Outside barking issues

anamaria

Hi everyone,

I have a lovely scruffy terrier who never barks in the house. She sleeps inside and is generally well behaved. However, as soon as she goes outside into the garden she starts barking. There are other dogs around that she barks at, cows in the fields, tractors going by, horses two miles away..... Basically anything. She isn't outside on her own for long periods and spends most of her time with me.

I have had no complaints from neighbours but it's driving me crazy and I'm sure it's driving them crazy. I don't know what to do with her. Even if I am out in the garden with her she will start barking at something.

I really don't want to do the anti-bark collar thing, it sounds horrible, but I would really appreciate any advice. She's a Cairn terrier crossed with something bigger (no idea what! )

Nody

The "Anti bark collar thing" I assume you mean giving her electrical shocks? That does not do anything to fix the issue and is very likely to make your dog even more afraid of what's out there and may cause an attack down the line due to association.

RubyGirl

You can get another collar that let's a spray of pepperment or something everytime she barks, or you can get a box that let's off a sound.

anamaria

Nody wrote: »

The "Anti bark collar thing" I assume you mean giving her electrical shocks? That does not do anything to fix the issue and is very likely to make your dog even more afraid of what's out there and may cause an attack down the line due to association.

Exactly! That's what I do NOT want as I pointed out in my previous post.
I haven't heard of the ones that emit a smell though

cocker5

anamaria wrote: »

Exactly! That's what I do NOT want as I pointed out in my previous post.
I haven't heard of the ones that emit a smell though

This may help


http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_collars_dog_leads/dog_training/anti_bark_collars/129607

Nody

cocker5 wrote: »

This may help


http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_collars_dog_leads/dog_training/anti_bark_collars/129607

Only difference with a shock collar is that they dog will at least not be hurt but it will still not fix any underlying issues and only surpress them which may make the dog to skip barking and go for biting directly.

To OP I'd recommend trying to spend time outside with her to help her realize that all the new stuff there is ok and not out to get her. It will take time, and there are people here (such as DBB etc.) that can give you better advice then me inc. recommending more professional help in dealing with it from dog therapists/trainers (can't recall the correct word, sorry!) who can come visit you in your home to help you how to deal with it in an appropiate and correct way with out the use of collars etc.

anamaria

cocker5 wrote: »

This may help


http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_collars_dog_leads/dog_training/anti_bark_collars/129607

I was looking at that as I thought it might be a good idea as it wouldn't hurt her but they told me it's out of stock and discontinued.Thanks for the help though.

anamaria

Nody wrote: »

Only difference with a shock collar is that they dog will at least not be hurt but it will still not fix any underlying issues and only surpress them which may make the dog to skip barking and go for biting directly.

To OP I'd recommend trying to spend time outside with her to help her realize that all the new stuff there is ok and not out to get her. It will take time, and there are people here (such as DBB etc.) that can give you better advice then me inc. recommending more professional help in dealing with it from dog therapists/trainers (can't recall the correct word, sorry!) who can come visit you in your home to help you how to deal with it in an appropiate and correct way with out the use of collars etc.

Thanks for that. I do spend a lot of time outside with her. either chilling out while I'm doing gardening or playing with a ball etc... Often she can ever break off a game to start barking at some random thing. Will have to look into something anyway before it drives us all crazy. And I'm sure it's not exactly good for her either!

ShaShaBear

anamaria wrote: »

Thanks for that. I do spend a lot of time outside with her. either chilling out while I'm doing gardening or playing with a ball etc... Often she can ever break off a game to start barking at some random thing. Will have to look into something anyway before it drives us all crazy. And I'm sure it's not exactly good for her either!

Is she very food orientated? If so, get a nice rewarding handful of treats, spend an hour or so a day if you can out in the garden, and every time she starts to bark, call her to you. Keep calling until she comes to you and if she is not barking when she approaches, give her a treat? Make sure not to give her a treat while she is barking. It shouldn't take long before she realises that the noises mean good things, and she will come to you when she hears them rather than giving them the what-for

maggiepip

I would actually make sure I went out with her for the next while and when she starts to bark use the command "leave it" and bring her inside away from whats making her bark. Let her back out then after a minute or two and repeat as required!

This worked for my dogs when I wanted to make sure I could let them out to toilet very early in the morning or late at night without causing mayhem at those times. They now almost never bark before 10 am or after 10 pm. They will bark during the day though!

JustAThought

My neighbour behind me used the collar on her non stop barking yorkues -if worked immediately for about 2 years.

They now have taken it off & the dog starts barking & wakes the neighbourhood up at 7 am & barks throughout the day until midnight. When they are requested to do something about it they tell people to F off . It is now going to court.

Great that you want to do something . E collars work.

DBB

JustAThought wrote: »

Great that you want to do something . E collars work.

