puppy-barking= how

[MysticSmurf]

How do you keep a puppy from barking.. I keep telling her No! No! and she gets it but then she just starts back up again.. and we do this for about 15-20 min. and then finally she stops but how can I get her to stop the first time?

This is a picture of her she is 6-8 months old and she was abandoned.. then picked up by the pound.. my mom's friends saved her and couldn't keep her.. so we took her.. and she is so sweet but she is still a puppy. I love her to death.. but I've never had a puppy. So I'm learning just as much as she is. Can someone give me some pointers. What to do what not do.. how to keep her from tearing up things etc..

 

[NothingButTheBlood]

Look for a local obedience trainer to get some help. As far as barking I don't know what to recommend since that's what dogs do. This website has some recommendations that don't include one of those horrible collars. She want's some attention more than likely. http://www.lucythewonderdog.com/stop-barking.htm Chewing I can help with. Keep lots of toys and rawhides around. If you catch her chewing something she shouldn't say no and not just take it away give her the rawhide and say here you go. She will learn to chew on her stuff not yours. Worked great on our golden, she got the message really quick.

 

[whimsyjean]

My daughter took a soda can and put some small rocks (or was it beans?) in it. Whenever the dog barked she shook the can. I don't know if the noise was an annoyance or just a distraction for Sisko but it kept him from barking...

 

[Kristin06]

We use a spray bottle...when my girls start barking or chewing on something they are not suppose to...we always say no and then spray them in the face with it...it doesn't hurt them at all but it gets their attention and most dogs don't like to get wet in the face so they will learn to stop!!

I agree that pennies or rocks in a jar will work as well...they don't like that sound and it will quickly get their attention and make them stop what they are doing!!!

 

[Sabina41]

The ideas of the soda can and rocks and the water bottle are good ones. They get the negative (no barking) away from you. This is just a good idea all around. That way when she's barking or chewing, etc. she doesn't associate the negative with you personally. If she's barking and AH! gets squirted with water she won't make the connection that it was you and the barking itself becomes the bad thing because out of nowhere she got sprayed. Just an idea because it can help avoid fearfulness of you personally rather than fearing doing a bad behavior. I also agree that if the barking is bad you should see a trainer. Keep in mind though, as was already said, that barking is what dogs do so you should be willing to allow her to keep some part of her natural behavior. We can't make them suit us entirely.

-Ashley

 

[2Bhumble]

When you tell a dog "no" they can see it as you "barking" and will want to join in by continuing to bark. Bark collars, rattle cans have been known to work. We use to play with our dog and if she would bark, we'd fold our arms and face the other way ignoring the dog. That seemed to work as she was very social and hated to be ignored. Lots of lavish praise when they're "caught" keeping quiet can be effective too. When people we know come to the door, we say "it's a party! Who is it?" in a sweet high pitched voice. That stopped the at-the-door barking. When a stranger arrives we say "whoo's thaaat" in a low "mean" voice that promotes the watch doggy bark which we encourage.