# barky barkerson



## Beach girl (Aug 5, 2010)

Personally, I do not like aversive conditioning. One way to teach a dog to be quiet, oddly enough, is to put a name and command to the barking. When he barks, say "speak." If he barks once more, treat, say "thank you, that's enough!" and give another command, like "sit" or "down" or whatever.

If you search on-line you'll find how other trainers do the "put a name to the barking" trick successfully. There are a few variations on it.

I never want my dogs to be scared to bark; part of the reason I have them is to be my "early warning system" if and when needed. 

If you are at the dinner table and she barks, that might be a good time to put her in her crate.


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## puppylove (Aug 9, 2009)

I'm from the mean old mom school. Jackson does know Speak and he still gets pretty barkity once in a while. Sometimes he'll get started and just stand around barking for a long time unless I put a stop to it. He knows what the squirt bottle is for and will usually look at it, give one more short little bark and then back away. 

Caspar has only recently come out of his shell and is just finding his voice. He's being introduced to the squirt bottle too.

Hoot's a good boy and hardly ever barks.


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## jcwinks (Jun 26, 2010)

The squirt bottle has been working well for our 6 month puppy - it eliminated troubles around the dinner table pretty quickly, like begging, putting head on table, barking, etc.


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## Birdie (Jun 28, 2009)

I would never use a squirt bottle as a first method. I'm not against it, or anything, I even use one frequently at work to help control the day care dogs, I just wouldn't use it as a method on my own dog unless all else fails. There are better, more positive ways to do things. 

You giving time out is really good, I would keep doing that if she barks at the dinner table and stuff. Don't let her carry on, time out immediately when the barking starts. 
And I just want to add this, personally, that when I taught Desmond "speak" to help control his barking, it just made him bark TONS more. He was never a barker until he started getting treats for doing it on command. Ugh. 

Now, if she's barking when playing, Desmond had that problem briefly. I don't mind a couple playful barks every now and then. He's a dog, after all! He's gonna bark a bit, so long as it's good intentions and controllable I don't mind. Sometimes he would get really riled up and bark over and over. I would immediately stop playing. Just stand up still and stop playing, and say "hush Des". Not a correction or anything, just reminding him to use his inside voice. Usually, that was enough to snap him out of it. After a while of doing this and having the whole family chip in and do the same, he stopped barking a lot while playing.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Having inadvertently taught my first dog to bark more by trying to make her keep quiet, I have been very careful what I do with Sophy and Poppy. Frustration barking gets the standard "Ask nicely!" response - and is ignored until the dog offers a sit or down or other behaviour we agree means "Please". Dogs that beg at the table get "the look" - very much the look I would use to quell an obnoxious child! - and if that doesn't work find themselves out of the room pronto! Mine are not crate trained, but if they were, I would give them a Kong or chew in their crate. 

Play barking, excitement barking, warning barking are all acceptable up to a point, but not to the extent that they annoy the neighbours. Usually I find getting quieter and quieter, and calmer and calmer myself is enough to settle Sophy down, while Poppy responds to "Come!" and a quick game or cuddle.

Both went through a phase of barking at EVERYTHING! Sophy, at around 6 months, barked every time the jackdaws tried to add another stick to their nest outside the back door - and jackdaws can drop enough sticks for a good sized bonfire! I think this sort of guard barking must be a development stage - they are old enough to feel responsible for giving a warning, but not yet experienced enough to know when a warning is really necessary.

I found Turid Rugaas' little book "Barking: the sound of a language" very helpful, especially when I was tempted to join in the cacophony myself!


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## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

Squirt bottles work very well. I have very quiet dogs. They still give warning barks but when they are told, "That'll do", they stop barking.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

i need a squirt bottle for max, my cairn. and for lily too (she's the other cairn).

god, they can yap. i mean ... okay. you have announced that there is someone where now shut up. you don't need to stand next to them while i say hello and continue barking!

*sigh*

they are so cute, though ... but it's annoying ... poof doesn't over do it. good poodle.


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## Littleknitwit (Jul 19, 2010)

Thanks for all the advice! Much appreciated!


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## Teffy (Jul 4, 2010)

Me too...squirt bottle, I don't spray anymore, I just show them a water bottle or whatever has liquid in it and shake it and they go quiet. I did the teaching how to bark thing too...she knows how to bark on command and ignores the NO BARK. Go figure!

Don't worry about the spray bottle, it's not harsh or painful unless you aim it in their eyes. Some things just need to be a little more 'urgent' like if their barking becomes a nuisance to your neighbours.


