Dog barking

El Guapo!

I'm having a bit of trouble with my dog barking a lot and I need to try make it stop if I can. He's a one year old Bichon Frise.

He barks at everything. If we're sitting down watching tv and he hears a noise next door he'll bark his head off. If someone walks by the window he'll go nuts. And the same if there's a knock on the door.
I recently bought a can of spray that emits a sharp noise and you're supposed to spray it when he barks and it stops him. To be fair, it does work. It stops him barking and distracts him from whatever it is he's barking at, but he just looks at me for a second and then goes back to barking.

The main issue though, is that I just moved to a new house and it has become apparent that he's barking constantly on a daily basis when we leave the house to go to work. This didn't happen when we lived in an apartment.
I put it down to him being in a new place and so I've kept his routine as close to it was when we lived in the apartment. It's been 3 weeks now and he apparently still does it every day. It's gotten to the stage where the neighbours have complained to the landlord about it. (They didn't even bring it to our attention first).
I don't fancy getting evicted because of the dog so I need to sort it ASAP.
Any advice is much appreciated.

andreac

How much exercise does the dog get everyday?

alie

Leave the radio on when you go out, leave an old piece of clothing with your scent on it in his bed, it may bring comfort to him when he is lonely

Ellis Dee

As another poster asked, is the dog getting enough outdoor exercise?

Look into that first and have a vet check the dog in case there is some underlying physical cause.

If that fails, I suggest you try a citron (citrus) collar. I have never had a problem with my dog barking at home (in Helsinki), but several other dog-owners that I know have had a lot of complaints from neighbours when their dog barked during the day when they were out at work. The solution the vet suggested was a collar that emits a smell the dog dislikes when he barks. Dogs quickly learn and don't bark when they are wearing it.

One Rottweiler that I knew started barking loudly one day when some passer by leaned on the garden fence, but stopped at once when the owner reached up for the collar, which was on a bookshelf.

El Guapo!

Cheers for the replies.
I think he gets enough exercise. He gets out for a wee in the morning at about half 7 and he runs around the back garden for half an hour or so. Then my gf comes home for lunch at one and gives him a half hour walk. Then in the evening he goes for either a long walk or a run around the park for maybe an hour and a half to 2 hours. And when he gets back he's usually shattered and chills out on the sofa or rambles around the garden.
I was told to get the electronic collar tht gives him a little shock but I'd be reluctant to try that one.

El Guapo!

Oh and at the weekends he's basically out the whole time with us running wild in the park or something.
He just barks like crazy if we leave the room and leave him in it.

DBB

Dean09 wrote: »

Oh and at the weekends he's basically out the whole time with us running wild in the park or something.
He just barks like crazy if we leave the room and leave him in it.

You said up above that the dog barks when you're with him too though? When there's a noise on the tv or outside? It's important to make the distinction here... Does he do it only when left alone, or does he do it regardless of who's with him?
As for using pet corrector spray, well, the dog seems to be demonstrating excessive reactivity to noise... So why would using yet more noise stop him from reacting to noise? It makes no sense, does it? I'm no fan of using such gear on a dog, but what irks me even more is to see potentially harmful gear being used incorrectly. You're not meant to just blast the noise when the dog barks, there's a little more to it than that. Did it not explain how to use it properly on the packaging?
Citronella spray collars, shock collars, pet correctors... All lazy ways to sort out problem behaviours, to be honest. Some of them work on some dogs, but the research suggests that their effects are short-lived unless you keep giving the dog those unpleasant little "reminders" of what happens when he barks. All of these short-cut "solutions" have potential behavioural fall-out, and at best are merely putting a bandage over the wound.
To address the problem properly, you need to investigate WHY the dog is barking so much. Does he feel insecure? Is he hypersensitised to noise due to a bad experience(s)? Is he doing it because he has learned it may get him attention? Is it separation anxiety? Is it territorialism? Is it a medical condition? Is it any combination of any of these?
You may see where I'm going here... There are many factors that need to be ruled in or out here, and you may need professional help with it, from a properly qualified behaviourist. But please think long and hard about using sprays and correctors, they are a really unfair and not necessarily terribly effective solution.

El Guapo!

