet room, when he leaves. That way you can get your sleep. If he barks, quickly go over and correct him in a stern voice. No attention, no petting. Until he gets it, then you won't have to get up anymore and you'll have your sleep.


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Mine started barking at everything at about that age - it was as if they felt responsible for guard duty, but didn't yet know what it was safe to ignore. I found Turig Rugaas' little book "Barking: the sound of a language" very helpful. I used her method of getting up, standing between the dog and whatever it was with my back to the dog, and calmly showing them that there was nothing to bark about. It took time and perseverance, but really helped!


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Ian Dunbar would suggest putting barking on a cue and then teaching the dog to be quiet after asking for a bark or two. I can't say I've succeeded very well with that strategy, partly I think because I have three dogs and they provoke each others' barking.

I am not familiar with the device you mentioned. I suspect though that your timing has to be very good and that some dogs would become habituated to the ultrasound and bark despite it. I have seen that mentioned in regard to animal repeller devices that detect motion and then emit an ultrasonic repelling signal.


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

I am pretty sure that I tried those ultrasonic things when Teaka was young and they did nothing, but she is 14, perhaps technology is improved now? Teaka would never hear any of it when she was in "yap zone".
I am sorry to tell you, but I spent years trying and nothing helped but shielding her from things that she was reactive to. Household goings on, she did get accustomed to so there was much less yapping in the home as she got older, so he won't be waking you up forever, but new noises and activities will always trigger the machine gun yapping.
I am sorry, but the best thing that I learned in 14 years of dealing with the issue was to put "non-reactive, quiet" at the top of my puppy wish list, and now I have been rewarded with Timi, who is virtually mute except when she is playing....


----------



## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

My mystery mutt Cleo is a big-time barker at 8 months old. These are things that help with her:

Keeping her tired is KEY. The difference in her behavior between when she first wakes up and when she's had some good rough-and-tumble time (or mental exercise) is drastic. Is there a way your husband can do some simple brain work to settle Teddy down a bit before he leaves? Even something like a find-the-treat game might help. I find that Cleo is extremely wound up when she first gets out of the crate in the morning, so she needs to do something before she can settle down again.

My training approach with her is multi-pronged. She's super food-motivated, which helps. She does have a "quiet" command, which in her case _also_ means she has to hold eye contact with me for several seconds before she gets her treat. It forces her to refocus. Make sure you include a hand signal for that, as voice commands sometimes don't get through the noise. She also has a command to go to her crate, where she gets tons of treats for settling down. Once in her crate, there are fewer things to prompt the barking. 

I also will randomly reward both dogs (with no command) for noticing something distracting and choosing not to react to it. A lot of Cleo's barking is reactive rather than boredom-based, so I watch her around her triggers. So, for example, if she sees a strange man, then looks away rather than barking, she gets a treat. If there's a noise by the window and I see her ear twitch but nothing else happens, she gets a treat. If Archie barks but she doesn't join in, she gets a treat. Etc. It's to the point now where sometimes she'll notice something that usually sets her off, and she'll immediately look at (or even run over to) me.

By the way, I find a low-pitched voice is more effective with barking dogs than a high-pitched one. I find quick, high-pitched commands or corrections sound too much like barking. So instead of saying "Hey! Stop!" in a high voice, I do a low, "Nooooooo, quiiiet." 

Impulse control exercises in general seem to help with barking. I don't know if helps them make different choices or just tires out the brain, but it's something.


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I taught my Chihuahuas years ago to stop barking on cue. They got really quite good at it. I went through most of the process. It is a process and once the dog is getting onto it, you need to vary your triggers, locations, scenarios etc so the dog can generalize it. I wrote this a long time ago. I only have one Chihuahua of that group still with me. It's long. It sounds very labor intensive but it's not really. You just have to get the sequence memorized and automatic so you can execute this method flawlessly. The order is very important.


This is the method I used:


Put the barking on cue...say "speak" or "bark" (whatever cue you want, just keep it the same) You can use a hand signal too if you want. I open and close my fingers against my thumb like my hand is imitating a mouth, like you'd do with kids when they talk too much.

Immediately after you cue (not more than a second or two after, get the dog to bark by having someone knock on the door or whatever else will make him bark.

Dog barks. 


Praise..."gooooood!" (no treat, just a little praise) 


Give cue...."quiet" or "enough" (I use enough, but whatever you choose, just make it the same.) And immediately after, show the treat to prompt quiet....hold the treat in front of his nose...get him distracted until he is quiet. Hold the treat for 3-5 seconds and then give it to him. 

Repeat with less and less visibility of the treat prompt but still give it to him after perfect 3-5 second quiets. 


Repeat with longer and longer durations of quiet before giving the treat. 


