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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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

135 replies

Elmofan · 25/09/2015 13:06

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 ?

OP posts:

lunar1 · 26/09/2015 07:18

It's ridiculous to buy two puppies that you can't afford to train, you really can't use that as an excuse.

Original poster

Elmofan · 26/09/2015 07:41

Not an excuse lunar .. a personal trainer over here has quoted me 35euro an hour to work with one dog . I simply can not afford this at the moment my dd is on a lot of medication ..and our house is up for sale .
My dogs are well cared for ...
oh and my dogs did all the puppy training classes when they were younger and know all the usual commands . so no need for your comment .

OP posts:

Andrewofgg · 26/09/2015 07:55

Understood Naught but You cannot inflict barking or dog-shit on others no matter what your needs. The law about cleaning up in parks and on streets are unenforced and unenforceable.

SurlyCue · 26/09/2015 09:46

Ohhh someone's been watching cesar milan

NaughtToThreeSadOnions · 26/09/2015 12:39

Andrew as I've said twice both those things are human problems not the dogs! Most dog owners are responsible and clean up after their dogs and they don't allow their dogs to bark for sustained periods! If you live near a dog that does then you need to take it up with the owners! That dog is being neglected!

Regularhiding · 26/09/2015 13:05

ime most dog owners are NOT responsible , which makes it so cheering to read the comments here.

I knew a woman once who loved to boast that she preferred animals to people.( as if that was something to boast about ! )

I had to bite my tongue and not say well I prefer most animals to you.

JaniesGotaGun · 26/09/2015 16:40

Teach the dog to bark on command (YouTube it) then teach your dog the quiet command as he finishes barking. After a lot of reinforcement you will be able to command silence from them.

That's only short term though. You need to figure out what the stimulus is outside and condition the dog to get used to it/respond to it calmly.

Bulbasaur · 27/09/2015 06:20

Pack hierarchy is a load of bollocks. Thinking of someone racing to each room to get there before their dog so they can then say "come in" is pretty funny though

It would be pretty funny, if that's how it was done. No, I'm afraid the truth is far more boring. You calmly walk them through the house first on a leash side by side. Have them stop and sit at the door way then enter. Make them wait for your command.

No, someone has not been watching Ceaser Milan. Someone has paid money for dog training classes that actually got results. But I'm flattered you would equate my advice to a professional.

WeAllHaveWings · 27/09/2015 11:03

I've trained my dog to wait at the front door before we enter or leave. But that mainly because he'd either run in covered in mud, or next doors dog will be out on their front drive and they don't get on!!

Not convinced about doing it for internal rooms, does sound very dominance pack theory to me too, maybe your trainer has been watching Caesar . The fact he's picked up general training to sit, wait, etc is great but I very much doubt the dog takes the same relevance of it being in a doorway that you do and if he did he would probably think you're a bit bonkers

Floralnomad · 27/09/2015 11:26

Sadly there are still loads of dog trainers using outdated ,disproven and often cruel methods of training - doesn't make it right but all the time people pay for it they will stick with it .

McColonel · 27/09/2015 15:05

I had a similar problem once and managed to find a vet that would surgically remove the dog's voice box. Most vets wouldn't even consider it so it took a while of searching, and a lot of money! Apparently it's not at all cruel as the dogs still gets the satisfaction of going through the barking motion, but no sound comes out so no one gets disturbed - win win situation!

SurlyCue · 27/09/2015 15:11

No, someone has not been watching Ceaser Milan. Someone has paid money for dog training classes that actually got results

Oh that's even more embarrassing for you that you paid out actual real money to an outdated 'professional' trainer to be fed that bullshit.

It always amazes me what people will pay for. I could make a fortune saying all sorts of shite.

GloGirl · 27/09/2015 15:12

McColonel, you're wrong, it is cruel and that's why vets don't do it.

SurlyCue · 27/09/2015 15:13

I had a similar problem once and managed to find a vet that would surgically remove the dog's voice box

Instead of just training him? WOW!

BertieBotts · 27/09/2015 15:15

Here's a good positive training approach to discouraging barking :)

Surgically removing a dog's voice box? :( WTAF?

TrionicLettuce · 27/09/2015 15:19

I'm pretty sure "debarking" surgery is illegal in the UK, and rightly so IMO.

SurlyCue · 27/09/2015 15:23

Christ i fret and stress over sending my pets in for necessary surgery i cant believe people will take that risk to send them for unneccesary surgery! But i suppose if you cant be arsed training them then they cant be too important to you anyway

Bulbasaur · 27/09/2015 15:32

Oh that's even more embarrassing for you that you paid out actual real money to an outdated 'professional' trainer to be fed that bullshit.

And yet, it actually worked. Imagine. Paying money for a class that got results for not only me, but other dog owners as well. That must be embarrassing to continue trying to disprove something that's already been shown to be true. While we're at it, shall we disprove evolution because you think it's bunk?

The reason why training a dog like works may not be accurate. It could be as simple as constantly training your dog builds confidence, and confident dogs aren't anxious. But it does work, regardless of how much you want to look down your nose and sneer at it. I know you really, really want to think that I wasted money to make yourself feel superior, but that simply isn't how it went down. My dog was more confident around other dogs and people, and other issues fell in line.

Outcomesthebunnyofdeath · 27/09/2015 15:51

The man who first wrote about the pack theory disproved it himself just before he died IIRC.

It's all bullshit

SurlyCue · 27/09/2015 15:59

Oh i dont doubt you had results bulbasaur, pack theory is still bollocks.

tabulahrasa · 27/09/2015 16:14

"While we're at it, shall we disprove evolution because you think it's bunk?"

Except your analogy is the wrong way round, positive training is based on lots of scientific evidence, pack theory is based on a discredited study.

IceCreamBandit · 27/09/2015 18:30

The anti-bark collars that beep/vibrate actually aren't the work of the devil- they let the dog self correct and if they do vibrate, they're a quick correction that stops once the barking does. I've used one in the past on a dog who was quite sensitive and it worked wonders with him. Introduced properly they can work wonders.

Bulbasaur · 27/09/2015 18:34

Except your analogy is the wrong way round, positive training is based on lots of scientific evidence, pack theory is based on a discredited study.

Ok, pack theory may be discredited. Fine. I'll accept I took a class with outdated information.

The training techniques I listed still work, keep the dog engaged, and are at least worth a try. At worst she still has a dog that barks. At best she has a dog that has at least been trained to listen on command.

NaughtToThreeSadOnions · 27/09/2015 19:25

whst the actual fuck mcColonal yes there a reason most vets won't remove the dogs voice box it's increadly cruel it worries me you found one that did it is there a vet equilivent of the GMC Because if there is I seriously hope they were stuck off!

Geez I think id rather send my dog to cesear Milan (erm not in a million years) than put it through that! How can you not think it's cruel!

McColonel · 27/09/2015 21:54

A bit judgemental to call me cruel. I like the dog a lot more now it can't bark, so spend a lot more time with it (i let it in the house now too), so it's much happier. Hardly "cruel".

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