He barks at noises while we're in the room too. Or if someone comes to the door or walks past the window he goes mental.
I can control that though.
I suppose its mainly the barking when we leave the room that I want to take care of as I don't want him barking the house down while we're out.
Yes I am using the spray correctly. I read through the instructions and I'm using it as directed. It does distract him and stop him barking but only momentarily.
He has had no bad experiences with noises or anything that I know of. He has always been an extremely nosy dog and is always investigating any little noise around the house. But it's only lately (in the last 3 months or so) that he's developed a real fondness for barking.

tayto lover

Would you swap him for an alsation that won't bark when there's intruders around?

alie

Dean09 wrote: »

Oh and at the weekends he's basically out the whole time with us running wild in the park or something.
He just barks like crazy if we leave the room and leave him in it.

He has separation anxiety,

El Guapo!

alie wrote: »

He has separation anxiety,

And what's the cause/cure for it?
Would he need to see a specialist or is there something that I'm doing that I can change?

DBB

Dean09 wrote: »

alie wrote: »

He has separation anxiety,

And what's the cause/cure for it?
Would he need to see a specialist or is there something that I'm doing that I can change?

I don't agree that he has separation anxiety. If he's barking at noises whilst you're there, and barking at noises when you're not there, then it's unlikely to be separation anxiety, although a certain degree of anxiety upon your leaving may be contributing.
What do you do to control his barking at passers by and callers to the door?
As for the pet corrector, like all punishments, it rarely works when used without some other training. There is no point in punishing an action if you don't give the student an alternative, more appropriate behaviour to carry out.
I don't think pet correctors are necessary to cause a distraction, but the idea behind distracting the dog is to immediately divert his attention onto something else when the barking starts (if they didn't explain this on the packaging, then it just goes to show what grasp the manufacturers have of basic learning theory). Whether the diversion is with a toy and to start an oul game with the dog, or to do a short burst of concentration-focussing obedience work with delicious food treats, or anything else that's not supporting barking behaviour. As a distraction, instead of a pet corrector, I'd be more inclined to do something fun that the dog's not expecting, like start playing with one of his toys whilst making "I'm having SO much fun" sounds. You should try to get tuned into his pre-barking behaviour, and intercept when you see this, rather than waiting for the full tirade to start.
This will start to reduce the tendency to immediately start barking at any noise as a default behaviour, which it currently is.
In addition, if you are currently shouting at the dog to shut up, stop. Or if you are doing anything else along these lines, stop giving the dog your undivided negative attention when he barks.
Just on the pet corrector, whilst your dog may just look to see what the noise was, I know many, many other dogs who would be devastated if someone sounded a pet corrector near them, and then you've a whole new, and FAR more serious, problem on your hands. You've got away with it, but for others reading this, be aware of the very real potential fall out from using pet correctors. And that's just pet correctors I'm talking about, spray and shock collars are a whole other barrel of laughs.
When leaving him alone, it's already been advised to leave a radio on, use stuffed Kong toys etc, but you also need to graduate the time you're away, so that he's not being left to deal with loneliness for long hours all at once. If you're not in a position to slowly build up your time away, you need to look into daycare, for now, because there's no ethical magic wand to fix this problem quickly.
There are other routines that are very effective at dealing with barking, but to be honest, if I start writing them out here the post will be pages long, and in any case, there's too much scope for the owner to misinterpret it without seeing it being done by a professional. You have a big problem there, fixing it on the interweb is not going to happen. Even the suggestion of dealing with separation anxiety on a discussion forum worries me, as it is one of the most complex behavioural problems there is, and advising treatment on such a forum is unwise. Indeed, it is impossible to even get the diagnosis right via this medium.

El Guapo!

Thanks for the detailed reply.
When he's barking at passers by and at the doorbell etc I usually just say "NO" and try to distract him with something else. And if he stops, i give him a treat and loads of praise. Distracting him is the hard part though. He's very headstrong and determined, and if he wants to do something, he won't stop trying and there's no amount of treats or squeaky toys that will drag him away. I will admit that I have shouted at him to stop and this was probably just reinforcing the bad behaviour.
He just gets so set in barking that he can only focus on that and not much else.

When he was alone during the day when we lived in the apartment, we never had any complaints so I think the move to the new house could also have him unsettled.
He's only ever alone during the day for a maximum of 4 hours so its not like he's alone for the whole day. And he has loads of chew toys to keep him company, along with fresh water and a couple of treats.
I don't have the radio on when we leave though so ill try that from now on.

