Dogs barking

[lurcherlove]

My dogs have been becoming increasingly barky around the house. Can anyone give me any fool proof strategies for training them out of barking at everything?

What are they barking at, things they can see or hear?

How recent? Is it at a certain time and how constant is it.

I sometimes let my dog bark then he will stop on his own other times I've trained him to come to me say "ssshh" and give him a treat. I think the secret is to acknowledge the bark then get them to shut the hell up .

Yes, things like other dogs passing the house, car doors closing, other dogs they can hear in the neighbourhood (there’s a recent addition somewhere and it makes a dreadful squealing sound).

They do it first thing in the morning when they hear our neighbour go out to work. But any time during the day if they hear something or think they hear something.

I think it’s been building for a while, honestly, but I have quite a strong reaction to it because it really makes me jump. Which I know only makes the problem worse. :(

We used “total recall” for recall training and that worked really well. So I was hoping for something similar!!

How many do you have? Is there an instigator.

We have 2, I’m pretty sure its the lurcher, our second dog, who starts it, because it was never a problem when we just had the one (medium sized mongrel). I have tried teaching the “quiet” command before but I’m not confident I didn’t just reinforce the barking.

What is their day to day like? A lot of problem behaviour is just a symptom of other issues

Are they getting plenty of exercise and mental stimulation?

They have two walks a day around 45 mins each usually, longer walks at the weekend/when we are off. A fair amount of attention during the day, might be home alone for an hour and a half, and don’t seem to make a fuss then (we have filmed them before now). They are fed usually from mazes/snuffle mats/activity boards. Perhaps I could do some additional training with them during the day. Would that really make a difference? How much would you say? They are age 7 yrs (Lurcher) and 9yrs (mongrel), with no health issues.

I'd say what you're providing already sounds great! I was only asking because sometimes lack of exercise or stimulation can lead to boredom and frustration, but it doesn't sound like that's the case here.

If it's outside sights you can get privacy film for the windows, I would also try leaving a fan or radio on with white noise to help drown out any triggers.

Thanks! I will have a look at those :)

My friend has a yappy terrier. Recently she bought him a collar which vibrates once, if he keeps barking it sprays a bit of water.

it’s excellent, now when I go round he’s much better behaved.