Barking?

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ZaraD
Posts: 577
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:06 am
Location: Staffordshire, UK

Barking?

Post by ZaraD »

Ok so there is most likely a answer on the forum somewhere but i cant find it so im going to ask here as this is a training question.

so i did not tell you everything in my recent post the only thing were worried about with the rough collie and the only reason we really were re thinking a golden was because my mom suffers with Tinnitus and were worried with the rough collie being very vocal and are worried that it will bark at everything all the time and we dont want my moms tinnitus to get worse so really what i should have asked yesterday was if we worked on training the collie to be quiet when we say will it be quiet is it possible for very vocal breeds like collies and terriers (im using them as an example) to not bark all the time and be quiet when you say.

were are happy for the dog to bark at someone coming to the door for example or if he hears something but once hes told us we want him to the listen to us and be quiet not start barking again or be barking all the time?
Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: Barking?

Post by Shalista »

I have a terrier that has very high anxiety related to noise. Even the tinniest noise (such as my down stairs neighbors NEIGHBOR closing a closet) will set him off barking.

the good news is that after three months HARD training (and the slaughter of many a defenseless potato) he's mostly gotten over it(whining/grumbling/growling instead of barking).

The bad news is that even after all this hard work he STILL looses his marbles if someone comes onto HIS turf (IE comes to the door).

I'm doubtful that he'll ever be okay with someone coming to the door and I'll leave it up to the experts about whether or not training a dog to NEVER bark is even possible.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
JudyN
Posts: 7018
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Dorset, UK
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Re: Barking?

Post by JudyN »

Jacksdad gave some tips when you asked this in an earlier thread: https://positively.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 6&p=157843

My best guess would be that there's no guarantee you can stop a collie from barking, though you can load the dice in your favour, mainly by supplying its other needs - e.g. enough physical and mental exercise, making sure that someone at the door isn't scary/overexciting, teaching distracting activities. If you start looking at breeders, you may get a good idea of how barky their dogs are the moment you push their doorbell...
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
jacksdad
Posts: 4887
Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:48 pm

Re: Barking?

Post by jacksdad »

first you need to have some kind of idea why the dog is barking. ALL breeds can present barking problems. some more than others, but ALL can develop barking problems.

If the barking is bored, lack of mental or physical outlets, there is options for this, mainly getting more exercises and finding mental games and training that help meet the dog's needs.

if the barking is to get attention, there are options for this. mainly the "ignore" the barking so there is zero reinforcement, combined with training how to get attention, combined with rewarding for ending barking quickly, combined with meeting their physical and mental needs.

if the barking is due to fear/anxiety/worry, there are options for this. first step is to train a new association.

The link Judy provided to your other thread gives a brief look at each option.
Lotsaquestions
Posts: 646
Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 6:06 am

Re: Barking?

Post by Lotsaquestions »

I have a very barky dog (Spitz - probably more barky than a rough collie!), but in the house he limits it to people at the door or birds in the garden if that is any help to you. He would bark if bored for attention though so keeping him exercised and stimulated is key, I assume the same would be for a young collie. As far as I know adult rough collies are fairly calm in themselves so I doubt it would be hard to keep them from barking in the house. In fact in the Rough Collies and Goldens I've met its the bouncy Goldens that will let you know about it with a big old woof, the collies have all been pretty placid and quiet :lol:
ZaraD
Posts: 577
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:06 am
Location: Staffordshire, UK

Re: Barking?

Post by ZaraD »

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. With your help both in this post and in my other post on the golden and cancer we have decided to go with the rough collie as my mom loves the collie a lot more than the golden it was mainly me who loved the golden but I love both the same so am happy with the collie.

And I can get a golden later in life :D
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