If things don't change in the next couple of weeks ill have to bring him to see a professional. As you say, it could be a complex issue.

tk123

I wonder would a DAP/Adaptil (Adaptil is the new name but most places/people still call them DAP ) diffuser help at all with the anxiety of his new surroundings - might be worth a try? The vets will have them in for halloween if you want to get one in a hurry but you'll pick one up cheaper online from the uk.

tayto lover

There you go OP -

http://www.primrose.co.uk/dog-pro-dual-action-anti-bark-collar-p-7347.html

DBB

Re getting him to stop barking while you're there, at passers by etc, you need to get a strong, calm "go to bed" command established, but it needs to be taught outside the times you need it. So, you need to first teach him to go to bed, when he's good at that, get someone to ring the doorbell (or get a remote control one) and as soon as the bell rings, give him the go to bed command. This should be repeated many times until he automatically goes to bed when the bell rings. Ditto for people moving about outside. It's impossible to teach a dog how to behave properly by trying to teach him when he's already in the midst of a highly distracting situation. You gotta start small, and grow it slowly from there!
As tk says, a dap diffuser may help, also perhaps a thundershirt. But he deffo needs to learn a more acceptable routine around the whole noise issue. Slowly but surely!

El Guapo!

Thanks again for the sound advice. I'm gonna work at it and hopefully calm him down. I don't fancy being evicted!
Do the DAP diffusers really work? If they do, I think I'll definitely invest in one.

3ndahalfof6

Just wondering OP, I was reading this thread today and I was waiting to see if anyone else would ask the question (as I would not be in any position to give advice)

but how do you fair at night with your dog, does he still act the same as in the day time.

El Guapo!

3ndahalfof6 wrote: »

Just wondering OP, I was reading this thread today and I was waiting to see if anyone else would ask the question (as I would not be in any position to give advice)

but how do you fair at night with your dog, does he still act the same as in the day time.

Nope. He's grand at night. We only moved into the new house a couple of weeks ago and for the first 2 nights he cried and barked a bit, but then he settled back into his routine.
He goes to bed when I go to bed and there's not a peep out of him till he gives one or two small barks in the morning so he can get out to pee.

3ndahalfof6

Dean09 wrote: »

Nope. He's grand at night. We only moved into the new house a couple of weeks ago and for the first 2 nights he cried and barked a bit, but then he settled back into his routine.
He goes to bed when I go to bed and there's not a peep out of him till he gives one or two small barks in the morning so he can get out to pee.

Would this not rule out the noise and people passing your house that gets him excited, as I am guessing there still would be activity around your house even at night,

just thinking it might narrow it down for you, to a fear of you leaving him alone,(logical thinking nothing else).

DBB

3ndahalfof6 wrote: »

Dean09 wrote: »

Nope. He's grand at night. We only moved into the new house a couple of weeks ago and for the first 2 nights he cried and barked a bit, but then he settled back into his routine.
He goes to bed when I go to bed and there's not a peep out of him till he gives one or two small barks in the morning so he can get out to pee.

Would this not rule out the noise and people passing your house that gets him excited, as I am guessing there still would be activity around your house even at night,

just thinking it might narrow it down for you, to a fear of you leaving him alone,(logical thinking nothing else).

But the dog is just as noisy when the owners are there! At night, presumably there's less noise, curtains drawn. In any case, the vast majority of both noise reactive dogs, and dogs suffering from separation anxiety, tend to settle better at night.
I'm not saying there isn't any anxiety over being left alone, there probably is, but it doesn't sound to me like the primary cause of the barking, simply because the problem does not go away when the owners are there.

El Guapo!

3ndahalfof6 wrote: »

Would this not rule out the noise and people passing your house that gets him excited, as I am guessing there still would be activity around your house even at night,

just thinking it might narrow it down for you, to a fear of you leaving him alone,(logical thinking nothing else).

I see what you're saying, but for some reason he sleeps soundly at night time (it could be just that he's too tired to care!), but it's definitely noises that he goes after. We could be sitting there watching tv and he's quiet as a mouse, and then there'll be even a slight bang next door and he'll start growling. It's at this stage that I try distract him quickly, but if the noise happens again he's up and barking and heads off to investigate.

3ndahalfof6

DBB wrote: »

But the dog is just as noisy when the owners are there! At night, presumably there's less noise, curtains drawn. In any case, the vast majority of both noise reactive dogs, and dogs suffering from separation anxiety, tend to settle better at night.
I'm not saying there isn't any anxiety over being left alone, there probably is, but it doesn't sound to me like the primary cause of the barking, simply because the problem does not go away when the owners are there.

When they are in the house during the day with their dog, would it be possible someone walking past or calling to the house that the dog might be thinking, his owners are about to leave, so he gets excited or distressed,

while at night they are still in the same routine as they were before they moved,

the OP and his wife go to bed and stay there till the morning, this does not change and the dog knows it so he is calm and not worried,

In no way am I questioning your reply's, I know you have far more knowledge than I have on these matters,

it just might be a different angle to look at it from, (sorry if this sounds wrong) I guess I am trying to think like the dog, which could be a big mistake, (similar to trying to think like a woman).

