Never had a little yappy dog before... your tips for training / living with the noise

[Moonlight]

I've always had large and medium sized dogs, with one exception, a Basenji, and that's a barkless breed. Last year, we added a very sweet little dog, then about 4 years old, a mixed breed who had been through Craigslist twice and been rescued by a rescue group. We got him from them. We love him tremendously, and he loves the two of us, our mellow Rottweiler, and even the cats.

Oh my, what a barker! I can chill him out with basic obedience training up to a point, but when he gets worked up, he just barks and barks. And did I mention that he barks?

I've used tiny pieces of catfood for treats and sometimes he'll be quiet for those. Or bits of carrot or organic hot dogs.

He's evidently Sheltie and Papillion, and I have learned those are barky breeds. But any tips on handling him would be most welcome!

Moonlight

[djjustice24]

best advice instead of saying shut up you have to come up with a sound like i make a hissing noise to my golden retriever and he stops right away. it helps so that way you dont have to waste much energy. i hate when owners of loud barking dogs and they just go OH its a dog thats wat they do. NO ITS NOT its a dog it does what you allow it.

[Moonlight]

Thanks, I'll try that! I've done something a bit similar but not exactly that.

[djjustice24]

the best training is always treat training. when a dog would walk by my dog would bark and id make the noise and if he stopped he kinda looked at me and then i would reward him with a nutro banana treat. after the second time i would only make the noise but no treat and boom now anytime i make that noise he stops whatever he is doing works like a charm. hope it helps Good Luck
interesting dog fact: they dont understand what we say they understand our tone and our energy so make sure to be the Alpha

[Moonlight]

Yes, treats work great with dogs and with my little guy. BUT what I'm up against here is a level of overexcitement where he just doesn't seem to be able to stop barking. I just ordered a "thundershirt" to try...

Nutro banana treats sound good.

[thegrinder]

Try this: http://www.valuepetsupplies.com/pro-...FQ0baQodhHoA6Q

We used something similar on our puppy and it worked a treat. Never had a problem with him barking unless someone he didn't know came to the door. Checked with the vet first obviously to make sure it was safe and he said it wasn't cruel and didn't hurt them (very important point!!!), but taught them that inappropriate barking was a no-no. That's just one brand - there are loads of others out there. Good luck with your wee fella

[Moonlight]

Thanks, thegrinder. I was under the impression that those things were nasty, but I will do a bit more research and quite likely get one.

[ProtectorOfKittens]

My dog is quiet...for a Beagle mix, anyway. But when she was younger, I read up on how to keep dogs from barking.

The thing that made the most sense to me was teaching two commands: Speak and Quiet. (You can use whatever words you want). That's right, if your dog barks too much, teach them to bark on command! Then, once they've got the hang of that, you tell them "Quiet" or whatever word you want to use. Then, when the dog gets quiet, IMMEDIATELY give them a treat. It should be even more effective if you figure out which treat is their favorite, and give them that one when they obey your "Quiet" command.

Another thing that helps with noisy dogs is exercise--lots of it! When I found some parks where my dog could run off-leash, those were a lifesaver.

Good luck, and let me know if any of this helped.

PoK

[Moonlight]

Thanks, PoK... I just started a list of things to do and I'm working some every day with the dog. Today, I put a Thundershirt on him for a few minutes and he was very mellow with that but nothing exciting happened just then either!

That idea of teaching Speak and Quiet makes a lot of sense, and I will get right on it.

He gets a half-hour walk every morning, on a long lead so he gets to move around a lot; we have about 1/4 acre dog-fenced yard and he and our Rottweiler go out and run around numerous times every day, pretty much any time they want to; and we are always throwing his favorite stuffed animal around the house for him to retrieve. My husband gets downright mainiacal doing that! Also, when we go someplace with the dogs in our RV, they get LOTS of walks.

Will keep you posted!

[ProtectorOfKittens]

What exactly does the Thundershirt do? I have seen them in stores, but I am a little confused about how putting a shirt on your dog would calm them down.