How to train a dog to stop barking so much?

[MattW]

A few months ago, I adopted an older dog (he's about 5-6 years old), and in general, he's a good dog, but he barks constantly. And at such silly things, at that. Let him outside, and he barks at bees, squirrels, and any other barking dogs he might hear. He barks at the mailman, UPS guy, heck, if he even sees someone walking on the sidewalk on the other side of the street, he barks at them well after they've walked by. Any little noise he hears, like a lawnmower, vacuum cleaner, or even stupid little things outside, he just barks nonstop.

 

I don't want to get one of those "shock" collars, as that just doesn't sit well with me (plus, I had an aunt who used one of those on her dog, and later on in the dogs life, he started having seizures and eventually died; not sure if there was a connection, but still kinda worrying). I tried buying this collar that supposedly emits some kind of static noise when the dog barks, and while he seemed to hear the noise, it didn't deter him from barking any.

 

Not sure what else to do. Tried squirting him with water, tried swats on the butt, nothing seems to make him stop.

[mhowe]

his barking is due to stress -- he alerts to unknown noise and reacts. Walk him a ton -- the more exercise the better.

 

The "shock collars" are based on a 9 volt battery. And generally have 5 settings. They are not harmful to dog. I used one to train my dog not to bark when I was away. It took two weeks. And he never barked when in his pen again. The "shock" to his vocal cords is less than touching the battery to your tongue. It is a very minor jolt.

 

Also, when you are out w/ him and he barks, distract him and when he pays attention to you, give him small treat. Swatting on the butt does nothing but make your dog "hand shy".

[iamkaylee]

It's going to seem wrong but you need to teach him TO bark. Some obedience training will also help. Start with food, a high value treat that is ONLY for this. Teach him to come to you and sit. Once he comes and sits, you will have a "redirect" command you can use to call him off his barking at things. Then teach him to "speak" or "bark" for his treat. You'll want to reward any noice he makes at first, he will figure out to bark for it pretty quick. Once he understands "speak" you can move on to "no speak" or "no bark" for his inappropriate barking. Always praise appropriate barking like if someone knocks on the door and praise him for stopping when told to.

 

It will take time, but this is a foolproof method if done properly.

 

It sounds like he's bored and may need more exercize and some mental challenges also. Some dogs really need to have their brains engaged or they'll find something to do, usually trouble of some sort.

[abitbroken]

There are collars that shoot citronella. They hate the smell. It does not harm the dog. I would do that instead. But you WANT the dog to alert you to someone coming to the door, though. The dog doesn't sound like its nusiance barking - sitting and barking nonstop for no reason. The dog is actually doing a good job to alert you.

 

Barking at squirrels might be normal, but why not introduce your dog to a new person every few days? That way the dog knows who they are. Also, after a few months, the dog doesn't know all the routines yet. The dog will eventually get used to the mail carrier coming, etc, at a certain time, etc. THe dog is too new to you yet and hasn't settled in.

[Crazyaboutdogs]

I wish I could bark at bees and have them disappear! I don't know much about barking dogs as both dogs I have had were not big barkers.