danisgoat
Moderator
Great advice...thanks for sharing it with us.
This thread was a great thread in discussing different training methods. I learned a lot from this thread:
http://sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=7602&highlight=prong+collars
Training for a 10 month old problem barker
- Thread starter saraja87
- Start date
Great advice...thanks for sharing it with us.
This thread was a great thread in discussing different training methods. I learned a lot from this thread:
http://sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=7602&highlight=prong+collars
Thank you everyone for all your excellent suggestions! We never knew there were so many options and it's great to hear from so many people since everyone has a different opinion. While Tintin is our third sheltie, Milou is our first GSD and it's really interesting to see the differences people suggest in training.
Our GSD Milou at almost 21 weeks is still on a nap time schedule though we've never crated the full 18 hours desired by our trainer. There is almost always someone home during the day so we'd play with her until she needed a break then crate her for bit, then back out again etc. Now that we've added Tintin to the mix we just put him on the same schedule. Since someone is home, there is no real need for them to be crated longer than a total of a couple hours during the day, but it provides an excellent mandatory nap time that our GSD still really needs.
The two of them together get a good amount of exercise. We play/walk/feed in the morning, then crate for a little bit, then 30 minutes of hard play (they chase each other into exhaustion. We start out with fetch and then they just take each others toys and run all over the yard), back in the crate for a bit, repeat multiple times until the evening when they get more play/walk/food. He barks when we leave him in his crate and when she's out of her crate but he's still in his.
Tintin can NOT be left unsupervised out of his crate at any time. He is the biggest trouble maker you can imagine. He likes to shred paper/books/toys, climbs on the coffee table, climbs on the chairs to get onto the dining room table, stands in the window, tries to climb on the kitchen counter, he'll eat anything he can find etc. He had no training as a young puppy and will do pretty much whatever he wants. His bladder control is good but not perfect, he has peed inside multiple times when he's excited but not as an intentional action. We also have cats he'd love to bother.
Milou would probably be better alone since she's had a couple months of puppy class but her control over her bladder isn't perfect (she's peed on one of our beds a handful of times, usually when she's over excited) and she'd still bother the cats. Together they'd be a terrible twosome wrecking havoc on the house and loving every minute of it.
We tried the spray bottle suggestion with Tintin before we bought the prong collar as well. Instead of a deterrent though, he quite enjoyed it and acting like he was getting a spa misting treatment as opposed to a correction for continuous, ear splitting barking.
For the prong collar, we've used it a couple times each day for 10-15 minutes while working on Tintin's training. We don't need to tug/pull/jerk it, he moderates himself well with pulling and focuses well when it's on. We've done mainly sit, down, leave it (the cat/food) etc. We also use it on his walks but would be open to using something better since so many people have great recommendations. We definitely don't like the gentle leaders since they hate them so much and the regular flat collars slip over his head so I think we might order a martingale to try.
We really can't wait to start his obedience class, when you interact with him you can tell that under all that untrained puppy behavior is a fantastic dog waiting to come out. He already loves agility exercises (a-frame and tunnel) and if his barking doesn't drive us absolutely insane, I anticipate that we'll have a lot of fun with him later on.
Our GSD Milou at almost 21 weeks is still on a nap time schedule though we've never crated the full 18 hours desired by our trainer. There is almost always someone home during the day so we'd play with her until she needed a break then crate her for bit, then back out again etc. Now that we've added Tintin to the mix we just put him on the same schedule. Since someone is home, there is no real need for them to be crated longer than a total of a couple hours during the day, but it provides an excellent mandatory nap time that our GSD still really needs.
The two of them together get a good amount of exercise. We play/walk/feed in the morning, then crate for a little bit, then 30 minutes of hard play (they chase each other into exhaustion. We start out with fetch and then they just take each others toys and run all over the yard), back in the crate for a bit, repeat multiple times until the evening when they get more play/walk/food. He barks when we leave him in his crate and when she's out of her crate but he's still in his.
Tintin can NOT be left unsupervised out of his crate at any time. He is the biggest trouble maker you can imagine. He likes to shred paper/books/toys, climbs on the coffee table, climbs on the chairs to get onto the dining room table, stands in the window, tries to climb on the kitchen counter, he'll eat anything he can find etc. He had no training as a young puppy and will do pretty much whatever he wants. His bladder control is good but not perfect, he has peed inside multiple times when he's excited but not as an intentional action. We also have cats he'd love to bother.
Milou would probably be better alone since she's had a couple months of puppy class but her control over her bladder isn't perfect (she's peed on one of our beds a handful of times, usually when she's over excited) and she'd still bother the cats. Together they'd be a terrible twosome wrecking havoc on the house and loving every minute of it.
