To not want to use an Anti-barking collar on my 10 month old pup ?

[Elmofan]

A neighbour from the back of us has just knocked in to threaten to report my pup for barking ...
I'm home all day with my pups ( i have two cockers) they are mostly kept indoors with me but whenever i let them out to play in the back garden one of them goes nuts barking at everything . He is a very anxious dog , very nervous . I have tried the quick spray of water whenever he barks but this does nothing he carries on running and barking like its a game
Its only for 10 minutes at a time, she says her husband works nights . I was very apologetic
my dogs sleep indoors and are put in bed at 9pm each night .
I'm upset and i rang my local vet & pet store for advice .. option one is very expensive training which we just can not afford right now and the other is an anti barking collar also expensive and cruel IMO :(
Any other ideas ?

Yes I agree the puppy thinks it's a game he thinks your chasing and yelling at if for fun! Stop yelling at it it will help no end! Quietly pick it up call the other inside and when it's quiet in the garden reward it even with a stroke and attention it's getting your attention by barking it thinks barking is good.

As for being pts I got this off the irish CAB site. There's a hell of a lot of process before the dog is handed over too the wardens! And a lot of Expence the pet shop is trying to sell you things! And tbh the dogs that are seized are those of owners that have done nothing to control their barking and are in distress not family pets!
"Excessive dog barking that causes a nuisance is an offence. You may be able to solve such problems by talking to the dog owner.

If you don’t get a satisfactory response, you may complain to the District Court and seek a hearing. When you have got a court date, you must inform the dog owner of your complaint by using the form prescribed for this purpose under Section 25 of the Control of Dogs Act 1986. These forms are available from the District Courts and from local authorities.

The court may make an order requiring the occupier of the premises in which the dog is kept to abate the nuisance by exercising due control over a dog. The court may limit the number of dogs that can be kept on a premises or may direct that a dog be delivered to a dog warden to be dealt with as unwanted."

Well, you could at least ask the neighbour what time of day the poor guy is trying to sleep - for most night workers it's the morning to early afternoon. Surely not hard to keep dog in until he is up and about. I would truly want to shoot the dog after several days of little sleep. Can't believe you are so blase about it.

My dog used to go bananas barking at squirrels and foxes in our garden and just seemed to get into the habit of just running round the garden barking joyously.

We got tough with her. Every single time she barked in the garden we put her on a long lead attached to the garden tap. After ten mins we let her off. If she barked we put her back on. Took a couple of days but it worked and now all it takes is for me to say "no barking" as she goes out and generally she won't.

I don't like the anti bark collars but a friend of mine had some success with a hand held device called Bark Stop Worth a look?

Tire pup out more (don't over exercise) with mentally stimulating games/training tricks/slow food feeders etc.

Don't use punishment based training (spray bottles/bark collars) as they don't work and can sometime cause other problems

Once you've got him into the games/tricks/food feeders indoors start practising outdoors as soon as he barks once bring him indoors again. the key is to get him focussed on something else

Look at kikopup stop barking on you tube. you don't need an expensive trainer just time, patience and commitment. don't expect result immediately (maybe explain to NDN you are training and you will keep disturbance to a minimum and ask when her dh isn't sleeping)

Train the noisy pup separately and have out in garden training separately

oh and cockers are busy, active, clever little dogs which need a lot of stimulation to tire them out but very trainable if you put the time in. Bored dogs (especially young ones) get into all sorts of mischief.

You really need to get your puppies trained or barking will be the least of your problems. Why is training an expensive options? Most dog clubs run weekly group lessons for very reasonable prices.

I would say cockers can do with 3 long ish walks a day to wear them out - tired dogs are better behaved. Can you fit in an extra walk in the middle of the day?

The only thing worse than having to listen to a dogs incessant barking is having to listen to its owner yelling at it to shut up...

Agree with the others, stop with the water bottles and exercise them more. How long are the walks? Nevertheless, 3 a day is probably more appropriate for active young cockers.

Sorry, a 10 month old pup does NOT need excessive walking, its bones are still forming!

reallytired43346983 how ironic that this should be your user name. The guy next door who works nights probably feels the same way too. Id keep the dogs indoors if they're being exercised at other points in the day. A dog barking constantly is annoying to listen to. My neighbour has one and the incessant noise would drive you up the wall.

sorry was out on school run

Ok firstly my dog is not barking constantly all day as he is mostly kept indoors with me , he is let out to go to the toilet for 10 mins each hour or so , i monitor them while they are out . neighbour says they are from the row of houses at the back of us ... big back gardens here so their garden would back onto ours.
Dogs have lots of chew toys out in the garden , and chewy treats but the male dogs tends to ignore these .
i will try the longer walk , he is always full of energy , even after being let off lead in the park to run freely he is still full of energy when we get home .

Scoobydoo8 she's not being blase. She is taking steps to address the problem.

You and I made the same point about asking about convenient timings - but why did you feel the need to lay on the judgement? Is it because the OP is clearly worried about this, thoughtful and opening up to ask for advice?

