Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Need some serious BARKING DOG tips, please
For many reasons, I need to shut my dog up. Seriously.
He's a 7yr old neutered Springer, and honestly, he's not right in the head. Never has been. Typically neurotic for his breed , super excited about anything, goes nuts when someone so much as farts.
He's smart, he's trainable, and he's a nice dog when this "OMG THEY'RE COMING!" thing isn't taking place. But when someone comes up our driveway, and/or enters the house, HE GOES CRAZY. Barking like mad, running around gathering things to "show" the person, (typically forbidden toys that are not his) He's THRILLED to see them, it's not a guard dog territory thing at all.
Put him away in his laundry room? Fuggit it. He'll bark and whine for HOURS, non-stop. Ask him to sit, stay, quiet, etc. rarely works. He takes about 10-15 minutes to settle down.
We tried medication for a month, (he has more to his anxiety issues) it just gave him the munchies and was expensive.
I'm willing to try a bark collar, but I know I'll get flamed to hell for that thought. (right?)
My MAIN concern is I have twins coming in a few weeks. There could be a lot of traffic, and due to some medical issues, even a steady stream of nurses, helpers, etc coming into the house on a regular basis. I don't have the patience to deal with this dog during this time, to be honest. And neither should those coming into our home. So I"m trying to be proactive and get it under control now.
Any ideas welcome. Please and thank you.
Re: Need some serious BARKING DOG tips, please
He sounds like he has super high anxiety. That is what it sounds like with the barking and the running back and forth. I would call a behaviorist to see what they suggest.
We have a Springer too, but he's not a big barker. He gets ridiculously excited though anytime you change your clothes, put on socks, shoes, or jackets....can't do anything with him when he gets excited like that. We have the hardest time trying to catch him just to put him on a leash to go for a walk because he's so excited about it.
If the behaviorist idea is not feasible, I would try a low level shock collar. They're smart dogs and can be trained well, and maybe the collar would help train him and you wouldn't have to use it forever. My inlaws have a dog and got an invisible fence with a shock collar for their dog, and eventually he just learned not to leave the yard. He hasn't needed the collar in many years nows.
You could also look for one that doesn't shock but instead makes a high pitched tone that we can't hear but they can; I remember seeing them years ago. The noise collar might be more humane than a shock collar. And some shock collars are automatic when he barks or you can find them that are remote-controlled by you, right? So there are a few options to look into.
The behaviorist is a good idea, but if you don't live in an area that has one in a reasonable driving distance (like me), the collar might be the next best thing to try.
Thank you. I was hoping someone who knew how insane this breed can be would chime in, lol.
I will confess, we put a electric fence collar on him years ago when we moved in here. It was physically impossible to fence our yard, a run would have made him NUTS, and a leash/line, no way. He'd hang himself. I followed the training very carefully, kept the zap low, and I think he's gotten a warning a couple times, never been shocked that we know of. (nor the unit indicates) He's smart. We keep the collar on him or he "knows" but the shocking power has been off for years. Shhh, don't tell him, lol. So I think the citronella collar is a good next step. It just might do the trick.
And while I LOVE the idea of a behaviorist, there is NO WAY in heck my husband would spend the money. He's a "farm kid" and of the mindset when your dog gets sick, you don't take him to the vet, you take him out back, if you know what I mean.
I get sad when he gets so worked up. I know he's miserable, and doesn't MEAN to be "bad" but it's just his nature. He had a really rough start to life until we rescued him, so I want to be as kind as possible. But sometimes that bugger just wears me OUT!
Thanks for the ideas, any other thoughts welcome.
I don't have personal experience dealing with this (yet, though our Boxer pup does get fairly excited to see people when they come in), but I've seen a couple of episodes of "It's Me or the Dog" that dealth with this.