DBB

3ndahalfof6 wrote: »

When they are in the house during the day with their dog, would it be possible someone walking past or calling to the house that the dog might be thinking, his owners are about to leave, so he gets excited or distressed,

If the dog has a reason to have associated the arrival of people at the house with the owner leaving, i.e. it has been a regular occurrence in the past that people passing or calling to the house =owner leaving, then yes, it is possible.
I've never hear of it though! But maybe OP can tell us if such an association could have been made.
Almost all dogs bark at strangers due to a mixture of territorialism, anxiety, but mostly, due to the learned effect that when the dog barks at a passer by, postman, or delivery person, the "intruder" leaves. Of course, they were going to leave/disappear anyway, but the dog doesn't know that, and thinks that it's his barking that worked to get rid of the person who caused the territorial and anxious feeling in the first place!

El Guapo!

DBB wrote: »

I've never hear of it though! But maybe OP can tell us if such an association could have been made.

I suppose it's possible but I don't think that's the reason tbh. The only thing that he associates with us leaving is the noise of keys. Once he hears this, he's up and at the hall door waiting!

mathepac

Dean09 wrote: »

... It's gotten to the stage where the neighbours have complained to the landlord about it. (They didn't even bring it to our attention first). ....

Did you approach them to apologise for the racket / disturbance and explain that you were trying to resolve it?

Their approach is correct. If the landlord can't resolve it then on to the PRTB dispute resolution process.

That's what I have done in the past and it's worked. It saved direct confrontation between neighbours, particularly where the other parties have been extremely inconsiderate.

El Guapo!

Just another piece of info that is probably nothing got to do with this whatsoever but.....he eats everything. And I mean everything! Sticks, pebbles, plastic, paper, grass. Anything he can get his paws on, he'll eat. Not in a destructive way though....he won't chew the furniture or anything. His favourite is tissue and grass! A friend told me this is nervous behaviour. I dunno whether that's true or not though. I think he just likes to eat things.

El Guapo!

mathepac wrote: »

Did you approach them to apologise for the racket / disturbance and explain that you were trying to resolve it?

Their approach is correct. If the landlord can't resolve it then on to the PRTB dispute resolution process.

That's what I have done in the past and it's worked. It saved direct confrontation between neighbours, particularly where the other parties have been extremely inconsiderate.

Yep. I knocked in 3 times today but there was nobody home. I'm going to try again tomorrow. He's not normally like this so I just want to tell them that he'll settle down and to apologise for the disturbance.

DBB

Dean09 wrote: »

Just another piece of info that is probably nothing got to do with this whatsoever but.....he eats everything. And I mean everything! Sticks, pebbles, plastic, paper, grass. Anything he can get his paws on, he'll eat. Not in a destructive way though....he won't chew the furniture or anything. His favourite is tissue and grass! A friend told me this is nervous behaviour. I dunno whether that's true or not though. I think he just likes to eat things.

I wouldn't have leapt to the conclusion that this is nervous behavior, to be honest. I think you need to get bloods done on the little fella, because this behaviour (it's called pica) is often indicative of a malabsorption problem. And malabsorption problems can cause hypervigilance and other hypersensitivity-related behavioural problems.

Edited to add: when I say I don't think "this" is nervous behaviour, in this post I'm referring to the eating-weird-stuff behaviour, not the barking. Just in case I've confused anyone :-D

mished

Bishons are known for their excessive barking, it is quite a normal thing in the breed...they are the most strayed breed around the world because of it !!!

mine was the same, I spoke to a behaviorist about her and the advice was to pick her up and put her in the bathroom for a couple of minutes, not to say a word / not to scold her just put her inside and close the door, the results were instant
Sounds to me like your dog gets plenty of exercise so it really could be because of the breed.

best of luck
Mished

Hitchens

Dean09 wrote: »

Any advice is much appreciated.

There's nothing as bad as a dog barking continuously.

You could try this and it won't cost you anything. Roll up a few pages of a newspaper loosely and have it ready. As soon as he starts to bark at something you don't want him to bark at hit him across the snout with the paper. If you do this for a while each time he barks it may well stop him from doing it. The paper won't hurt him in physically but he will hate the sound it makes when it hits him.

I'd probably be inclined to leave him alone when he barks at someone at the door though.

I hope everything works out for both dog and master!