dog barking at neighbors

[Craftcove]

I wonder if you could help with my dog problem. My dog is usually
pretty well behaved and has had some basic training. She's usually
inside most of the time, but goes out when she asks for toilet, and
occasionally other times.

She'll bark when someone comes to the front door, then stops when we've
seen who it is, or the person comes inside (she's very friendly).

Our previous neighbors weren't very outdoorsy and I guess that was the
problem. Now we have new neighbors that are into gardening, and she'll
bark at them whenever she sees them. I didn't want to upset the
neighbors, so I just tell her off, call her to the door, get her to do
a couple of sits and drops and than let her inside. But I don't feel
that's getting anywhere.

I'm usually home, but I'm pretty busy, so this was easiest, and at
least it doesn't cause trouble with the neighbors, but I'm thinking
maybe we're actually rewarding the behavior. There's such a fine line
with when to reward to stop a behavior and when you're actually rewarding the bad behaviour.

So I thought maybe I should just do some training whenever I can,
right up near where she'd usually bark, sometimes with the neighbor
there.

What do you think? Will this do the trick? Any other ideas?

 

[SteveG.]

Have you tried a Bark Collar?

Have you considered trying a bark collar?

It is a collar that the dog wears and gives a correction (either a mild static shock, emits an unpleasant odor or emits an ultrasonic sound) when the dog barks.

I had to use one last year when I got a new (older) dog and it worked like a charm.

I didn't particularly like the idea of using the shock corrections so I went with the ultrasonic one. After my dog got trained right I could turn it off because he didn't seem to need the reminders anymore.

This may be just what the doctor (or Vet) ordered.

Hope it helps

 

[babymomma]

I would First off NOT use the advice given above..

Work on the "Quiet" Command. When she makes noise say Quiet and Treat her when she stops barking. Eventually start holding off on the treating so she will start holding the command longer and Longer..

Another thing.. How much excersize/mental stimulation does she get daily? (Walks, training sessions, off leash play time, fetch etc) She sounds like a bored dog to me.. Alot of dogs when they g et bored WILL find ways to entertain themselves wetaher it be chewing or barking at your neighbors.

Good luck.

ETA: If your worried about her cauing problems with your neighbors I would Crate her while you arent home so she wouldnt see your neighbors or Give her a room to herself where she connot see your neighbors.

 

[Brattina88]

For more problem with dogs barking at neighbors (we get a lot of traffic/pedestrians because we are right across the street from the all of mailboxes) what worked best for me was working on the "leave it" command everyday, to different things/distractions. I'll post a couple links.

Now, for the most part, they ignore people (in addition to training I assume they are just used to it) but if they ever slip up, I can remind them with a simple "Leave it" There are a lot of chain-barker dogs in the neighborhood, and leave it works best for us

Training "Leave It" | Karen Pryor Clickertraining
Clicker Training Lessons - Leave It
dog clicker training leave it cue

 

[Maxy24]

You could also do a "look at that" command with the dog. This basically involves teaching the dog to look at the neighbors, then back at you, without making noise. I like to use a clicker for this because it captures the moment they glance at the people and often makes the head snap right back to you for a treat, interrupting any chance for the dog to get focused and start barking.

Start by teaching her what the clicker means, train her something simple like how to touch and follow your hand with her nose

Then go outside with the dog on leash when the neighbors are out. As soon as she looks at them click and give a treat, you need to click BEFORE any barking happens. Every time she looks at them click and treat. EVENTUALLY (don't rush, this will be after several sessions) you are going to wait until she looks at them and then back to you before you click, that way instead of training her to stare at them you are training her to look at them and then quickly ignore. She will start to see the neighbors as a training prop, something she can use to get a reward. You will also eventually start doing it off leash as well, make sure the clicker is loud so she can hear you even if she's not right beside you.

This method will require extra supervision. If the neighbors are out and you don't feel like training she can't go outside, by letting her have a barking fit uninterrupted even one time you could undo all your training. So you'll need to go outside with her to make sure you see the neighbors if they come out and can start training or can bring her inside.

 

[Craftcove]

Wow, a great lot of ideas here.

thankyou all.

I never thought of "leave it" for not barking. She knows it very well for food.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I never thought of "leave it" for not barking. She knows it very well for food.

In this case, "leave it" doesn't really mean "quit barking," it means the same thing it means for food: "don't pay attention to that." If she's never done it with anything other than food, though, you will need to do some training sessions with people.

Is she outside when she's barking at the neighbors or is she inside? Not terribly clear in your post....

 

[Craftcove]

In this case, "leave it" doesn't really mean "quit barking," it means the same thing it means for food: "don't pay attention to that." If she's never done it with anything other than food, though, you will need to do some training sessions with people.

Is she outside when she's barking at the neighbors or is she inside? Not terribly clear in your post....

If the back door is open and she hears them, she'll bark. And definitely when she's outside and they're around.

thanks

 

[bubbatd]

I'm very lucky ... Ollie only barks when there are strangers or dogs around to alert me . When I say " It's OK " he stops .

 

[lizzybeth727]

If the back door is open and she hears them, she'll bark. And definitely when she's outside and they're around.

If she's inside, teaching her a "quiet" cue will probably be the best bet. If she's outside you could teach Look at That or use Leave It.

 

[corky]

Thanks for the info. I'm working on barking, too.