We tried the spray bottle suggestion with Tintin before we bought the prong collar as well. Instead of a deterrent though, he quite enjoyed it and acting like he was getting a spa misting treatment as opposed to a correction for continuous, ear splitting barking.
For the prong collar, we've used it a couple times each day for 10-15 minutes while working on Tintin's training. We don't need to tug/pull/jerk it, he moderates himself well with pulling and focuses well when it's on. We've done mainly sit, down, leave it (the cat/food) etc. We also use it on his walks but would be open to using something better since so many people have great recommendations. We definitely don't like the gentle leaders since they hate them so much and the regular flat collars slip over his head so I think we might order a martingale to try.
We really can't wait to start his obedience class, when you interact with him you can tell that under all that untrained puppy behavior is a fantastic dog waiting to come out. He already loves agility exercises (a-frame and tunnel) and if his barking doesn't drive us absolutely insane, I anticipate that we'll have a lot of fun with him later on.
Hmmm, perhaps you could try a spray bottle of water mixed with some bitter apple for the barking? You would probably have to be close to him to do it as I don't know if it's an eye irritant. Or some lemon juice diluted could be sprayed into his mouth. Do you think he enjoys barking? Or really really just wants the attention? If you think it's just for attention, I would put him in the basement or closet, some room where you can close off the noise ( I put a down comforter over most of my dog's crate to contain the noise so my neighbors didn't get angry) Can he hear things going on in the house while he's crated? He may feel like he's missing out. Try turning on a fan or something for white noise so he can't hear other things going on if you think that could be the case....Let me know if you find something that works for you!
Caro
Moderator
I'm not a fan of using spray bottles on shelties given spray bottles are used in grooming. You either find they think nothing of it or you set them up to hate grooming
Mine have gotten to know the difference between a discipline spray to the mouth or spraying while grooming and being talked to nicely. Shelties are smart and they will figure out which is which. At least it stopped the barking for my dogs. I haven't had to use the bottle in a negative way in months. A simple "quiet" is very effective now. I also used 2 different spray bottles, as one is just for disciplining the cats/dogs, and the one I use on the dogs has a little conditioner in it.
marymrumfelt
Forums Enthusiast
I have to agree with this!! I cannot believe anyone would suggest not using a gentle lead (as long as it works for you) as it's the ONLY thing that taught my puppy not to pull on the leash. It's sort of ridiculous anyone would suggest a gentle lead is a negative thing. Make sure you surf around on other sites and get opinions from many different sites/people before you take anything to heart. While my dog did dislike the gentle lead, it taught her within about three months how to walk and not pull on the leash. I don't know anything about prong collars so I can't speak on them. I can say it would have been my next option had the gentle lead not solved out issues so I cannot blame you one bit for leaning towards it if the GL didn't work....I've never used the GL to control barking... good idea, though. My next option as far as barking is to go with bark softening surgery as Iwork from home and cannot lose my job due to my dog feeling the need to bark at every little noise she hears! Good luck
You sound like you're a good dog owner and I hope puppy caves in and eats her delicious raw Mine never had any problems eating their raw meal LOL
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Justicemom
Forums Celebrity
I don't and won't use GL except as a last resort and the same for any other type of training collar. I prefer a plain rolled leather collar and in the safety of my house-no collar. But that me. This article sums it better than I can.
http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/54/97/
KarenCurtis
Forums Sage
The spray bottle did not work for Sandstorm either. He reacted the same way- it did not phase him a bit- I now use it for grooming instead, but that is all!!
KarenCurtis
Forums Sage
We know Shelties are smart, there are other ways to control the barking, and hopefully the puppy class for Tintin will help.
marymrumfelt
Forums Enthusiast
Eh, the article had some valid points but bottom line is it helped me get my puppy under control in about two weeks. I have since been be able to switch her back over to a regular collar and she does a lot better on it now. I agree it's not the most comfortable things, but it's either be a little uncomfortable or never get to go on walks b/c you act like a fool. She's a puppy. It's nothing she can control as she is still learning how to handle excitement and scary things. It's kind of like debarking... if you try other methods and they don't work, then you have to go more drastic. Every dog/owner/situation is different so if you try out the GL and it doesn't work, return it. If it does like in my case, great! I have one of those machines that make a loud pitch noise when the dogs bark, someone gave it to me after dog sitting mine LMAO It does help reduce the amount of barking, especially when they are outside in the yard as that's when they bark the most. Have you tried that? I haven't used it much lately but need to plug it back in. We're moving in two weeks and I'm not so sure are neighbors will be okay with these damn barky dogs!