My puppy barks at me

[Rosella T]

Hi everyone,

I've had my sweet little Omar for 3 weeks now and he is wonderful in so many ways. He is 12 weeks old and has definitely burst out of his shell. He's pretty housetrained and sleeps through the night quietly in his crate. My biggest problem with him is that he barks at me in the evening. He gets bored very easily (of course because he's a puppy) and when he does he looks right at me and barks. Sometimes it's to be let out which is fine but other times I can't figure out what he wants and he continues to bark at me in approximately 5 second intervals - his bark is loud and high pitched - and he doesn't stop. I have tried everything. I calmly but firmly say quiet and try to put my hand gently around his mouth when I say it. This used to work on my old dog. That said my old dog never barked at me like this. It literally drives me bananas and I just don't know how to make him stop. I've almost taught him to speak on command but he's not 100% with it. I have taught him a lot of basic commands but I can't seem to teach him to be quiet on command. Any suggestions would be appreciated as I live in an apartment and my neighbours have a baby so I'd love to get this under control now before it becomes unmanageable.

I've attached a picture of the little beast just because he's so damn cute!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Time for PLAY... again.   He's tired and needs one last play.  A human baby needs rocked and a puppy needs some one on one time to wear him out before bed.  

I dont think I saw any tv shows for two years from 9pm on.

Go play a hard game of fetch, chase, Frisbee, and then calmly sit on the floor when he is worn out and gently rub his belly or pet his chin. 

Honestly though, he is tired and needs just enough energy to burn off to put him down to sleep  : )  Even puppies, like human infants, are a tough one sometimes to put down to sleep  

[Rosella T]

I've been PVR'ing every show I really want to see because like you, there is no watching a show uninterrupted between 8pm and 10pm for me.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

P.S.  you might just have a chatty dog in addition. I do.  Not so bad. Just a characteristic.  I think many of us with chatty dogs, talk a lot to our dogs, so......... 

[Rosella T]

I suspected that's what it was! Thank you for your advice. You explained it perfectly. I think I do have a chatty dog. My first dog, my beloved Schnoodle Chico, was very quiet. He barked when the doorbell rang but that's about it. He was not very vocal but this guy, little Omar, wow he is very vocal. :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I agree, Joanne, that he is just a puppy, but I personally hate barking and would be happiest if my dogs never barked - ever for any reason.  This is just my opinion and I know some people like their dogs to bark and feel that they are talking to them or warning them about something.  If you don't want Omar to bark at you, I would give him NO attention when he barks at you even for a potty trip. I would turn my back and ignore. However, if you do this you better have an acceptable way he can tell you he needs to go out.  

[Rosella T]

He has bells on the door but he barks while he rings them. I tried ignoring him tonight but damn it went on forever. I'm just worried about the neighbours and at the same time I don't want him to think he has me trained to do his bidding when he barks at me.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

I agree...could be a good thing- bad thing, depending on personal preference. Like Nancy, I'm not a fan of a yapping dog. And those puppy barks! High and shrill!
When Omar starts ( and he is very cute, by the way) turning your back on him will let him know it is not acceptable. Unless of course, you want to have a full blown conversation with him....then chat away! ;)
I agree with Joanne....sounds like this is his play time and he wants some attention.

[Rosella T]

Thanks Ro! I will turn my back on him from now on. I think it will be more effective than trying to quiet him while looking at him. The high and shrill puppy bark is ear piercing!
Tonight I ignored him and he eventually stopped but it took a long time. I then trained him for about 15 minutes. Once he was calm, I played fetch with him and and now he is napping so I have some peace!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Napping is GOOD! ;)
Enzo still has a pretty high pitch bark...especially when she is excited. She rides in the back of our Jeep Wrangler and she has learned the lay of the land in our neighborhood. As soon as we hit one particular curve in the road...she knows there are horses around the bend and begins to bark. It was a game at first...but we have created a monster! That shrill bark is right on my ear and it drives me nuts! All we have to do is the word" horse" and she starts in. Gotta put a stop this one! ( or she needs to develop a deeper bark ;)

[Rosella T]

OMG that is hilarious but I can see how the hilarity may have worn thin now. ;)

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

:)

[Traz, Karen & Dale]

Rosella, it looks like you have resolved this issue, at least for the time being.  Omar is definitely a cutie!!!!  Traz doesn't bark often, but he was barking when he wanted us to play with him.  His favorite game is playing soccer in the backyard and if we didn't kick the ball fast enough, he'd bark.  We tried telling him to be quiet and turning our back to ignore him.  What finally worked was putting his ball in the shed each and every time he barked after telling him "No Barking!"  We would wait a little bit and then take it out again.  It didn't take him long to get the message and now he does not bark when we play soccer.  They are smart doodles.  Traz will be 2 years old in May so technically no longer a puppy.  He has learned so much over the past 2 years.  Enjoy all the adventures that Omar will bring your way.  It's been a learning experience for all of us.