# How to stop barking while playing?!?!



## Jenna09

My boyfriends 6 month old boxer puppy will constantly bark while playing with my 2 dogs. We have tried closing her mouth, shaking pasta in a container, verbal cues (shhh...quiet) and she just doesnt get it!!!

She does not bark while playing with my boyfriends other dog only with other dogs that come into the house. She will pounce at them barking and chase them barking until the other dog will engage in "play" or "wrestling"! And once the playing begins she will growl and make funny noises and soft barks which is fine...we just want the full out barks and howling to stop!

2 questions...how can we get the barking to stop? And how can we do this without making her think she is being "punished" for playing? Because we have found that when trying to correct her or calm her down she thinks shes not allowed to play at all!

Jenna


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## Curbside Prophet

I'm not sure why this is a problem, however, anytime the level of play is more than what you want, simply create a routine of clapping your hands, briskly walk between the offending dogs, and meet-up at the fridge. Any dog that follows you to the fridge gets a tid-bit for responding to a cued sit, any dog that doesn't follow gets nothing. Repeat, repeat, repeat.


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## myminpins

I have this problem, too, as I have two inside dogs. I love them playing but sometimes Titan gets carried away and BARKS!!!! and it's just way too loud and shrill. I don't want them to stop playing - I just want him to stop barking


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## pamperedpups

I understand why it may be a problem as the owner of many dogs who like to play hard and LOUD. Sometimes it just isn't appropriate (inside, early morning, while my boyfriend is trying to sleep) or the right place (in our backyard). Those are the times when I simply redirect the dogs to something else as CP described. If they don't settle after that, the repeat offender gets a brief time out to cool it with a stuffed Kong so life doesn't seem too bad and the others get redirected again for a few snacks. That said, I DO encourage loud play at other times and will even get in on it myself, clapping my hands, woohooing, tossing toys, bouncing around and otherwise acting goofy. For my dogs who don't always want to play when the other dogs do, I don't expect them to join in, but when I see them getting in a playful mood some other time, I am sure to get involved. We do this for several minutes and then I say, "That's enough" and go sit down, ignoring them. Doing this every few nights has helped to create a sort of on/off switch for times when I notice the dogs have way too much energy, but I don't have time to take them for a walk or play train with them individually. We can bounce around like idiots for about 10 minutes instead and they all settle afterwards very content.


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## Melissa_Chloe

I use a spray bottle, that works great because they quickly learn that if they bark they get squirted


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## Curbside Prophet

Melissa_Chloe said:


> I use a spray bottle, that works great because they quickly learn that if they bark they get squirted


They also learn that their human squirts them with a bottle.


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## pamperedpups

Curbside Prophet said:


> They also learn that their human squirts them with a bottle.


Exactly. They may also learn that they can be loud when you're not there to squirt them with a bottle which your neighbors may not appreciate.


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## Melissa_Chloe

Curbside Prophet said:


> They also learn that their human squirts them with a bottle.


Yes if your doing it for EVERYTHING. Doing it once in awhile works fine though.


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## Curbside Prophet

Melissa_Chloe said:


> Doing it once in awhile works fine though.


I'm not picking on you, but we have different definitions of "fine".


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## Melissa_Chloe

Yes of course we do,

but my dog doesn't hate me because I squirt her with a water bottle, she associates the water bottle with that behaviour and it stops her, and if once in awhile she does it again or something all I have to say is water bottle and she stops.

But squirting a dog isn't going to make them hate you. Sure if you sat there all day and sprayed them constantly and did it in a cruel way of course they'll hate you.


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## Curbside Prophet

Melissa_Chloe said:


> But squirting a dog isn't going to make them hate you. Sure if you sat there all day and sprayed them constantly and did it in a cruel way of course they'll hate you.


A silly question, but how exactly do you know your dog's inner, private thoughts? How do you know 1 squirt in the face won't have a cumulative effect over the dog's life, in ways that are not beneficial to the human-dog relationship? I know you're talking only about your dog, but what if 1 squirt in the face is cruel to the dog in question? 

These are just questions, I'm not making any judgments about you or your dog.


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## Melissa_Chloe

I know because she would act differently.
Same if someone hit their dog - what happens when they hit their dog? The dog becomes head shy, skiddish, and scared etc.
The only change in Chloe is that it stops whatever behaviour I want stopped but that's it.


