To use a bark stop on my 8 month old dog

[Horsegirl1]

We live on a farm and any little noise she hears she barks. Even during the night a slight noise means she yaps. She sleeps with me as she is like my baby girl so I'm forever being woken up with a start because of her yapping on . She is a jackapoo and I don't want anything in humane to use . I want a gentle way to get this barking to stop. It really makes you jump when she starts as it's so random and loud. I have bought a bark stop but I'm. Unsure if it's working as it's in audible to humans. I just got it today and she has barked a few times but doesn't act like this bark stop is upsetting her ? Aibu to use this and has anyone any advice for gentle ways to stop her barking

[Runningbutnotscared]

Well needaclever, I think I'll take my advice from the RSPCA and not some random on the Internet, thanks.
we have spent hundreds (I refuse to add it up because the amount would bring a tear to my eye) on trainers spouting positive reinforcement. It hasn't made a blind bit of difference. The bark collar works on my very very robust farm dog.

For what it's worth I agree that some dogs can happily sleep on a bed with no problems but I'm sorry OP, it doesn't sound like yours is one of those.

You have to parent (train) the dog you have, not the one you want to have!!!!

[TrionicLettuce]

Even if such a device does stop her barking (because the result for her if she does it unpleasant) it doesn't address the route cause and you may well find that she develops other undesirable behaviours in place of the barking. You need to know why she's barking (boredom/stress/etc.) and work on that.

It can be difficult to find a reputable behaviourist, anyone can set themselves up as one and there are plenty about who still believe in dominance theory and "dog whisperer" style corrections. Look for someone through the APBC or get a referral from your vet.

[FuzzyFairy]

Have you tried having the radio on downstairs or in another room? Have it on low during the day so she is used to it and then leave it on. Our GSDx is mostly fine in the night but can get set off by street noise if the house is silent so this method works most of the time.

[Horsegirl1]

She loves sleeping next to me and gets stressed even if I go to the toilet in the night and leave her. She only barks upon hearing a noise outside or if someone knocks at door . Maybe I just need to accept this is her and as you say she is alerting me to a noise outside . She doesn't constantly bark all day it's just random things . My last dog never barked so maybe I'm expecting to much. Thanks everyone. She is snoring beside me in bed now haha

[kali110]

Goodluck monday op! I'd try a behaviourist, or training courses too. I'd never use one of those collars i'm aftaid.
I also don't see what's wrong with you letting the dog sleep in the bed with you!
My cats all sleep with dh and i
I call them my boys too

[WhooooAmI24601]

We have a rescue spaniel who's a little 'delicate' (and by delicate I mean she's batshit and will bark if a pigeon farts three miles away. She'll bark at the wind, at the echo of her own bark, if people walk within a fifty mile radius of the house. You name it she'll bark at it).

We got a behaviourist in as she also had issues around guarding food. The advice we were given was to distract and always reward good behaviours, so rather than using something negative to persuade her to stop barking (and the behaviourist pointed out that shouting "stop fucking barking you tosspot" made her think I was barking too, so got her all riled up and induced more barking) so I learned to click my fingers and say "no" when she barked. It sounds mad but over time it distracted her enough to stop the barking, and she's learned the command so that now I don't have to click - a firm, quiet "no" is enough. Giving a little reward when she stopped barking immediately reinforced the message and whilst she's still an absolute twat, she barks far less.

It takes time and effort, but getting some real training was invaluable for us and this lunatic creature.

[JellyBelly89]

I wonder if she is barking to protect you particularly at night. Being asleep menans you are very vulnerable. Does she not listen to you if you tell her to be quiet?

Can she bark on cue? Lots of people use that to then teach them 'quiet'.

As for no dogs in bedrooms. All of mine are in my room and I've now got three. One of mine has been very ill before and had his stomach pumped to remove acid because they feared he would bloat. He is such a good boy that if he's unwell he doesn't bark, but he will come up to me and nuzzle me awake. Bloat is often a night time thing and out of sheer fear they will always be upstairs or if they want to be downstairs the door will always be open for them to come in my bedroom. Well trained dogs should cause any issues, people are always very impressed how well behaved mine are.

