HELP! What do you do with your barkers...!

[Megan York]

Walter has turned into a barker in the worst way. He barks when my other dog touches a toy he wants, he barks when he hears people outside, he barks when he sees people outside, he barks when we are walking and he sees or hears someone. He's so nuts. I've heard all the classics, "he needs more exercise, he needs more discipline..." we have TRIED all that. 

Do any of you have any hardcore barkers? Any tips or tricks?

Thanks in advance.

[Vivian & Mojo]

Mojo (11 months old) barks when cars go by and they go by all day, bark, bark, bark and a loud bark...I give him plenty of exercise and attention as well as tainning. The barks scare me sometimes because I wonder if something is wrong, I live next to a nature preserve with bears, coyotes, bob cats and other animals. I bought the can of Pet corrector and it does stop the barking, its sprays air and the sound frightens them. I just have to take it out and show him and he stops but I want him to not start in the first place. It is helpful because before I bought it his barking went on and on.  Good luck with Walter.

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-corrector-50ml/dp/B005JVANVG

[Chelsie]

Are you talking about my dog Sam?!? I wish I could help, Sam is the same as Walter. Sam will stop barking if I tell him to stop, but I would like him to not do it in the first place. I don't want to encourage no barking at all, but we need to find a happy medium...as we would like to have kids some day! I will follow this post with the recommendations!

[Megan York]

Hmmm...I have not heard of Pet Corrector before. After your suggestion and reading the reviews on Amazon, I HAVE HOPE! I ordered a can. Hoping this will help even a LITTLE bit. 

You probably could've linked me to a genie in a bottle costing $500 on Amazon and I would've immediately ordered. I am desperate. LOL!

[Vivian & Mojo]

I also use the pet correcter for humping my leg and it breaks the spell Mojo goes into when he humps. Always treat the good behavior when they stop as the directions state.

[Hollidoodle]

I would like to hear responses too, mine barks only when I get any kind of meat or cheese out of the fridge or make any kind of repetitive motion like stirring, chopping, etc it's so weird! What works best is if I turn and face her, snap and say 'no!' and walk towards her until she stops, submits and moves away. She will usually go do something else or go a few feet away and lay down. 

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

Hurley did not start growling and barking until he turned a year old.  He watches the sidewalks going both directions and barks whenever anyone goes by.  We open the slider (which is around the corner from where he is barking and tell him enough and to come and he does.  But we want to get him where he barks a couple of times and then stops keeping in mind that is his job to alert us to anything different or anyone.  So we are going to start using the zapper collar when he does not stop barking when told and see if that slows down this tendency to bark and growl.  

[Gail and Bailey]

Please let us know how the collar works for him because I am thinking of using one too!  When I tell my dog to stop barking, she will stop for about 3 seconds and she then keeps making very soft little barks in a very defiant way....looking right at me.....drives me crazy!  When I first got her a year ago I used the Pet Corrector air spray and it works well. The problem was that I never could get to it quick enough to really get the training done right.

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

What we are doing is letting him out when he wants to go out.  When we hear him bark we let it go for 2-3 barks.  At that point we tell him enough and to come.   If he does not stop and does not come we use the remote as repeat the commands.   He had stopped barking/growling and we started to let the occasional incident to go and that led to his thinking it was okay to bark so we are back to being very diligent.  We know the only way to stop it when there is unnecessary barking is to be persistent in our response but we slacked off so we are back to being better parents and being consistent.  Understanding that it is his duty to protect us and barking is his way of doing so is why we allow a couple of barks or growls before disciplining him.  

Hope that helps.

[Jolene, Sassparilla & Josie]

Water bottle squirted in the face with a sound has worked on my Josie, she has a high pitched yapping bark, really annoying.  I do like the zip it over the mouth action and sound, now that's all I need to do if she starts up.  The obedience trainer did this during our classes and it worked on most of the dogs.  My doodle however likes to play with the water!  She's discovered her voice and she loves the sound (really deep bark)  I allow her/them to bark when someones at the door but discourage it any other time.  Single female, I want those coming to my door to be intimidated.  I thought it would be confusing but they seem to be getting it. 

During walks I repeat the command "leave it", "watch me" and then my zip it action/sound.  They usually quiet down but my little one then whimpers with excited.  My biggest fear is they will get away and run into a dangerous situation (street, aggressive dog, etc) so stay right now is my biggest hurdle especially with two of them!

Good luck.  We have neighbors just to our north and their outdoor dogs bark 24/7, for the most part my girls now ignore them; however, when their pitch changes they get worked up.  Luckily I've learned to tune them out too and have learned to close my bedroom windows!

[Jessica & Benny]

We finally got the Innotek citronella spray collar for our little barker, and I have to say it works like a charm. We got the one with the remote control so it wouldn't go off if other dogs bark, and after a couple squirts, all we have to do now is press the warning "beep" button and Lola stops immediately, and, oddly, runs right to the back door if she's outside.