My mother’s dog has perhaps the loudest, high pitched, most out of control bark on the entire planet. When outside, he will bark his ass off. When inside and he sees something outside, he will bark his ass off. If someone knocks on the door, its like a siren blaring that can be heard a mile away. When my mother comes through the door… well lets just say that I may have permanent hearing damage. She refuses to hit at him or yell at him, but I have come close to ripping his vocal chords out myself. Does anyone have any ideas how to train a dog to stop barking?
PS: What does it mean if a dog shivers but is obviously not cold? Nervous?
There is no need to hit the dog. I understand frustration and annoyance can push you this way but hitting is wrong and counter-productive. Remember, it’s just a dog. It isn’t trying to annoy you…far from it.
There are indeed ways to train a dog to stop barking. It is a behavior like any other. Some dogs are more vocal than others naturally and of course individual persoanalities (dogalities?) play a large role. The dog more than likely wants to please you. Use that to your advantage for training. It will require some time and committment on your part but it is either that or live with the barking.
Let me guess. Your mother’s dog is very small, very hyperactive, and very highstrung. I’m thinking…chihuahua, or maybe pomeranian.
Some dogs are by nature very, very vocal. They can be taught to moderate that tendency, but it takes a lot of time and patience, and a good set of ear plugs for the meantime. Hitting the dog will only make it afraid of you (and often make it louder as it tries to frighten you away from it), and yelling will only add to the noise.
I don’t like the shock collars for highstrung dogs, either. In my experience that just makes them more nervous and more likely to become excitable wetters. When the dog starts up, the alpha dog (your mom) needs to gently but firmly hold the muzzle closed and say 'No bark" until the dog stops trying to bark. Eventually the dog will start to figure it out.
FTR, I understand exactly how you feel. Some of our patients scream their heads off whenever they’re put in kennels, and it’s like someone’s driving an ice pick into your skull. I feel the same way about babies, too.
The shaking could have many causes but a very likely (and broad) candidate is stress. Combine that with the barking and your dog is likely telling you something. Some of the ‘remedies’ to stop your dog’s incessant barking may be of help with the shaking as well (i.e. more exercise/attention). In fact, I would bet the proper ‘cure’ for your dog’s barking will entail addressing the stress it feels. Just a WAG (pun intended) on my part though. Could be lots of things. Talk to your vet or a professional trainer for a more thorough answer.
The trembling you describe could be nervousness or fear. When does he do it?
My dog begins to tremble when she sees the vet’s office outside the car window, when she hears thunder, or if she hears anything that sounds like a gunshot. (When we’ve been outside trap-shooting, she’s a nervous wreck.)
The best thing to do in a case like this is to distract the dog. Petting and soothing the dog is almost a pleasant reward for displaying fear, and can actually encourage the behaviour. Engage him in a game of fetch, or give him a simple command and praise lavishly when he obeys.
When I started reading the thread I too was thinking Pomeranian. Some of the yappiest dogs I’ve ever seen. Still, when the OP mentoined the dog sounded like a siren my brain switched to some kind of hound. If all that was meant is it was as loud as a siren then it could be anything but hounds across the board seem to have that siren like baying that few otehr breeds can match.
The dog is a mix between a minature shnauzer (sp?) and a jack russel terrier, although the shnauzer gene is much more prevalent, as it looks nothing like a jack russel.
We actually had a shock collar on him before but I guess you shouldn’t leave the collar on him unattended so while it kept him from barking outside, the little beast would still be loud as all hell when someone came to the door.
I just read something about squirting the dog with a water bottle whenever he starts barking and scolding him. Does anyone think this would work?
The site that ** Whack-a-Mole ** posted suggested this:
Yes, squirt-bottle training can be effective to stop a lot of behavioral problems. First of all, you must be consistent. Make sure a squirt bottle is readily available at all times, because punishment must be immediate. Dogs have very short memories for cause-and-effect.
Secondly, make sure he doesn’t see you holding the bottle, or squirt gun. It must appear to have come from nowhere.
Thirdly, you must start training the dog to stop barking. As the quote above suggested, pick a command word when you want him to stop barking, such as “Shush!” Give the command once, and then punish non-compliance with a squirt. Don’t yell the command, because the dog will take your yelling as excitement, and this will only encourage the behavior. He’s not deaf. He can hear your heart beating across the room, and he can hear a firmly said command, though he may chose to ignore it. When he obeys you, praise lavishly.