barking & debarking that is the question

OH WE ARE NOT GIVING UP! NO WAY! My sons will move out before my pup will! (lol). I spent an hour with her on the front porch last night as a gentle storm was coming. I had her on a leash and when the barking started I told her "AH AH...Quiet" as soon as she took a breath and stopped she got a piece of FROZEN turkey (it took her a little longer to eat it frozen) She eventaully was getting the idea. She did not bark much last night like she ussually does so MAYBE she is getting the idea. When I got her at 8 weeks she barely barked at all. This all started when my son (an ADULT SON) was playing in the pool and splashing her and "making her bark". (I have been "thanking him" everyday!!) She is barking when people are in the pool. But when I get in and she barks she hears the "AH AH ...Quiet" and treats as soon as she stops for a split second.

I love all of these ideas. If feel that they are really helping. My family knows the pup comes first and that if they don't like the barking then they leave the room! (I love having the TV to myself! lol ) I am beginning to think there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you everyone for your wonderful ideas! Keep them coming!
 
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barking

I'm so glad that things are improving for you and your sheltie. I'll keep on praying that he learns "quiet", really fast. Good for you to keep at the training.
 
emmygirl said:
OH WE ARE NOT GIVING UP! NO WAY! My sons will move out before my pup will! (lol).
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:lol: Shame you can't train the sons with frozen turkey.

Deska never barked until Tully came into the house (he was a 'talker' instead) and then he discovered his bark. Dont you hate it when they find the bark. I learnt the hard way too that its easy to turn the pups into monsters. I thought it was funny when Deska attacked the rake, shovel, broom etc when he was a pup. Now he is obsessed with them and it isn't funny anymore...
 
Emmygirl: How is your pup doing now? It's been about a week, and I was just wondering how the "Quiet" or "No Bark" training is going. Hope it's going well.
 
Emmygirl: How is your pup doing now? It's been about a week, and I was just wondering how the "Quiet" or "No Bark" training is going. Hope it's going well.
 
I taught Cleveland the word, "Speak" first. I could make him bark on command, Then he already knew the word, NO, So then I taught him the "No Speak" command. Let me say this though, I had been told by the vet that Cleve was not as verbal as most Shelties, (he couldn't get a work in edgewise with me probably!:rolleyes2:), so this may be the reason it worked for me.

Good Luck and please don't get the little pup debarked!
 
still going crazy!

WELL!!! I am working on it at least 5 times a day. We go for a walk in the morning and she barks at everything (cars skateboards, airplanes) still. I try to reward her the second she is quiet. Then she flips out at other dogs while in the house if she hears them. (this could last 10 minutes) I tried teaching her to "speak" on command. She does that with no trouble but the quiet just "aint happenin" at this time
 
Here is an idea that worked for my girl Jazz. When we would be out at herding lessons, she would bark non-stop nearly the entire lesson- beyond annoying and I wanted a silent worker (unless something really necessary).
It sounds so simple, but worked like a charm.
Every time she would bark, my trainer would have me break my position- no matter what we were doing- and walk straight at her and get in her face. It is important that this is done with no reprimand, no intimidation, no exaggerating walking, ect, nothing. Just quietly and calmly straight up to the dog and putting silent pressure on them (meaning mental pressure). If the dog turns away, or moves, follow in the same quiet, calm manner and repeat. Continue until the dog gives to the pressure- meaning- the dog may lie down, sit, look away, ect.
At the moment dog responds, you immediately move back away with no voice commands, no praise, just turn and walk away. In this case, it would be as soon as the dog was silent.

With this method you are using no voice commands, no physical touch, not intimidating the dog, you are just putting pressure of presence on the dog.


In very short order, this dog became a beautifully silent worker without any corrections, no yelling, nothing.
Our trainer showed me that you can use this also for other behaviors that are not desired. Using this same method, I took this dog from mach speed while working and running sheep over me, to working at walk. :biggrin2:
It is important the dog does not think you are trying to come at it to punish, you must walk up in a normal pace and no body gestures.

If I had never witnessed it in action, I would have never believed something so simple and easy on the dog would work so well. :winkgrin:
 
When Lexi was a puppy she didn't really bark much, but as she matured her barking became progressively worse. Here are some things I did to control her barking.

1. PICK HER UP: There is nothing Lexi loves more than our evening walk. We usually walk about 2 miles so you can imagine all the things there are to see. She used to absolutely flip out when she saw another person/dog/bike/skateboard/truck/motorcycle/ and the list goes on. While I was walking her anytime she started to make the least bit of noise I quickly picked her up in an awkward position, nothing to her hurt her, but in a way that almost made her out of breath or uncomfortable. After about 3 days of picking my wild girl up she got the picture.. quick!

2. Make her get used to things: Lexi has always been skiddish so helping her become familiar with loud and sudden noises has been quite a challenge. One night I literally got on my hands and knees and kissed all over the vacuum so she would feel more comfortable. I eventually got her to eat cheese off the front of the vacuum. Also, every time I vacuum now I put her on a leash and walk her around the house with me. It has seemed to work very well on her barking issues with the vacuum. You can use this for a variety of other household appliances.

3. Give commands to distract from visitors: Lexi used to greet guests with constant barking and quite a bit of growling. Once I had her master a few basic obedience commands (sit, stay, look, and down) this became very handy. When a visitor comes to the door, even if they have to wait a minute for you to get situated, go ahead and put your dog on her lead and have her sit/stay or down/stay by the door. While opening the door try to keep the dogs attention as much as possible, and of course reward for good behavior. Lexi still barked when I first tried this, but after combining picking her up/ giving her commands she settled down nicely.



Hope this helps and good luck!
 
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