# Our dog keeps barking at us??



## Heatherr85 (Feb 21, 2011)

Shes 9 months old and is our only dog. She a submissive dog(rolls over when you pet her ect.) and listens to commands. For the past few months she will look at us and start to bark and wont stop! No matter how much we ignore it, say "no" or "enough". We end up having to put her in her cage because she just wont stop.



My husband will be sitting on the couch just watching tv and she will go up to him and bark at him as if hes a stranger. She does the same thing when my husband sits on the floor to play w/ my son. She gets right up in your face and barks(ven at me), at first i thought she was challenging us,like wanting to play, but now I dont think thats the case. At any given time she can just start barking at you. She does it to my mother in law also?? Anyone know what might be going on?


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## Kibz (Feb 22, 2011)

Had this problem with my 2yr old, I really think it is an attention/boredom thing, we tried putting ours in a "naughty room" (toilet) However this didn't improve things. Make sure your dog is getting plenty of exercise for the breed and when she does bark at you immediately turn your back and walk a few paces away from her, when she stops turn around and face her and ask her to sit, when she sits give her lots of praise, if she barks again repeat the process. She will eventually get the message. It took about 3 weeks for it to pay off on our boy but it has worked wonders


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## mama mia (Feb 10, 2011)

Make something mysterious and unsettling happen. Something so puzzling that he forgets barking for a while.

This may need to be repeated over several days. Another idea is to hide a telephone in the attic and ask the neighbor to dial your number and let it ring, just once, when your dog barks.

You can also use the Citronella anti bark collar.

The Gentle Spray citronella barking collar is safe, humane and remarkably effective.

When your dog barks, the collar sprays a light mist of citronella scent in front of his nose. Dogs don't like this. The hissing noise startles them and dogs seem to dislike the smell. Most dogs figure things out very quickly and stop barking.

http://www.dogobedienceguru.info


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I agree that lots more exercise may help, especially if she is a terrier or herding breed. She needs a minimum of a 30 min. walk per day, for most breeds. And another 10 -15 min. walk/potty break before bed might also help....

Otherwise, not sure, without more info....

As long as she is not threatening or aggressive, I tend to believe that it is an energy/exercise thing --- think adolescent athlete in the summer, during a thunderstorm, whining, "I don't have anything to do..."


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I disagree with the suggestion of the citronella collar. Dogs have thousands more scent receptors in their noses than we humans do. That's why they're great at using their noses!  The point is, even a "light" mist can be very, very uncomfortable to a dog, like a major bombardment to their nose; they find the citronella scent very offensive. For some dogs, it's almost to the point of being a shock (not a startling).
I think there are other techniques to try first. This would be a last resort in my book....


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## JuneBud (Feb 17, 2010)

My pup does that too. He wants attention and play. When he does it I just get up and turn my back and walk a few steps away from him. If he does it again I walk a few more steps away. I do that each time. He usually stops after doing it twice, sometimes three times. When he is quiet I come back, give him a command, and then play with him. He also gets two vigorous 20 minute walks a day with him at a good paced trot. It doesn't seem to tire him out at all though.

For barking at people outside or sounds outside I have used an electronic collar set to vibrate only. If he does not listen when I tell him quiet, he gets a 1-second vibration. A lot of people won't agree with that method, but if you have complaining neighbors, you don't have weeks to train out the barking.


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## JiveDadson (Feb 22, 2010)

Walk right through the dog's space and leave when he barks, otherwise ignoring him. Give him treats and praise when he is not barking - and not only when he has been barking but has stopped. If you only reward him for stopping barking, he may pick up on that. That is advanced reasoning for a dog, but mine puzzled it out. "A good way to get attention and goodies from my human is first to bark, and then stop."


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I was thinking about this some more. You said you tell her "no" or "enough". Have you trained her what to do when you say "no" or "enough"?
We use a "quiet" command. This is how we taught it:
-when they bark, I'd say "quiet" in a loud voice (not stern, just enough to get their attention over the barking).
-when they stopped to look at me (after I said quiet) I said "good quiet!" in an excited voice, and gave a treat!
I worked on this just as I did with other commands. The only difference was, I had to wait for them to bark at something first. They got good at stopping, but would sometimes start right up again. So, they next step:
-gradually require that they REMAIN quiet for 2-3 seconds before they get the treat.
-over time, gradually increase the time they have to remain quiet before getting the treat.

If you haven't really taught them what you expect when you say "no" or "enough" then it doesn't really do much....it's just you saying words.

Then, what I would do if they didn't respond to the "quiet" command, once I KNEW that they knew what I was asking, they could get a 20-30 second time out if they didn't stop.
-if I gave the command, and they keep barking (for no apparent reason), then I'd put them in the kitchen (baby gated off) for 20-30 seconds. Then let them out.
-every time they bark and don't respond, I'd take them to the kitchen.

It's very time consuming, because you can't really sit on the couch and watch tv. Every time the barking happened, you'd have to respond, and be consistent.

With us, it just takes maybe 2-3 times into the kitchen, and they'll move on to playing with a toy or something, without barking.


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## KBLover (Sep 9, 2008)

Barking is simply communication.

Find out what she wants or what's she trying to tell you. 

I wouldn't punish communication. Communicate back with her and/or find out what has her wound up and address that. JMO.

And as far as being consistent - welcome to training.


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## JuneBud (Feb 17, 2010)

What Kodi is communicating when he does it is "I WANT YOUR ATTENTION AND I WANT IT NOW." And it is a quite in-your-face communication. What he gets when he does this is my back.


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

doxiemommy said:


> If you haven't really taught them what you expect when you say "no" or "enough" then it doesn't really do much....it's just you saying words.


Very true. To be effective, "no" is typically paired with some form of negative consequence.

If it hasn't been paired, then it is merely a sound, ... in which case, I suspect most dogs will interpret that sound as you simply "joining in" on their barking fit.


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## DoreenJW (Feb 24, 2011)

Finlay might be seeking more attention. There are instances in which the dog only needs attention, remember that dogs also have feelings. Play with your dog or do things that will make them feel important. You can also use Positive reinforcement. Make a trigger word to let your dog know that he must stop on barking. If he stops, give him some rewards like food or something.


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