what to do about angry dogs next door?

Spanish Eyes

alroley wrote: »

Please don't give them treats without the owners permission first.

My dog is a big barker and I tried everything, in the end the only thing that worked was squirting him with a very very low power water gun(tiny one from pound shop). I tell him "no" first and if he doesn't stop, he gets a quick spray of water. After the first few days of it, I rarely had to use it, as now he stops when told. I'm all for positive reinforcement and I know that is negative, but in the end it was necessary.

So how do you know he is not barking when you don't spray the water on him or are not there with him 24/7?

That is what gets me.

Owners have no idea how their barking dogs can affect those around them.

Do you understand this?

alroley

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

So how do you know he is not barking when you don't spray the water on him or are not there with him 24/7?

That is what gets me.

Owners have no idea how their barking dogs can affect those around them.

Do you understand this?

He's rarely left alone(minded by my parents when i'm at work) and the only time he barks when alone is if the doorbell goes and when the post is delivered. I have recorded him on my webcam numerous times to see what he does when he's alone. He spends the majority of the time in his bed/chewing his nylabone/kong if he's been given it. He barks at me/other people for attention and wouldn't stop. He has never been a barker when left alone(and I would never leave him in the garden when I'm not there).

I am a responsible dog owner and would not leave my dog home alone to bother my neighbours

blackbird 49

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

I cannot for the life of me understand how the owners of annoying barking and yapping pets NEVER seem to hear the feckers!

What's the story there? Are they deaf, or immune to their darling doggies or what?

Surely if they are going mad barking all day and night, the owners hear them aswell? That really puzzles me I have to say.

Agree with you on this, we had the same problem with barking dogs when my OH went to speak to the owners they said they never heard needless to say he asked them where they f**king deaf.

Ave Sodalis

alroley wrote: »

I'm all for positive reinforcement and I know that is negative, but in the end it was necessary.

Just a point on that, what you do is actually punishment as opposed to negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is, to put it simply, taking away. I don't really think it's applied to dog training too much because there isn't much to take away but in horses, it would be if someone squeezes their legs to get the horse to move and releases that pressure when the horse takes a step forward. A good dog example would be chasing cars. If the dog is trying to get rid of a strange car and running at it succeeds, then it's been negatively reinforced. The dog doesn't know the car is gonna leave regardless, it just thinks "oh I wanted it gone and when I ran at it, it went away therefore I should do that next time too". Positive reinforcement is adding something so the likes of adding a treat when the correct response is given.

In terms of the OP though, I think positive association is the best you could do. If possible, get the dog used to your presence and wait until they stop barking to give the treat but this could be time consuming.