Someone just came to complain about the barking.

[SirBoobAlot]

Our dog barks. I know he barks, because I live with it, and it drives me round the bloody bend. He has been especially bad recently; there is a yappy dog moved in nearby that is irritating him, and I suspect there are rats again (they use our line of gardens as a through way from the Downs).

We all do everything we can to stop him; if he barks excessively outside, he is brought in. If inside, he is sent to his bed. Either way, he is "threatened" with a water spray bottle (on the advice of the RSPCA).

A lady round the corner has just come to complain about him being outside all night, and that her daughter has to wake up very early each morning and the dog is disturbing her sleep. I apologised, but said he wasn't outside, he was barking from inside, and that if he was bothering her, and waking her up, she must understand how much he is irritating us, and disturbing my baby. She said she wasn't trying to cause trouble but wanted to make me aware he was barking. I told her that the RSPCA had (unintentionally, I'm sure) misled us about him; they told us he didn't bark, was good with cats and didn't play with toys. Wrong on all three counts.

I'm doing everything I can (as are my family when they are here, they've been away this week) to control his barking, as I'm sure it must be bothering the neighbours, as its bothering me. Has anyone got any suggestions?

Thanks (and sorry for the rant but having someone knock on my door at 10pm is not my favourite thing).

Have you tried an anti-bark spray collar?
They work well as you don't have to be there for it to work.
here is one but there are other around which may be cheaper. That was just the first example I found.

My sisters dog kept barking at another dog outside. When her dig barked, it hit the table with a plastic plate. The dog stopped barking instantly and was startled by the noise. I acted like nothing had happened.
When he barked again, I hit the table again and he stopped barking.
He hasn't barked at that dog since!

Maybe you could try the same?

there is alot you can try....but act quick,as once env health are involved,then its all downhill

needs to be trained to stop - it can be done

How long have you had the dog?

I think its fair enough that she came round. A friend of mine had/has a barking dog and someone reported her to teh RSPCA. She says she doesn't understand why they didn't just come round and talk to her (dog was barking when she was out so she didn't know). If your neighbour thought the dog was outside and being left to bark I could imagine that would be annoying. Now at least she knows you're trying to sort it.

How about dog training, either a class or one-on-one with a behaviourist?

I used to have a little Yorkie who barked at every little noise.

On the advice of a friend we bought a muzzle and whenever she barked we put it on her for half a minute. We did spend a tiring couple of days going backwards and forwards putting it on and taking it off again but it did the trick. We only had to show her the muzzle and she stopped barking.

Kid's suggestion is a good one and ime works. The trick is to convince your dog that the noise and you are totally unassociated. If he barks and hears an unpleasant noise (could be a plastic bottle filled with dried peas or gravel thrown to the ground too) which seemingly comes from nowhere it may shock him into silence. If however he realises that YOU are the cause of the noise he may not be so easily deterred.

One of the most common reactions by an owner is to yell "SHUT UP!" or similar (guilty, it's a knee-jerk reaction!). This is, I'm told, one of the worst things you can do. Your dog is barking for a reason - the postman, someone walking by the window, another dog in the vicinity - and so he feels threatened. If you yell when he barks he takes that as a sign that you're backing him up and confirming that he has reason to bark so he will continue. Hence the need to seperate your decision to distract with a shocking noise from a noise he connects with you.

Some people swear by teaching their dog to "speak" - ie encouraging him to bark by offering a treat/toy when he barks or doing so and urging him to bark by making barking sounds (sounds daft but it does work, 2 out of my 3 have learnt that way, my GSD no 2 is very quiet anyway) and praise when he does so. Once that is mastered it is easier to teach him to be silent upon command.

Failing this I'd recommend a behaviouralist. Neighbours complaints and the possible involvement of environmental health officers are to be avoided as they are a slippery slope to major problems and distress.

The thing is, no matter how irritating it is for you, you chose to get the dog. She didn't. And she probably isn't trying to cause trouble, just wants the barking to stop.

Have tried distraction (a bottle full of rice) and have tried dog classes (he failed the puppy group ). Have tried offering a toy or a treat when he starts instead, but he looks at whoever is holding it, looks at what it is, then turns round and starts barking again.

He is three years old, we got him when he was two, so it appears the behaviour is built in He also still eats his own mess despite the fact he is given more than enough to eat.

How much are behaviourists, though?

What sort of dog? The jack russell next door barks quite a bit when excited/scared/happy. But our golden retrievers only really bark when someone knocks on the door.

He's an Elk Hound cross. Not entirely sure what with (he's a rescue dog, came over with a huge lot from Ireland and they have no information) though we suspect German Shep, due to face shape and his height.

Well Elkhounds (and most spitz type breeds) are known for being vocal, but I know an Elkhound breeder and it is possible to train them to be quiet.

I wouldn't use an anti bark collar personally. A dog that barks constantly for long periods of times has issues, and whilst a spray collar might stop the barking, it won't stop the cause and it might lead to a very unhappy dog.

Usually, dogs do things either because it is rewarding for them or it is being inadvertantly encouraged in their environment. They are like children in that negative attention is still attention, so telling them off, even hittin gthem or spraying with water in some cases, would be viewed as attention by the dog and better than nothing. So, you need to have a look at how you react to the barking and decide whether there is any way at all you could be rewarding the behaviour.

I would also look at why the dog may be barking. I do think breed is a factor here, but coul dhe be bored or even over stimulated? Is he possibly under socialised and therefore anxious about noises outside the house or passers by? To a dog that is anxious about passers by, they bark in reaction and th epasser by (who was always just going to walk by anyway) appears to walk away, so to the dog, the barking worked, so it will keep doing it.

