Barking

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Angus
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:46 pm
Location: Penguin Tasmania

Barking

Post by Angus »

Hi folks. My minpin has a problem barking, my next door neighbor has two border collies running right out side our kitchen window, they are bored out of their mind and bark at the slightest sound setting our minpin barking. does anyone have any ideas how to train her to stop barking every time next door dogs bark :?:
JudyN
Posts: 7018
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Dorset, UK
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Re: Barking

Post by JudyN »

I'm not an expert and it's not an issue I've had to deal with it, but just some thoughts:

I assume she doesn't have to see the dogs, but only hear them, to set her off? If seeing them makes her worse you could block her sight path somehow.

Could she spend her time in another part of the house, where she won't be able to hear them so well?

Are the collies out most of the time, so you can't predict when this will happen? If you can predict when they will be out there you could make this her walk time, or even 'fun indoor training/game' time - their barking could then be predictors of good things.

Again, if it's occasional but unpredictable, you could try giving her a treat or a game (e.g. throw a ball for her) every time they bark, so them barking becomes something positive for her.

To train a dog not to bark, you generally first train her to bark on command, then reward her when she stops barking and link the reward to a cue word. I've not tried it myself but there should be plenty of guides on the internet. But it's not likely to be that successful if the barking of the other dogs is still agitating her.

Finally - I don't suppose it's worth letting your neighbour know that the dogs are outside, bored and agitated all day, which could upset other neighbours, and would be better indoors... and walked regularly? Or, if you know any good local professional dog walkers and were able to get a leaflet from them, you could put it through your neighbour's door when they're not in in the hope that they'll consider it.... :mrgreen:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Angus
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:46 pm
Location: Penguin Tasmania

Re: Barking

Post by Angus »

Thanks for your reply JudyN. it is only when she cant see them that it a problem that sets her barking, Outside on our back door we have a large area of cement where she likes to play ball, The next door neighbors dogs are just through the paling fence we can see them through the palings & they are always happy to see us & the barking starts with them jumping up to see over the fence & watch Delta playing she doesn't like to get to close to them because of the noise they make & strangely enough she doesn't bark back at them But the noise is so loud we have to take delta inside & play in our hallway. confronting the neighbors might be the only option we have, They are only a young couple that like to have the dogs & they can get into their house through a doggy door but as soon as they hear delta playing they are out barking within minutes.It's a difficult one to deal with, but if we can stop her barking inside it will be a good start.
DianeLDL
Posts: 832
Joined: Sun May 19, 2013 4:16 pm
Location: Maine USA

Re: Barking

Post by DianeLDL »

Angus,

I was just wondering if any of your others neighbors said anything about the noise that these other dogs are making by barking outside? If so, they may also be helpful as to talking with the owners of these dogs.

I’m guessing that they both work, and put in the doggy door so that their dogs won’t mess in the house. They most likely are unaware about what goes in when they aren’t home. Most people have no idea what their dogs do if they are home alone all day.

I’ve heard of neighbor problems that begin over dogs. So, I would be careful on how you approach them. They may turn around and accuse you that bringing Delta outside is what is causing their dogs to come out and bark.

But, knowing that this is your home and these are neighbors, it will help them if they can see that it’s also for the good of their dogs. Let them know you understand how much they care about their dogs and how difficult it is to be at work all day. And, see if there might be a way that you can work together to help their dogs be happier at home all day.
I like Judy’s suggestion of making them aware of a dog walker who could give their dogs exercise and help find ways to keep their dogs occupied and happier during the day while they are at work. Also, there are discussions here about toys that dogs could use to occupy themselves during the day and they might find some suggestions helpful. It’s not good for their dogs either to be jumping around and barking like that.

So, I would approach it as if you want to help them make their dogs happier during the day.

In the meantime, is there another part of the yard where you could take Delta to play where their dogs can’t see Delta? That might be a temporary solution. I’m not surprised that Delta doesn’t bark back outside but waits until in the safety of your house. Our chihuahua, Sandy, also won’t usually bark when outside so as not to draw attention to himself. But, once he’s safely inside, he will start barking and “responding” to other dogs. In our case, it’s worse when someone is walking their dog through the neighborhood, then every dog they pass whether inside or outside their home starts barking, and Sandy chimes in. We try to ignore him, and he will usually stop barking. Or, sometimes, just opening the door so he can see the dog is no longer there, then he will stop.

Hopefully someone else will have ideas on how to approach your neighbors.

Diane
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09
Lotsaquestions
Posts: 646
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 6:06 am

Re: Barking

Post by Lotsaquestions »

If they are collies you could recommend automatic ball throwers to your neighbours!

My dog is very barky, and when he was younger he used to bark back at dogs who were behind a fence. Our neighbour also has a dog who liked to join in with him. Now, our dog isn't 100% and he's a work in progress, but he rarely barks at dogs he can't see now (in the house, on walks, you name it). I'm not sure if this will work for you, but what we did is this;

- Click when a dog barks and throw a treat on the ground (make sure its the ground because it keeps them busy and quiet for longer, and means they then have a choice of looking back at you for a jackpot, which is what you're aiming for). Very rapidly to begin with to get in before he barked, then get longer periods of quiet. Get them in the mindset that they should be focussed on you when a dog barks, and not the dog.