[kali110]

From your op is that really a lot of barking?
You have my sympathy one of my cats cries loads at night to be let out nosiest little bugger

[kali110]

Have you tried felliway? ( or the dog equivalent range)

[dodobookends]

I want the best for my baby girl

Well, in that case, you need to put your personal emotions aside, and start treating her like the dog that she is. Sorry.

[Bloopbleep]

A pp said dogs don't bark for fun but some dogs can get a lot of reward from barking and it becomes fun. I have one of those. Distraction before the barking starts helps. There are always signs they're about to bark so learn those and distract the dog before they start. Do not reward the dog if they bark then come to you but reward them if they comes to you instead of barking- eg play with her toy. You need to do this during the day first.

As for the nighttime barking this is going to be a long haul thing. I agree with others about making the dog their own bed in a separate room. Dogs don't think like humans, they don't see it as cruel not to sleep in your bed. They like pack and they like hierarchy and to know their nstatus within the pack. Sharing your bed doesn't make you leader of the pack and so your dog will not respect you as leader of the pack. By dominating the dog and eg putting her to bed every night in her own bed, away from the family you are asserting your position as leader. Dogs prefer rules to equality with other family members. The barking comes from your dog's need to protect you as the dog believes it's their job to do that. You need to retrain them to see that it's your job as head of he pack to protect the family. Until you create the hierarchy this will never happen. This will be a long process for you but you need to stop thinking of your dog as your other baby. It's actually unfair to your dog not to provide it with its status in the pack and not to show it leadership. I learned all this the hard way.

[ThymeLord]

Get a plug-in pheromone thing for calming. That'd be my first step.

You're describing a nervy dog if she doesn't even like you getting up to go to the bathroom. Don't use a bark stop, yes it may stop her barking but the root cause of the behaviour will still be there, she'll just learn that barking = unpleasant scary noise and will learn alternate behaviours to relieve her stress. I'd start off small and praise her for barking and add a cue word. Once she can bark on command then you teach her QUIET on demand. So say speak, talk, bark whatever and if she barks you reward a single treat. Then say quiet or shush or whatever and then reward her massively when she stops. Even if you have to distract her to stop the bark still reward and praise lavishly with good quiet! good shush!

[ThymeLord]

Oh and pack theory and domination are VERY outdated concepts.

[StarryIllusion]

Why is she doing it? Actually alarmed and warning you or just likes the sound of her own voice/yappy/barks at her own shadow for the fun of it? If the latter, get her a dog bed in the corner of your room and every time she barks, put her out of your bed. She will learn very quickly that if she wants to sleep with you, she needs to be quiet. I've raised two Labs from puppies with those massive eyes that inspire guilt so I know how wicked and evil you feel when putting your foot down but both of them grew into well behaved and well mannered dogs so there is something to be said for discipline and yes they slept in my room, one of them used to sneak in bed with me during fireworks.

If she is barking at something specific, the first time she does it, get up and take her to see what it is, if practical. My second dog used to be terrified of fireworks until one night, I put her lead on and took her outside to see them. Not a tremble or flinch for the rest of the night. After that initial check though, don't react. Back to bed and don't even tense. She needs to see it as normal noise. Not worth alerting you. Always investigate a new noise with her even if you know what it is. She is only young, she needs to be taught at this point. Bark stop is for chronic, problem barkers. She is just a puppy who has not yet learned what she should and shouldn't bark at.

[kali110]

ThymeLord yes pheromone plug in is what i have for the cats from felliway.
You can also get sprays, and capsules/gel/paste that you can put in their food to help calm them.

[ThymeLord]

That's the one Kali, I couldn't remember the name! I've never actually used one for a dog but I had a pair of nervy rescue cats some years ago and the Feliway plug-in seemed to help them quite a lot.