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## Dogstar

See, and I have one dog who will then start doing the specific behavior MORE because squirtbottles are REALLY reinforcing for her.  Using an aversive to interrupt a behavior isn't that effective though, because the dog WILL get used to it unless it's very severe. 

What I would recommend doing is simply stopping play as soon as anyone gets loud. Separate dogs, send them to their crates or separate rooms- but the FIRST noise, all fun stops. Give them 5 minutes to settle down (if they get quiet and act calm (laying down and NOT whining or bouncing in the crate or anything like that) faster, you can release them sooner) and then let them start again. 

The trick to this is that it's not an instant fix, especially because a LOT of play vocalization is a matter of self control. Dogs just get excited and forget the rules. Make a log for yourself - day 1, you had to stop play 12 times, day 2, it only happened 10, etc - it'll let you see progress even when you feel like you're still stopping them 'all the time'. Secondly- and this is actually the more important rule- is thta you must be ABSOLUTELY consistant. Any noise over the level which you've decided is acceptable (I use anything over a whine in the house- I don't enforce this out in the yard, but if I had a smaller yard and/or closer neighbors, I might)- MUST result in a time out. If it only happens SOMETIMES, it won't make any real impact.


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## Jenna09

I will try separating the main offender tonight and see how it works. We tried the spray bottle on his other dog last year and all of our dogs thought it was great fun and barked at the spray bottle to get sprayed!! He grew out of his barking around 9 months old after he was neutered...so hopefully with his boxer pup she will also grow out of it with age if these other methods dont work!

Thanks
Jenna


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## Melissa_Chloe

Good luck!!


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## deege39

I'm coming in a little late, when this situation has already come to end, but I thought I'd add a tidbit about the whole "water-bottle" thing. Even though that some people don't think it's an effective and correct manner in which to discipline your dog, I have to give you kudos for not "physically" interrupting their behavior. 

There was a friend of my step-mother's that was quite fed up with her dog, which was left with her when her son up and moved out. So first of all she never cared for the dog, and once she was forced to take care of him she somewhat resented him more. Then as her life took a downward spiral she changed her mind and wanted the dog to love her. The damage was already done. I tried giving her suggestions on how to housetrain him, punish him, etc. She mentioned how aggressive and horrible he treated her and that she resulted to smacking him in the face and said that, "_if he <insert bad habit> again, that she was going to -punch- him_!" I quickly intervened and said that if she ever had hopes of him even _liking_ her again that she should immediately stop using her -hands-, period. He had taken quite a fond disliking to her hands and registered them to smacking, hitting, and violence...

Anyway... Whatever method you choose, good luck!


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## pamperedpups

Jenna09 said:


> He grew out of his barking around 9 months old after he was neutered...so hopefully with his boxer pup she will also grow out of it with age if these other methods dont work!


LOL Don't hold your breath! One of our dogs that I was refering to in my earlier post that likes to play hard and loud is an EIGHT YEAR OLD, NEUTERED Boxer. He's a nut, but we wouldn't have it any other way.


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## poodleholic

Melissa_Chloe said:


> I know because she would act differently.
> Same if someone hit their dog - what happens when they hit their dog? The dog becomes head shy, skiddish, and scared etc.
> The only change in Chloe is that it stops whatever behaviour I want stopped but that's it.


Heheheh I have a friend who insists that the squirt bottle is the answer, and works effectively for her dog's barking, and it worked fast, so I should use it for my rescue, who, at the time, was a window terrorist, barking and lunging. Heheheh I already knew that her method ONLY worked when she was there. (When she was gone, that dog barked his fool head off!) Whenever a group of us would get together, she had that squirt bottle within reach, wherever she went - grabbed it to make a trip into the kitchen, back out to the patio, and even took it with her in the car when her dog was along. 

My 4 dogs, including the puppy, alert bark, stop between 1-3 barks, and get gifts from our postman for Christmas! He told me that my dogs are the only dogs on his entire route who don't bark their heads off (and he gets a kick out've how they peek out've the blinds at him). I introduced him to my dogs, so they know who he is, and don't bark, bark, bark when he delivers the mail when I'm home, and when I am NOT home, and substantiated by my neighbors! (Unlike my friend, Eileen's dog!)


