Barking Non-Stop

[Bonnie & Bodhi]

My 14 week old doodle barks almost non-stop. I am afraid that keeping him on a lead while he is in the apt has now made him totally unwilling to do without me even for a minute and even then he barks and I am at a loss of what to do. I have tried giving him a bully stick, tried the vinegar in water spray (he likes that). I can not imagine what my neighbors must feel when I run from the apartment (for a few hours) and leave him non-stop barking in this crate. He is OK in the crate, next to my bed at night but that seems about it. I am afraid that I have bitten off more then I can chew. I have not had a puppy since I was in grade school, with a large family yard. Can anyone offer other suggestions than that were made in an earlier offer to help.

[Breanna]

Crush started doing that right after I got her, when she was 14 weeks old. That is one thing I CAN NOT STAND. I like barking at the door to alert the owners, but sitting there barking at me for no reason was not going to work. I spent about fifteen minutes diligently working on the "quiet" and "speak" command. I taught her to speak, simply by telling her to speak and making a bark sound. I rewarded her every time I said "speak" and she barked. Once she had that down, I would then say "quiet" and reward her for not barking. It did't take long for her to know the commands. From then on if she barked I firmly said "quiet!" and she would drop down to the floor and stop barking. She is allowed to bark to alert me that she has to go potty, but she rarely barks anymore unless I tell her to. 

[Bonnie & Bodhi]

That is something I have not tried but will. Thanks!

[Christine & Shelby]

I did the same thing with my Shelby... Taught her speak and quiet! She is allowed to bark and alert me someone is at the house (which I really appreciate).

[Christine & Shelby]

Is your pup getting a good bout of exercise before you but him in the crate? I tried to have a 10-15 minutes exercise bout before crating... Seemed to help her settle down.

[Julie and Max]

I agree with Chrstine, a tired puppy is less likely to bark, if you schedule a good long walk each time before you go out it might help. 

[DonMarie and Picco]

Picco was a barker when a pup.Mainly at night when we put him in his crate.  I tried to teach him "quiet" but didn't work and he always got plenty of exercise. I got him a citronella spray collar and that did the trick. He really hates the spray. We are renting a duplex right now and we still use it sometimes when we leave "just in case". It's a great alternative to a shock collar.