- Playing desensitization sounds of dogs barking, quietly at first and increasing only when there was no reaction at all. Our dog can now stay quiet through fireworks, dogs barking, sirens using these but it was VERY small incriments in volume.

- Talking like a lunatic if they're really worked up. Our dog gets 'in the zone' sometimes when he barks and nothing seemed to work for us except talking like a lunatic. Really silly talk about absolutely nothing, very up beat, general 'oh look at those silly dogs barking, aren't they silly? Yes they are blah blah blah). Now with our dog he would turn around and start bouncing like it was christmas, and it broke him out of the 'bark zone' and changed his mind from 'alert, alert, alert' to 'yay happy fun'.

- Training a positive interrupter when they're on 'alert mode' but before they go into barking, just to break the build up of tension.

- Capture any choice they make to not bark. Whether its sniffing the floor, turning away, getting a toy, whatever it is as long as its not standing there barking they get a jackpot of treats.

- Puzzle toys / kongs whilst the barking is going on. Once our dog started to relax (he had to be relaxed, because what he did initially was bark whilst eating which was hilarious but counter productive :lol:) around the barking, we gave him one of these.

I'm not an expert at all so don't feel like this advice is gospel. It is just what we did, and it has worked for us. All the best!
Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: Barking

Post by Shalista »

literally in the throws of dealing with this myself right now. not dogs barking setting him off but every. little. sound.

Def let the owners know. i was super happy my neighbor let me know that bax was losing his marbles because i had no clue. i didnt want to be nuisance and i was happy to know so i could work on it. (baked her cookies in fact as a thank you)

The unfortunate truth is they might not do much, so to spare your sanity here's a few ideas for things you can do for your dog right now:

White noise machines work wonders. I'm not sure how loudly the dogs are barking next door but if you blast some white noise it might be quiet enough so its less of an issue for your dog.

work your dog. trick training, long walks, puzzle toys, play time (not just hand him a toy, get down on the ground with him) all work wonders to decrease stress levels. the more tired he is the less of an issue the other dogs are going to be. remember that mental exercise is worth more per minute than physical exercise as far as tiring your dog out so really hit that training hard and make it fun for you guys!
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Angus
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:46 pm
Location: Penguin Tasmania

Re: Barking

Post by Angus »

Thanks everyone for your advice. We are working on the treat trick to try to stop Delta barking with some success, but you have no idea just how quick she caught on to that one, she worked out that if she barked she got a treat & started barking for no reason, except she thought it would get her more treats. We also started taking delta out to play when the owners were home so they might get the message that the dogs bark a lot & I think we might be getting somewhere with that as they take their dogs inside when the barking starts. So I am hoping they do a bit more thinking about the dogs & how they might reduce the noise of the barking when they are not home.Their dogs run goes most of the length of the block so it is hard to take Delta anywhere so they cant hear her playing. We take her to the beach for runs where other dogs are playing, She likes the bigger dogs & has no problem with them but some of the smaller dogs growl & snap so she does the same back to them. I will keep you informed as to how we get on with the problem.
Lotsaquestions
Posts: 646
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 6:06 am

Re: Barking

Post by Lotsaquestions »

Hah! Clever Delta. You could play her at her own game. She barks to get treats -> you wait for quiet -> mark the quiet with a 'yes' or a click -> she gets treats for quiet. Eventually you can pair a command to it and give treats after longer periods of quiet.

Another thing I did with Merlin was begin a game of 'find it' after his focus was back on me. It is very easy to teach, my IMDT trainer suggested to use it when he got fixated on something whereever he was, and whatever he was fixated on. It also helps calm him down if he's ever stressed or frustrated on a walk.

If you're interested this is how we were told to teach it (and if Delta is a smart cookie she'll get it in seconds).

1- Dog on lead on the side of you, walking. Keep them focussed on one hand, and have a soft treat in the other that they don't know is there.
2 - While the dog is focussed on one hand, toss the treat a little way behind you (not far), making sure the dog didn't see you do it. A small slight of hand toss!
3 - With a very exagerrated hand movement so the dog follows it lead the dog right to the dropped treat, saying 'find it'. This hand signal will become the 'find it' hand signal, so decide what you want to do first.
4 - After a few repetitions of this the dog should understand that the hand signal, and the word 'find it!', leads to a secret treat. Very quickly after you can hide treats away from the dog, then just casually walk around and say 'find it!' with the hand signal and they'll understand there is a goodie somewhere and sniff it out. After that, you can lace the whole house with hidden goodies, and when you say the word they'll be sniffing for ages with a waggy tail. And they can't bark when they're on a find it mission!

Merlin (my dog) is a smarty pants, and Delta sounds the same. It took Merlin two repetitions to understand it, and it was the next day we were able to hide multiple bits of food around an object so he got it into his head that there might actually be more than one hidden goodie.
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