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## Dexter (Jun 3, 2010)

I too have a barky barkerson. I am on here to find help. We have two dogs, so it is twice the noise. UGH.
I usually say "enough" but that doesn't always work, so I am going to try the squirt bottle trick. I was going to have Bark busters come in and help, but my husband just thinks the dogs need a walk or two and they will shoosh. I think they need to be reminded that barking is not something I want to hear day in and day out...squirt squirt.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Dexter said:


> I too have a barky barkerson. I am on here to find help. We have two dogs, so it is twice the noise. UGH.
> I usually say "enough" but that doesn't always work, so I am going to try the squirt bottle trick. I was going to have Bark busters come in and help, but my husband just thinks the dogs need a walk or two and they will shoosh. I think they need to be reminded that barking is not something I want to hear day in and day out...squirt squirt.


I have considered trying the squirt bottle trick - Millie goes CRAAAAAZY barking if I, or anyone else, goes outside with Henry and leaves her in her crate. It is quite excessive. I haven't gotten around to getting a spray bottle, though.


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## Purley (May 21, 2010)

I think I need the garden hose for the dog that lives across the back alley to us!! It yaps and yaps all day. Mind you, on second thoughts I guess I need the hose for the owners that shut it outside on its own -- duh!! and you wonder why the dog is yapping!!

I did find a solution one day. I went down the end of my yard nearest where the dog was and I yelled "Do I have to listen to that dog yap all day?" And it was quiet after that!


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## Littleknitwit (Jul 19, 2010)

We have two dogs too... so yes I feel your pain. I have reduced myself to the squirt bottle and I can say, it works just swimmingly! 

Purley, one of my neighbors yelled "SHUT UP" to my dogs! haha I felt really bad but did he have to be so rude? At least you said it a little nicer


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## Littleknitwit (Jul 19, 2010)

OH and we have been reported to the city for barking dogs. This was when we had our other little dog Henry, who I had to get rid of... He was a yapper. The neighbor who reported us though is a major pain in the ass.


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## pudlemom (Apr 16, 2010)

cbrand said:


> Squirt bottles work very well. I have very quiet dogs. They still give warning barks but when they are told, "That'll do", they stop barking.


Dito works wonderful!


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## poodleholic (Jan 6, 2010)

Beach girl said:


> Personally, I do not like aversive conditioning. One way to teach a dog to be quiet, oddly enough, is to put a name and command to the barking. When he barks, say "speak." If he barks once more, treat, say "thank you, that's enough!" and give another command, like "sit" or "down" or whatever.
> 
> If you search on-line you'll find how other trainers do the "put a name to the barking" trick successfully. There are a few variations on it.
> 
> ...


:clap2: Excellent advice, and beautifully put.


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Slightly off topic, but is there anything more annoying than listening to someone pointlessly yell "Quiet!", "Shut up!", "Stop it!" over and over again to a barking dog? Without getting any response? Drives me nuts. I digress...

I did not want a barking dog, and I'd read that poodles could be barkers. I never taught bark on command. Vasco barks for three reasons:

- His ball is stuck under the sofa (I go and get it for him)
- He is wound up playing with other dogs out in the park (I leave him alone)
- He is pretending to be a guard dog, usually when the neighbor is putting his wheelie bins out (I go to the window to acknowledge his tremendous guard dog skills, then say 'quiet' and bring him away from the window with me)

Those are the acceptable occasions for barking, in our house. Any other barking means I completely ignore him and leave the room. This usually does the trick, as he follows everywhere, just in case something else more exciting is happening somewhere else. 

If the dog is barking while you are at the dinner table, I'd try to pick apart the motivation: what does the dog want, and is his behaviour getting him what he wants? Does he want the food on the table? Or is he after attention? In either case, you need to make it clear to him that 1) barking doesn't get him what he wants and 2) some other (better) behaviour might work for him.

If it were my dog, I'd take the dog to another room and shut him in for five minutes as a time out and to interrupt the behaviour, then let him back in the room (picking a time to let him out when he's NOT barking!) and put him on a down stay (assuming he knows down-stay). In the beginning, I'd reward (click and treat if he's clicker trained, or just treat if not) for every minute he holds the down stay quietly. Then every three minutes. Then every five minutes. Then every ten minutes. Then every 20 minutes. Then at the end of dinner only. It sounds tedious, and it will be for a couple of weeks, but after that you'll have a dog that downs nicely during mealtimes, which is a lifetime benefit!


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