Is it possible to get a couple of people that can come over to work on this with you? They can be "visitors." You train your dog to have a "place" when someone knocks on the door. Be patient in him learning his "place" and make sure he knows the door does not open until he's there and sitting (this is why you want people to come over to practice, because they're going to be standing out there for a while most likely). Then you open the door and praise him for staying. If he gets up, the person stays out, the door closes, and you start over, essentially repeating the process ad nauseum until he's staying put in his spot with the visitor fully inside. THEN you allow him to come greet. Stock up on treats, you'll need a ton. Or boil chicken breast and break into teensy pieces; one breast will go a long way and you won't be filling your dog with a bunch of extra stuff.
I don't know if this has something you've tried before or how hard it will be for you, but on the shows a couple of very excitable and loud dogs were successfully trained.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
There is some helpful info on barking in the FAQs here: http://sites.google.com/site/petsboardfaqs/home/training-and-behavior/barking
If you can't/won't seek help from a behaviorist, I would try some of those techniques. However, I think a behaviorist could really help speed up the process and make sure you are training him properly (if you are reinforcing the unwanted behavior, even unknowingly, you can really set yourself back, and a behaviorist or even a trainer could probably help with this).
One of my dogs is an alarm barker, with the doorbell being the ultimate stimulus for him. We have been working with him since we adopted him (~20 months ago), and he is 1000x better now. Sometimes he will still bark at strange noises, the doorbell, etc., but it's rare. I would also make sure your pup is getting plenty of exercise and mental stimulation, especially after the twins arrive. Is your husband at least willing to help with that?
I personally don't like shock collars because I think they can create fear rather than buidling a positive relationship and teaching the dog an alternative (positive) behavior. My SIL uses a (shock) bark collar on her dog (who has severe separation anxiety), and it is really sad to see that dog cower in the corner when SIL even picks up the collar. For an anxious dog, I would think it's not the best way to go.
Some good advice here, what has worked for us is practicing with one person standing outside and ringing the doorbell and the other person using the "spot" command to get him to his little pillow on the floor and then the "stay"
Also lots of exercise a good 2 walks a day.
Ditto the person who said your dog sounds anxious. Shock collars are likely going to make it worse, not better. I'm not saying shock collars are evil, but they are not the solution for all dogs.
How much exercise does your dog get daily?
And you sound like you need to work on your husband. What are you going to do if, god forbid, your dog DOES get sick? Are you just going to let your H "take him out back"?
You also need to get on this training STAT. Changing his behavior will not work instantly. I hate to be blunt, but you should've worked on this when you first found out you were pregnant. It took me that long to get my dogs to reliably sit instead of jumping on me when I walked in the door.
Put your shaking finger down at me, please. My husband is a nice caring man. To everyone, including the dog. He just comes from a different frame of mind when it comes to pet expenses. I pick my battles. (and the dog goes to the vet as needed)
And I'm going to be blunt, without apologies... things are not always what they seem; no one needed my life story when I simply stopped by to ask about dog barking. But since you took the time to scold me, take the time to click on the Cricket thing in my sig. I've been a little busy this 13th pregnancy of mine, dying son and all.... The nurses I mentioned stopping by? It'll likely be HOSPICE. And family coming to say goodbye to my child. I take good care of my dog, but he's just going to have to take a bit of a backseat for a few while we deal with some things. Don't like it? Hey, adopt my mutt. I'll pack his bones and send him your way.
Thank you to the rest of you that offered different solutions, and kind ideas.
I appreciate it.
I'm sorry for what you're going through, but I don't know why you assumed I'd read your blog.
Thanks Dusk... I think you just nailed something there... while I KNOW it's anxiety-driven (oh the stories I could tell you about that dog's anxiety!) because he IS such a sweet guy... I never really put two and two together. You're right, it's like yelling at someone to stop a panic attack. Totally!
prozac and traz? no chit? lol. I think I'm going to try a new vet this week, and see. His old one wanted to run all kinds of labs (fine, get some baseline stuff, I get that) but then see him often to re-draw them, wanted $45 a month for the meds (forget what kind, sorry) and well, they didn't seem to help and he gained a lot of weight. lol. We spent over $500 on nothing. We've always just delt with it, but with this mess, well... you're right. I think he might head to his sitter's for the time if/when our son gets to come home. That might be a better use of "puppy funds" lol.
Thanks again.