Practice with lots of visitors or whatever else triggers the barking. Vary them.
Do it over and over till the dog gets onto this game. And it is a game. It my take a few sessions so keep it up. You'll know that the dog gets it when he barks on the cue and doesn't need the door knocking or other noises to set him off. And he quiets on the first cue to quiet without being shown the treat. Still give him a treat but take it from somewhere he won't notice so much, like your pocket or a table top. (later, once reliable, you'll put the treats on a variable reinforcement schedule) 

If he ever starts to bark during a quiet time with even a half attempt at a bark or a tiny soft bark, tell him "woops" (a no reward marker) and start your count over again....1,2,3,4,5...He has to know that barking during the quiet time lost him the treat. He needs to give you 3-5 seconds of perfect quiet after you cue the quiet. 

Practice this by going back and forth, back and forth between the cue to bark... and the cue to quiet...lots of times before trying it out in real situations. Set up the situations so you can practice better. Expose him to a wider variety of sights and sounds if he is especially easily set off. 

Many people give up because they never get past the hard part. Memorize the instructions and understand them completely. Practice, practice. This process works if you give it ample training. It can seem like it's going nowhere the first few times and most people never make it past the initial hard part. The first few times, the dog will respond poorly so you must be ready with some very tasty treats. If he messes up once you've decreased the visibility of the treats for a while, go back to showing him them again for a bit. (Often, dogs that have been trained using more traditional methods take a while to get onto the game because they haven't learned about doggie zen) They’re not accustom to controlling their own behavior because someone else is controlling it for them.

When he's been doing this for a while and he barks after being told to "quiet," he must get an instant time out away from the action, which most dogs find fun and stimulating. Having to leave the excitement really bothers most dogs. Timing, of course is vital as always. Once you've given the "quiet" cue and he barks, he must immediately get a "Woops" (too bad for you) and he is quickly removed to the isolation area. Do not let him out if he barks. Wait for a lull of about 5-10 seconds first after having been in there for a minute.

You can also do a down-stay. A lot of dogs don't bark when they're lying down. 
It is very likely that it will get worse before it gets better. Your dog has been barking for a long time this way and when something has been working and then it doesn't, he's going to try and try some more. The sudden shift in the rules will likely cause some confusion at first. But then there will be an extinction burst where by he tries and tries and the last time he tries before he gives up because it's not working, he's going to give it all he's got. Keep at it. This will pass. Once he finally gives up for good, the behavior will extinguish. It will extinguish because it doesn't work to bark. Nothing satisfying comes from the excessive barking and no behavior exists when there is no motivator. BUT...something better happens, that works better when he hears the word, "quiet." So that new behavior will be taken on.

Once the behavior is quite well on it's way, practice this in different environments, locations, contexts and various triggers. Get the dog to generalize this behavior in any kind of situation, anyplace.

I have two yappy Chihuahuas and one loud mouth mix breed... and believe me, if any dog can bark, they can. LOL. I used this method and was lazy with one of my dogs. In the last week or so, I've been practicing better and let me tell you, the second they hear, "enough"....they all three stop barking in unison...absolutely suddenly and exactly together at the same second. It's great. They got the initial behavior going quite well in just one or two sessions. It took some more to get the cues independent of the prompt and the door knocking person.

It can also double as a fun trick to show people. "speak" and "quiet."

Btw, that picture of your darling, gorgeous Teddy is priceless. He is the happiest looking little fella, going for a boat ride. Just darling.


----------



## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Fjm's technique worked well for me with Buck. He came to us with the beginnings of a "no bark" command and I tried to reinforce it by never allowing him out of his crate if he barked, but there are sounds, smells and sights that might be important. We have a new house being built next door to us. I couldn't have him barking at every hammer blow and this house has been in construction phase since he was a puppy. I would reward for things that were unusual, such as an earthmoving vehicle that we could see or some workers close to our fence. Otherwise, I would reassure him in a low tone and move on. Poodles are incredible watch dogs, sensitive and alert to every change. They need to be rewarded when they are right but with a stop command.


----------



## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

We had some friends that worked full time and had great success with the little ultrasonic no bark bird house. We bought one and put it at the top of out yard pointed towards our neighbor's Australian Shepherd. Worked like a charm. We did have to put it as far away from our house as possible or our dogs were nervous around it. The Australian Shepherd was being dog sat, and left out all night... which meant she barked for hours non stop. With the bird house in place, silence reigned.


----------



## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

I purchase one of those that went into a high pitch, in my foyer, Bella soon realized it was only good for about 12 feet and would run to the end of living room about 30 feet and bark. Shotsie, however would shake her head and stop barking as she stayed right in the foyer


----------