There are so many reasons the dog could be barking, I think it is best to consult a good behaviourist. You can find one near you here:

www.apdt.co.uk

The trainers from this website will use reward based methods which are best and have least potential problems for the dog, they will also be safe for you to continue yourself once the behaviourist leaves or in between visits. If you ring round a couple in your area you might get a feel for one and can ask how much they charge etc.

I'm sorry but my sympathies are with the complainer. There are days when I want to take poisoned meat out and leave it scattered about my area.

I do actually like dogs btw. But ...... argh. Especially in the summer when you are sleeping with the windows open and there is almost continually at least one dog barkign!!

i agree, i think the neighbour did the right thing rather than report you atraight away. her late call might have been out of frustration that particular night. I love dogs but a dog constantly barking can cause a great amount of stress.

this can be fixed but you need to address it quickly and persevere with it.

it's good they've complained , i imagine they were holding off and holding off and finally had to say something

definitely better to come to your door than to have the RSPCA turn up to investigate you

if the dog is not suitable for your family environment.. then you need to take steps for retraining or look at rehousing..

I'd be speaking with whichever rescue centre you got him from, and perhaps seek their advice on retraining/rehoming?

errr...you need to train the dog to stop. You can't just say "well, it's more annoying for us" because trust me, it's not.

It is NOT acceptable for your dog to bark all night. It is also not acceptable to get annoyed at someone who complains (seemingly very politely as well) about the barking.

I would be speaking to the RSPCA - if they lied about these things what else did they lie about? And start some training immediately. Clearly the water spray is not working.

Dog trainer is the way forward - they can give you god advice that is relative to your dog. Phone the RSPCA first and explain the problem - often if they have given you the dog then they would rather work with you to sort the prolem rather than risk a re-home or similar (not saying you would, but if they get a report then likely they would be the ones to investigate).

Failing that look for a local trainer. We got one for our dog and it cost us £25 for one session - well worth it. We were pretty hard up at the time, but it was totally worth it. Our dog is sorted!

Have you tried all the usual techniques of play-therapy?

We found our dog barked because he was bored, so we filled a Kong with food and let him have that if we were out (or in). There are other boredom busters for dogs too, like a wooden puzzle that the dog has to slide to get food out of. It's all about positive re-inforcement and rewarding good behaviour - i.e not barking.

When our dog is not baring he is rewarded with these games. And as a result has used his brain power and is knackered, thus goes to sleep instead of barking.

Does he get enough exercise?
Have you tried clicker training? This is also a great way to stop misbehaviour. Dogs thrive on positive energy and reward systems - much better than distraction or punishment.

Just throwing some ideas around. All have worked for us in the past.

We have tried training, he went to puppy classes, as stated above, but the woman who was running it suggested we leave, as he wasn't obeying any commands from us or from her, and was distracting everyone else. We took him backing for the next course, when he was a bit more settled, and he didn't "pass" - he wouldn't sit, stay or lay down when he didn't feel like it. He has got better, but he is still very difficult.

Exercise wise; I'll be honest and say I don't know. I can't physically walk him, he is too strong for me (I walk with a stick), so its my mum, dad and brother that take charge of that. He was being walked for half hour to an hour a day last time it came up in conversation, but he pulled my mum over and she dislocated her shoulder. So am really not sure at the moment.

Someone has just come round to say there are a group (sorry, I don't know the correct term) of foxes with cubs nearby, so that combined with the yappy dog, and the rats, is possibly why he is so bad.

He has - thankfully - been more settled today, I think he was missing my family, as they're not normally always away at the same time.

I will look into the trainers, thank you, but if those are the prices it won't be possible.

He shouldn't be bored - I play with him on a regular basis. Obviously when DS is occupied / asleep, but he in entertained and played with, and fussed over ( more so since DS has been here, as we were all concerned about him being jealous).

MagicDragon - what do you expect me to do? There is no point telling me its not acceptable when I'm am on here asking for help to stop it. And I don't think they lied, I think he was very meek (and thin ) when he was with them. But it hasn't helped that we were mislead.

SirBoob - Would it help to hire a dog walker? If he's knackered and has had a lot of stimulation he will be less likely to bark. Dogs that size/temperament need to be outside. If you can't manage it, pay someone to do it or rehome.

I'm really really sorry, but if you can't handle this dog then you need to give it back.

tbh it sounds like you aren't able to give him what he needs.

puppy class isn't the sort of training that he needs. you need someone to help you with his behaviour rather than basic commands. foxes/yappy dog/rats could be the cause of some of his barking but tbh if he is still doing it in the house then it seems far more likely to be behavioural.

if you can't afford to get the help then I think you would be better rehoming him with someone who can.

Has he not been walked at all for the last week whilst the rest of your family were away?

poppin -I was wondering the same thing.

We have collie-crosses, If they didn't havethe daily hour-long walk, plus games in the garden they'd start to chew everything in sight and bark like crazy.

OP?

He was taken for a nearly two hour walk just before they left, and I have been running him ragged playing ball in the evenings. But no, he hasn't been walked.

My family had to go away - it wasn't a holiday, my disabled uncle has recently had a kidney transplant and is soon to be coming home But his wheelchair ramp had to be repaired among several other things, he lives up the other end of the country and no one else could do it.

RE dog walker; that hadn't really crossed my mind. I might suggest it. Do you think the fact he does pull so much would stop people walking him, though?