UGHHHH...Barking!!!

[Lindsey]

Molly really is a great doodle! She housetrained easily, she is great in her crate, she has slept through the night without so much as a wimper since day one, she knows her basic commands and is- for the most part- very well behaved.
However, my little dog- my pride and joy, ruler of the house- taught Molly to bark while outside at anyone and everything that passes by our house.
I've posted about her barking before...but until yesterday, I didn't think it was a HUGE problem.
She would start barking and my husband our I would run outside and yell "HUSH" and then go back in, wait a minute, if she started barking we would run right back out and say "HUSH" again...if she continued, inside and into her crate she would go.

Wellllll, yesterday one of our neighbors- who actually live in the other half of our townhome/duplex and who we're really good friends with. Said that a dog had been waking her up barking in the morning time. Now, we do have a lot of dogs in our neighborhood and a lot of them bark- part of Mollys problem, she will bark when they start barking too- however I'm pretty (okay I know) that the dog she is referring to is our Molly :-(

I'm at a loss, I don't want to bother our neighbors, but I don't know how to make her stop barking while outside...aside from doing what we're already doing.
I'm looking into the no bark collars...but they are pricey!!

Molly won't bark any other time, but when she's outside...does anyone have any idea or tips for me?!

[Adina P]

How early is she out there barking? 

Is it possible for you to go out with her during that morning time so you can stop her barking immediately?

Does she bark even if sent out alone (without your other dog) or only if both are out together?

 

I guess I'm thinking that depending on how early she is first out for potty she might need to be accompanied to keep the peace and keep her quiet.  Or perhaps she needs to go out without your other dog (if that makes a difference in her barking).  I am also thinking that two warnings is too much.  If it's important to you that she quit barking the moment you tell her "hush" then it might work better if you bring her inside IMMEDIATELY upon barking after the hush rather than giving another 'hush' command.  Perhaps if that doesn't work don't even give the hush command...simply go out and get her and re-crate her.  Perhaps that will let her know with more certainty that ANY time she starts with the barking she's going inside. 

 

As to the no-bark collars, those might also be a great solution.  They aren't going to cure barking except for when they are ON your dog, but sometimes that's all you need: a way to control barking at certain times.  If you go that route, you'll want to train her to the collar without your other dog there so that she doesn't associate the correction with your other dog...so she understands it is purely due to her barking.  Once she understands that, she'll have a strong incentive to keep quiet.  Here's a good article on bark collars that might help you decide (this is for the ecollars not the spray ones): http://loucastle.com/bark.htm

 

[Lindsey]

Thanks Adina- some great tips!

My DH was letting her out as soon as he got up (around 6:30am-ish) and letting her stay out while he ate breakfast and got ready. Then he will leave for school and she stays out until I'm finished getting ready- and walking out the door to work- usually around 7:30ish. She used to only bark when our little dog was out there, she would only bark after he started barking- he's so small though, his bark never bothered any neighbors. However, now she'll bark even if he is not out there. I guess I never thought about going out and standing with her to do her business- and then making her come righ back in after she's finished. We were just letting her stay outside during that time in the morning, to stretch her legs and play (our backyard is very secure and fenced in with a 6ft high wooden privacy fence).
We wanted her to get a lot of time out of her crate in the morning because by 7:30 am, we are gone and she is in her crate until DH gets home around 11am11:30 for lunch. If she has to come in right after she goes to the bathroom, she will have to be crated earlier, so that I can get ready- I can't watch her while I'm getting ready because I get ready upstairs and she stays downstairs (isn't allowed upstairs).
However, I think I'll start getting up a little bit earlier and standing outside with her so that I can correct her as soon as she lets out the first bark. I just don't want to be forced to over use her crate :-( I feel bad the amount of time she already has to stay in there.
She gets two, really good, really long, runs in a day and we take her to the dog park at 2-3 times a week...but still, I hate that she's in her crate for 31/2 hours during the morning and depending on what DH's afternoon schedule is possibly another 2-3 hours in the afternoon....plus she sleeps in there at night....

...now that I've typed all of that out, I think I've talked myself into a bark collar. I just hate crating her every time she barks, with the amount of time she is already in her crate.....

okay...I'm off to read the article you posted Adina.

[Taylor & Huff]

I don't know much how to train her to stop barking other than referring you to thins bark collar http://www.amazon.com/Premier-SpraySense-Anti-Bark-Dog-Collar/dp/B0...

I don't have a personal experience with this one but I know that a lot of our customers use this with their dogs and every one of them says that it works. It sprays them with citronella every time they bark. It is completely safe. If by bark collars you mean shocking collars, I wouldn't go that way, There was a dog that came in our shop and his owners wanted a part of his neck shaved because it was irritated and we took off the shock collar and there was no need to shave it, there was already no hair there. I don't know how high they had it set but I just don't like the idea. One of our groomer's dogs has a barking problem and she uses a vibrating collar on him and she says it works too. I don't know how much those cost though. Good luck!:)

[GBK]

This is the one I use and it works for Kona.  Hardly have to put it on anymore.....

http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Deluxe-Little-Dog-Control-PBC00-10782...