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## Jenna09

Well last night did go better then previous nights. We were on top of the corrections right when she started and she seemed to be understanding that "quiet" means to stop barking! 

I am also hoping that with time, implementing the separation and verbal "quiet" cue will help and that once she is used to having my dogs around more she will get used to them and stop the excited barking!

Thanks
Jenna


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## myminpins

poodleholic said:


> Heheheh I have a friend who insists that the squirt bottle is the answer, and works effectively for her dog's barking, and it worked fast, so I should use it for my rescue, who, at the time, was a window terrorist, barking and lunging. Heheheh I already knew that her method ONLY worked when she was there. (When she was gone, that dog barked his fool head off!) Whenever a group of us would get together, she had that squirt bottle within reach, wherever she went - grabbed it to make a trip into the kitchen, back out to the patio, and even took it with her in the car when her dog was along.


This is probably true for any of us who use the squirt bottle to interrupt their barking Thing is, I can just SHOW it to Liz and Zoe and they stop (Liz came trained this way, Zoe took her cue from Liz) so I have no problem using it on Titan. If they bark when I'm not home, I don't care. I only care because I get migraines that are light and sound sensitive and they HAVE to shut up when I'm around. If they bark their fool heads off when I'm not home, more power to them. I do know, though, that, for the most part, they're pretty quiet (as substantiated by my neighbors). They most bark when someone comes then stop when they know who it is. 

I HAD gotten Zoe to be quite quiet and well mannered barking-wise but Liz came debarked so she barks and barks and barks and she's NOT completely debarked so she's noisy... and that sets Zoe off. I haven't been diligent in quieting them down so now I'm paying the price with three dogs who bark their fool heads off at some things. I'm working on it but it's mostly my fault - as are most dogs' bad habits  The dogs are just being dogs


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## poodleholic

> =myminpins;455392]This is probably true for any of us who use the squirt bottle to interrupt their barking Thing is, I can just SHOW it to Liz and Zoe and they stop (Liz came trained this way, Zoe took her cue from Liz) so I have no problem using it on Titan.


When Beau came, he was a barking, lunging window terrorist, who probably wouldn't have cared, or stopped, if I'd used a sledgehammer, much less a squirt bottle! LOL Maddy wasn't a barker, but, she soon started joining him. NOT something that could continue (and I was afraid Beau would crash through the window)! My one neighbor to the side of me is a jerk, so it mattered, big time, that I stop the barking when I was home, and not at home. The neighbor to the other side, along with two others directly across the street, were very helpful in monitoring, and even willing (when I wasn't home) to call out my cue word should any barking occur. Surprisingly, at least to me, that was rare.

Along with desensitization and counter-conditioning with Beau in many areas, I employed the "goofy factor" as a means to interrupt the barking. I would jump up, dance around with hands in the air & flailing all over, make faces, talk in a singsong fashion saying gibberish, and just overall acting goofy. It stopped them immediately, and they would watch me with great interest, and get into it right along with me. At that moment, with my finger to my lips and saying "shhhhhh," yummy treats were tossed, along with GOOD DOGS! I allow alert barking, however, if I want it to stop, just putting my finger on my lips quiets all 4 of them. 

I've used this goofy routine with many rescues I've fostered, and have been amazed by how well it works. Not just in the moment, but long term. My new puppy's nickname was The Mouth Of The South, but, it was short lived, Thank Dog! She, too, responded with delight to my goofy antics, learning that whatever that noise was that triggered her is nothing to get worked up over. During her early socialization process, I exposed her to noisey trucks (esp. the garbage truck that does pickups twice a week down our alley), heavy traffic, people/kids on bikes, and so on. She went to work with me, to the fire station, down to the ER where my daughter works as a nurse - just all over the place where she'd be exposed to numerous people, places, and things that she would not ordinarily encounter, but perhaps would at some point in her adulthood. She's a wonderful little girl, and so confident and independent now! LOL Thinks she's a big kid, she does! 

The important thing is that the problem barking was stopped, and, I don't have to rely on some kind of prop (like the squirt bottle) to reinforce it. They've learned to not bark on and on after giving the 1-3 alert barks, whether I'm home or not.


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