Doc_C Posted March 9, 2000 Report Share Posted March 9, 2000 Recommendations for teaching a pup not to bark at strangers? Or not to bark in general at strange things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane allen Posted March 9, 2000 Report Share Posted March 9, 2000 Well, you did label this "quiet..." so maybe that's all you're interested in? Ha. Anyway, I would think that one good bark at a stranger would be fine. Not sure if you can praise after once and make it work. Otherwise, distraction may be the best. Does your dog bark in a "down?" Mine does, so that didn't help, though it's probably less. I also adopted one at age 3.5 years, and she's just noisy - barks when I come home incessantly, barks in the truck sometimes, and whines - happily - almost constantly. We're working on it, but have only solved one problem: that "I'm so excited to be going somewhere in the truck that I just can't keep quiet!!" whine. Someone else suggested the handy-sized Binaca mouth spray. Most dogs don't like the "pssst!" sound and they surely don't like the awful peppermint smell. I just keep one up front, and if she whines, I'll say "Hush!" forcefully, and squirt a bit towards her nose. The key is to NOT get it in their eyes - a bit tricky with dogs! Others have used it successfully with generic barking - though I've had trouble with the timing. I'm hoping that once she has the "Hush!" in truck seat down a bit better, it might transfer to other situations. Another command would also be helpful, like "It's OK." or whatever. Just to let 'em know that one bark is OK, you've heard 'em, and now you'll take over and the dog should just be quiet. I'm hoping someone else has better ideas as well - quiet would be nice! Sounds like you've got a real sweetie.... diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomi Jo Posted March 9, 2000 Report Share Posted March 9, 2000 ok, this might sound a little strange but it worked for me when nothing else did. I had a dog that barked at everything. Right down to the wind blowing! What I did was teach her to "speak", once she had that down and really knew what it was I taught her "no speak". It has worked so far. She does bark to let me know someone is here but after one or two barks I tell her "ok,no speak". I tried the squirt bottle, telling her no and putting my hand around her muzzle and telling her "no" none of it worked. Maybe this will work for you too. Tomi Jo, Albion, IN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.