 

My suggestion if you go this route is get the one with the plastic collar rather than the nylon.  With the nylon you have to really put it on tight to make it stay in position, with the palstic it is sturdy and everything is built right into the collar.

Good luck, we just bring ours in after potty in the moring and they laze around and watch us get ready.  Is Molly not allowed in the house except in her crate?

[Michael Gurley]

Bark collars are expensive, but some of them do work. I wouldn't use the ones that give an electric shock, though. That just scares the dog into silence!

[Camilla and Darwin]

My only advice is to not let her stay out there during the hours that she might disturb people. Take her out to potty, then bring her right back in. Working on the barking through training is obviously a good idea too, so long as it's not during hours that will wake people up...

 

As a dog owner, I really do understand your dilemma. But as an apt dweller, I understand your friend's. We have a downstairs neighbor who's dog was in heat, and was howling all day and night. It was SO stressful  to loose sleep and not be able to do anything to stop it. So I'd take every step to ensure that she isn't outside barking while people are sleeping.

[Lindsey]

Thanks everyone!!


Oh, yes I HATE knowing that MY dog is the dog that is bothering my neighbors. I really don't want to be "that" neighbor, lol. Not to mention, heck...it bothers me too!! when I hear it.
I told my friend/neighbor that I thought that it was Molly that was waking her up and that we were working on it, but that I would try even harder now, to find a solution. I told her to PLEASE let me know if she heard Molly again in the am...and to call right away, so I could be for sure that it was Molly.

Thanks for the collar advices...I'm going to look into the non-shocking collar- as those scare me :-(
Thanks for the links!! I'm off to read about those specific collars now!

GBK- Molly is allowed in our house, when we're in it. However, she is NOT allowed upstairs and therefore while I'm upstairs getting ready, she can't be left alone downstairs. So we have been leaving her outside to stretch and play...instead of putting her right back in her crate.

[Adina P]

If the spray collar works for her...great!  But remember the 'shock' isn't traumatic AND once she connects the dots (pretty darn quick I think) she won't just keep getting shocked.  She will just KNOW that when the collar is ON barking is OFF :)  It's not like she'll be getting shocked 30 times a morning.  Dogs learn quickly and it won't take a lot of correction to get her to stop.  I think most people think 'electric shock' and imagine a poor dog getting fried all day long.  NOT only do dogs NOT get fried but the stimulation isn't something they will CHOOSE to receive over and over and over and they will CHOOSE to keep quiet while the collar is on.  A quiet dog does not receive any shocks.  Finally, YOU get to choose the level of stimulation based on your dog's response to it.  You only have to use the MINIMUM necessary.

 

Now on the other hand if she is outside do you want to KNOW if there is something to bark at?  Another thought is that BY correcting her yourself and immediately crating her it does NOT mean she has to STAY crated the whole morning.  Maybe 10 min max.  It DOES make it harder that she can't come upstairs though.  But even if she is crated she'll be okay.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Send Suzann of Suzann, Rosey and Bandit a message, she used the bark collar and loved it - really not too pricing but apparently Rosey is/was quite the barker.

I contemplated getting one but I think Daisy is more manageable then Rosey was and there are not a lot of people and dogs barking around our house.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

If you find a miracle let me know! Mine are always barking at people when they look out the window. I've tried everything.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Keep us posted please, I am getting very near this point myself as Bella barks loud and deep! Especially when another dog has something that she thinks is hers or that she should have instead.  Which is frequent at our house. I would love to stop it.

[Lindsey]

Well, we tried the petsafe vibrating collar this morning. I think I put it on too loosely, it's suppose to be snug on their neck so that they can't scratch it and make the vibrating part flip around. My heart was hurting soooo badly as I latched the collar and sent Molly on her way, outside. I stood by the door and waited for her to start barking, so if something went wrong or if she freaked out, I could just run to her. She didn't bark. I waited...no barking...waited longer...still no barking. I finally went upstairs to finish getting ready and about 10 minutes later I heard her bark. It was a weird bark, kind of like maybe it had vibrated and scared her. She was quiet for a few seconds and then barked again, lower. Waited a few minutes and then one low bark again. I ran downstairs and looked out of the back door as she was standing near the back of our fence, scratching at the collar. She had flipped it all the way around, so even if it was vibrating, she wouldn't be able to feel it. By that time, it was time for her to come inside anyhow. So I just called her in and took the collar off. We'll try again this afternoon.
....it realllllly made me sad to put the collar on her though :-( I know she thinks shes just protecting us. When DH went to leave (he rides his bike to school) she ran to him while he was going through the gate. I had not told him about the collar...I just didn't want to have to explain it all. He was petting her and looked at her neck, saw the collar and then looked up at me- through the back door window. He stuck his bottom lip out like "that is so sad" and it made me hurt even more :-( I feel like a bad mommy...but I also feel like a bad neighbor. Ughhhh.

Molly doesn't bark inside...not a peep. She really is a good dog and hardly does anything wrong, until it comes to barking at people passing by...and I know she's only doing that b/c she thinks its her job.