Thursday, July 29, 2010

Any advice on how to stop my dog from barking when people are entering our house and yard?

We live on a corner lot ; even if she's in the house she barks maddly when people pass through the yard. She barks at my teen age sons friend when they come in. They are too busy(sarc.) to get to know her and some are afraid. (she's never done anything but bark). As I type this she is on the bed grunting and growling as the neighbourhood children pass through on their way home from school.





How do I get her to ignore people being here that don't want to deal with her?





2yr. old , rescued 2 mths ago. doberman/ger. shepard.





I have tryed having her lay down and stay and feed her treats. This works to a degree,but when boys come or go it's a big ruckouse(sp?) Should I just stick with that? Any other ideas?Any advice on how to stop my dog from barking when people are entering our house and yard?
It will not be easy, and it is not natural for this dog mix. At the same time, the dog is already formed in its ways (notice I did not say set) and mostly an adult. This makes it tougher, but still possible. The key is to establish a ';No bark'; command. This could be ';no bark';, ';no mouth';, ';hush';, ';calm down'; or any other phrase that is natural. What you do is this:





1) Anticipate a time when there will likely be people going by outside. You said the kids usually do it after school, so then is good. Be ready with treats and a squirt bottle


2) The first time your dog barks, shut its moth with your hand and firmly say ';No bark'; (or whatever phrase you chose). You must be firm and forceful, but not mean


3) If the dog stops, treat her. Praise the heck out of her and make her feel like she won the lottery. If she keeps it up, squirt her with the bottle and repeat the ';No bark'; process (mouth shut and command)


4) Repeat this process as much as possible, making sure to be consistent. If your dog ignores you regularly, shut it in a bathroom or other area for a time out. If it barks in there shoot it with the water and close the door back.


5) If this time out does not work, next time it barks after the command startle it with a ';nip';. Pinch it quickly behind the neck and make a loud unusual noise. This will startle your dog and it should stop barking. Assuming it does, treat and praise.





Soon your dog should start learning the no bark command. This is not fool proof, there are times it will bark. But this will help establish a way to get them to stop. They also think they are doing right by barking, sounding the alarm so-to-speak. This will train them that this is actually not desired. If all else fails, you can try the collar that sprays citronella. Please DO NOT get the shock collar. This is so cruel, as it shocks the for doing something that is only natural. It will confuse them, and really is mean. The spray collar works in a similar manner, but instead of shocking it startles them with a citronella smell. They do not like it, and apparently helps curb barking. I have not used one, but hear they work well. Good luck.Any advice on how to stop my dog from barking when people are entering our house and yard?
if you show it a spray gun with water and tell her to stop and she doesn't just give him a little spray and she will stop
Tell people to ignore your dog , no petting , no talking to the dog , no eye contact .


You should do the same thing .


It works !!


All the dog wants to do is get to know the person better that comes into your house , all he will do is sniff and after a while they lose intrest in the person .


I tried it , and it works .
TELL IT TO SHUTUP!!! LOL!!!!
this mix are meant to be guard dogs, but you can put her on a leash every time she barks just give her a little 'pop' with the leash but don't yank so hard that you lift her off her feet. Just as long as you can distract her she won't bark. This sounds like her habit because she's bored.
Firm tap on the nose when she barks and say ';Be quiet'; or something but do it the same each time.
You adopted a breed mix, both of which are bred for GUARDING..Telling her that she can't perform her function, bred in for many generations, will be very frustrating for her..You may be able to curb the action a bit, by getting her out and socialized..a LOT..Otherwise, even if you do get her to quiet down, she will remain alert and really desire to do her job..





Get her out and about often, try to get the boys to have contact with her..You might even make it mandatory for them to give her attention when they come in.(keep a bag of treats at the door)


If you enrol in obedience classes, she will have more contact with people and dogs, and learn how to respond to you..even if distracted by others..
there is probably no way. if she was rescued maybe people have been mean to her in the past. she will not forget what people have done to her. now she has gotten to know you and knows you will not hurt her but she doesnt know that about the people in your neighborhood. she is doing that to protect herself and your family. because she probably thinks that if she growls and barks people will be scared of her and not come up to her and hurt her. hope that helps. it could also be just the way she is.
you cant stop her barking its instinct but you can teach her to stop on command but not stop forever kneel down face to... snout hold her head and say no or other words you use that mean no tell her to sit stay and open the door if that doesnt work youll just have to live with it its normal for dogs to bark and strangers especially if its a particualr breed mine is german sheppard so he always barks you cant teach a dog to stop barking its like a parent teaching a kid to move only on command
This is a pretty simple fix, youll just have to put the effort in. First you need to have a leash handy at all times (this is a pain I know, but this is really what you need to do) Once the dog starts to get going (at the first sign do not let her get all the way riled up) put the leash on her and put her by your side. I find it works best if you put them in a sitting posisiton. Any sign of a growling/barking give her a correction (tug of the leash) and make sure she stays sitting. This will take patience and consistancy but this is basically what you need to do. Over time she will learn not to even begin to start carrying on in these situation and you can gradually phase out the use of the leash. Good luck
Go to the local animal shelter and buy a gift certificate for Spay/Neutering or Frontal Lobotomy with your dog's name on it.





Excitedly show it to your dog and tell her with a straight face, ';this certificate can be redeemed ANY time and NEVER expires. Just let me know when you want to go.... by barking.





Either way, it'll be the best 50 bucks you ever spent.





Hope this helped.


:)

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