I have been through the council noise pollution process right up to them getting a noise abatement order and preparing to take them to court - the barking got to the point where I would be on the sofa crying because I just wanted...the...noise...to...stop.

It really shouldnt matter whether they could put your dog to sleep or not, barking beyond the odd one or two (they are dogs after all!) is not acceptable and you really do need to do training with them to stop it.

I would never let my dogs bark to that extent stormtreader :( as i have said already its only when i let him out for a few minutes and i really am trying to stop him .

Put the dog on a long-leash (what the Americans call a "no tangle" check-cord) and let him drag it around while he plays. That way if you need to correct him or reel him in you can do so without adding to the excitement with a chase.

I do all my training on a 20ft check cord.

I second the posters who suggest more exercise. A tired dog is a good dog. But a walk or two may not be enough for your little bundle of energy. If your puppy will play fetch with a tennis ball, get yourself a dog ball thrower, take puppy to a nearby park and throw the ball for him until he's pretty much worn out. He'll be less inclined to bounce around the garden barking after that! Or at least will have worked off most of his nervous energy.

And you are right in thinking that the anti-bark collar is a bad idea. I agree with the posters who suggest a firm "No!" and removal of the fun (being taken indoors, put on a leash) every time he barks excessively. You could also try rewarding quiet behaviour with praise/ a toy/ short game of tussle.

It's hard work, but he will calm down (eventually )

We have a barky springer who goes out at the crack of dawn on her lead to do her business, then has an hour's run at 6am, the dog walker comes for an hour 1-2pm and she goes back out with DH 8-9pm. She needs a bare minimum of two hours a day or she's just batshit, and even with 3 on weekdays she's still off her trolley. It's spaniels, they're loopy.

Using the lead when they go outdoors for toilet breaks prevents the loopy-barking, and long-term our spaniel is much better now because she's broken the habit. Wouldn't consider an anti-bark collar, though, they would make a stressed dog more stressed.

Putting chewy toys or treats outside alone won't distract him from barking, you need to find something more interesting for him than all the exciting smells and noises to bark at.

It's quite difficult to train a dog to stop Barking but you can train it to do something else instead. So when he starts barking out of excitement teach him to pick up a toy instead. You can teach him to associate outside play with carrying a toy quite easily. If his mouth is full he can't bark!

Two other points worth noting, you shouldn't over exercise a young dog as it can damage their joints and if you walk a dog lots it just gets fitter and fitter needing more and more walking. Walk to fit the age and your lifestyle.

Mental stimulation can be just as tiring for a dog... do be wary of over exercising him, as PP have said he's just a puppy and you could cause all sorts of damage to his joints as well as creating a dog that just wants more and more exercise and is climbing the walls if he doesn't get it.

Kongs stuffed with peanut butter / soft cheese (frozen is good too, takes them longer)
Cardboard boxes with treats hidden inside and the boxes taped up.
Nini Ottosen type games where they have to work out how to get the food out - cockers are generally clever little dogs and he'll enjoy this.

Simple training exercises - sit, stay, down, paw, touch, hi-5 etc etc.

If he's busy eating/training/looking for treats he'll be too busy to bark.

Best of luck to you OP, I've got a barky dog and it can be stressful... I am always aware of him being noisy and annoying neighbours. If we're playing in the garden and he starts, he comes in. Simple. He learnt eventually! Doesn't stop him barking up a storm when someone knocks the door, the post comes, he hears a dog in the street etc etc

Please don't get an anti bark collar - long term it just won't help and may even cause other problems,.
Someone else mentioned Kikopup on YouTube and I would also highly recommend - loads of really simple ideas which will help
Also playing scenting games in the garden - cockers are especially brilliant at this- will give him something else to focus on rather than the cats. My dogs could easily spend 40 minutes on a game of sprinkles using maybe just a tin of tuna or a couple of slices of Turkey and will completely ignore anything else going on around the garden
Chasing him when he barks will make things worse. Teaching him to come back to you for a nice treat and a cuddle or a play will eventually get the result you want.

Is this any different to grumpy gits who don't like kids playing outside?

No, because kids are us and we were kids, they are our species and our future; you have to accept a degree of noise when they play.

Dogs are not important; if you can't keep one without inflicting its barking on your neighbours you should not be keeping one.

What worked with one of ours was (away from the neighbours) is to get them to bark, then teaching them shhh. (Treating every time they were quiet). They learnt to understand a finger to the lips meant be quiet.

The worse thing you can do is shout/overreact to them, as to them you are just joining in with the barking, thus reinforcing the fact that barking was a good thing to do.

Dogs are not important

Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine?

I beg to differ - I prefer the company of my dog over 95% of the people I know.

I had a cocker who would not stop barking at night - the only thing which worked was a citronella anti bark collar - I don't think it was cruel and he soon learned to cut out the barking. I felt I had no choice as I was worried about neighbours.