At what cost?
Do you feel it's acceptable to leave dogs alone out in the garden for hours on end? Do you feel that the barking those yorkies was doing was a symptom of the fact that they were suffering in another, less obvious way (loneliness? Separation anxiety?)
Given that excessive barking in a garden scenario like this is almost always due to anxiety in the dog, to then slap a shock collar on them to silence their anguish is far from fair.
I understand how frustrating it is to live near barking dogs, I live in a particularly dog-noisy area, but I want to see the root of the barking addressed by the owners, not the symptoms, particularly when that means causing the dog such discomfort (at best).
Besides which, the op has said they don't want to use one.

aonb

OP, this is probably of no help whatsoever to you but, could you yourself 'let go' of the being driven crazy by the barking?!?! I dont mind when my three, sorry two , bark when they are outside! In this world of high crime, burglaries etc, a barking dog will surely deter some break-ins?? If your dog is only out in the garden for short periods, or gardening with you, barking at whatever (plus it sounds like you are in a rural area with no neighbours to offend) - let him bark, call him to you when its going on too long, if you cant stand it, give him a treat and take him indoors?
(On the other hand, its easy for me to say this as my dogs (granted not continuous like yours) barking doesnt bother me, so no offense intended )

JustAThought

E collars work . I find them acceptable.

Stop your hectoring & bullying of
People who don't have the same opinion as you.

DBB

JustAThought wrote: »

E collars work . I find them acceptable.

Stop your hectoring & bullying of
People who don't have the same opinion as you.

Edited following reflection on how not to waste my time.
:-)

Hellrazer

JustAThought wrote: »

E collars work . I find them acceptable.

Stop your hectoring & bullying of
People who don't have the same opinion as you.

Whoa there calm down a bit.

Attack the post and not the poster are the rules of boards.ie as a whole and not just this forum.

riversasco

Hi,

The back garden of my house backs onto the large front garden of a guest-house. The owners of the guest-house are lovely people and have spent quite a bit of time and money on their fantastic garden so that their guests can walk around it. Over a year ago I got a Beagle/Collie mix pup.

He is a fantastic little dog and is brilliant with the kids but he can bark quite a bit when he is excited etc.

However, any time any of the guests go for a walk in the garden he barks like crazy at them. Absolutely crazy. Today the owner of the guesthouse came to my house to complain. A few guests have been complaining about this throughout the summer apparently. I don't blame him in any way for being as annoyed as he is but I am faced with the dilemma now of having to give the dog away. This would break the kids hearts but I unless I can get the dog to stop barking at people when they are walking past our garden, I have no choice. I can't affect this man's livelihood.

My dog is not bored, nor anxious and gets loads of exercise. He is barking at strangers. This is really the only time we have a issue with him barking. It is just a pity that it happens so often as the guesthouse is always so busy all year around.

If anyone can please give me any advice on what I can do, it would be most greatly appreciated.

DBB

Can you give us an idea of whether your garden layout would allow you to keep your dog away from the boundary between your property and the guesthouse altogether?
This may involve spending a few quid on some judicious fencing in the right places, but is it a possibility?
Is your dog outside all of the time, or does the barking just happen during short visits to the garden? Or something in between?!

riversasco

Thanks very much for your reply. The problem regarding the layout of the garden is that there is no way to keep him away from the shared boundary. The walkway of the guest house goes right past our fence.

The dog spends most of the day out in the garden and he only really barks when there is someone walking in the guest house grounds. The problem is, this is most days.

The owner also complained that they can hear him barking some nights from inside the guest house. We keep in the house at night but as he is house trained he looks to go out into the garden. A cat or rabbit is enough to set him off.

DBB

Is the boundary between you and the guesthouse really open, are people very visible to him? Or is it the sound of them that sets him off?
Is there someone at home when he's out in your garden? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get a feel for your situation!
And would you give thought to getting a professional in to help? Whilst it's all very well giving advice out on a forum, there's no substitute for getting someone in who can suss out every angle, and get working there and then on some training options to help reduce all this barking. It seems an awful shame to rehome him for this problem, though I can understand your neighbour's concerns too!

riversasco

No problem about the questions, I'm very appreciative for the assistance.

Yes - people are very visible to him as the guest house and gardens are elevated.

I called over to have proper talk to the owners just now and they were very understanding. They didn't seem overly bothered about the barking at guests during the day - it is really at night they are upset about. The thing is, I don't actually think it is my dog they are talking about. He sleeps in the house during the night and never barks when we are in bed.

We don't hear any barking from other dogs during the night either so it must be coming from the dog in the neighbours at the other side of the guest house. He said it happens for hours throughout the night so it really can't be mine, I hope!

We are going away for a long weekend from tomorrow and we are taking the dog with us. They will listen out for the next 4 nights or so and see if it is still happening.

They were very understanding about coming up with a solution for during the day when guests are there. If someone is here then we can take the dog inside when he starts but if we are going to be away we will have to leave him in the house.

Sorry for such a long winded post and thanks very much for taking the time to get back to me.

DBB

Great! Sounds like you've got a resolution going, and just as well you went over to chat with them!