[JaimeLannister]

I would use every other option before a bark stop box/collar/spray. While it might stop the barking, it won't stop why she feels the need to bark and she may act out in other ways.

Are there any other dogs in the area? It would be unfair if they were barking but she was getting the uncomfortable high pitched noise while being quiet and could make her anxious in her own home.

Have a read from Victoria Stilwell. She is a positive trainer. Good luck.

positively.com/contributors/barking-barking-barking-etc-etc-etc/

positively.com/dog-behavior/nuisance-behaviors/barking/

[StarryIllusion]

I missed your last update, sorry. First few nights take her with you to the toilet. After that, don't. Don't pet her or interact beyond saying a single phrase. Whatever you want. I just say going for a wee. She will connect the phrase to you disappearing and coming straight back. No other interaction. You don't want to reinforce the idea that you getting up is a big deal. They can be taught to understand some words and phrases. Once she knows that you always go to the same place and always come back unharmed, she will chill.

I also agree with Thyme about teaching her to bark and stop on command.

[FairyDogMother11]

Ours is a rescue and has gone through the barking stage; we've just been very consistent with reinforcing "quiet" as a command and rewarding him when he does as he's told. He was also clingy as you describe, and we encouraged him to be more independent; on walks not constantly being engaged with him and allowing him to explore freely; at home, training him to stay in another room rather than following us around. He initially did sleep in our room following some very horrible nights when he first arrived, where none of us slept and he spent all the nights crying. He had horrible separation anxiety, he couldn't hold his wee for more than half an hour while we went to town and it was horrible leaving him. But now, 4 months since we got him, he is more comfortable, he's independent enough that he sleeps downstairs away from us through choice. I don't think you should kick your dog out of your room, that won't help anything, but maybe the barking is coming from an anxiety issue, as you have described some anxious behaviour ie. Crying when you go for a wee etc. X

[FairyDogMother11]

I also agree with Starry re. Showing her what she fears, ours barked at thunder so I just took him outside in it the very first time it happened, he sleeps through it now, doesn't even flinch!

[Dontyouopenthattrapdoor]

I taught my barker to bark on command when I said "woof". He already knew "no"

It was then very easy to teach him "no woof".

Out of interest, how come this dog gets to be part of your family, your baby, upstairs etc and the collies don't?

[ThymeLord]

Good advice there from Starry

I have a very nervy dog who is attached to me like velcro. I rarely leave him but there are times I just have to and he understands the phrase "back soon" now. I say it and drop a treat and then leave. It took a really long time but now before I've finished saying the word 'soon' he's actively excitedly waiting for the treat and settles knowing I'm coming back. If you can train a key phrase into your pooch for each time you leave the room then she will start to be more settled.

[ThymeLord]

trapdoor OP lives on a farm. Presumably the collies are working dogs and not pet dogs and live outside. That's perfectly normal.

[sparechange]

If your dog gets stressed when you go to the toilet, you are giving it severe separation anxiety

This is a Very Bad Thing and really quite cruel to toe dog in the long run.

You can carry on kidding yourself that your 'baby' needs to sleep with you but the truth is you are being incredibly mean to your dog to make it so dependent on your company to feel safe.

You are also confusing the hell out of her to start punishing her for barking while keeping her in the role of your personal bodyguard. The dog won't have a clue why you are sending out mixed messages and rejecting her guarding.

A dog is a dog. It thinks like a dog, not a baby. It acts like a dog, not a toddler.
Your dog doesn't need or want to sleep with you. She thinks she is doing you a favour, and part of her role includes the barking.

Please stop being so cruel to your poor dog and let her have a safe and secure place to sleep away from you, so she can have some time out to get a bit of sleep! You are putting your own neediness above her welfare and needs.

[kali110]

We also use 'kalm aid' . It's a paste you put in their food for anxiety in animals. It's got valerian in, a natural sedative ( that people often take).
These certainly work for our very nervy cat!