There's A Time For Barking, And A Time For Not Barking

[Guest Fluffy]

While Badger is not the most vocal greyhound I have ever met, he's also not a non-barker. I know dogs bark, it's a natural behavior, but the trouble I am running into is that he tends to have his barking fits at, let's say, impolite times. Generally it's in the morning, while I am getting ready for work - seeing me put on my shoes, for example, always sets him off. I live in an apartment, below a dog-friendly family who I nevertheless suspect is not enthusiastic about 7am barking sessions. 2pm and playtime is one thing, 7am and "oh god why won't that thing shut up so I can sleep" is another. So I'm trying to figure out a way to work with him on chilling out on the morning barking.

 

I'm aware that there is probably a SA "shoes mean you're going to leave soon and I don't want that!" component to some of his morning barking, but while I can do things like put my shoes on in another room where he can't see, I can't render my morning routine invisible. I also think part of his barking is just "hey can I have some attention now? canIcanIhuhuh?" - the level of his SA is not enough to trigger this alone, i don't think.

 

Things I have thought of to try:

 

*Respond to morning barks with our "no" signal (in my case, it's a hockey-buzzer kind of "eehh!" noise) - this seems unwise because I'm paying him for the barking with attention, negative though it may be

 

*Turn my back on him, similar to turning your back to a jumping dog - he sometimes carries on his barking when he can't even see me (if I'm in another room), and sometimes if I do turn my back on him he will carry on barking anyway. He's tended to outlast my ability to ignore him when I do this, because inevitably after a few seconds I start panicking about bothering the people upstairs and do whatever I can think of to make the noise stop before I anger the landlord gods

 

*Distract him with something that prevents him from barking, like a treat or a chew toy - again, seems too much like paying him for barking, even if it results in temporary quiet

 

So...other options? Is it likely that if I give my landlord a heads-up for a few days of noise and hold my ground on back-turning that that will work? Is there another option I haven't thought of? Should I invest in a family-sized box of earplugs and start handing them out?

[rschultz]

try a squirt bottle with water..usually after 1-2 times they just see the bottle and stop the behavior

[sarabz]

We got tired of the 2 am whining after a couple of days and a couple of squirts with a water gun changed that. No sounds from us, no reaction, just a squirt. Can't wait to see what others recommend, but this worked for us.

 

Maybe give a Kong before you finish your morning routine, so that he's distracted?

[rschultz]

try a squirt bottle with water..usually after 1-2 times they just see the bottle and stop the behavior

lol on the earplugs..lol

[Batmom]

When does he stop barking?

[Guest Fluffy]

When does he stop barking?

 

Hmm. I haven't been paying close attention to that, actually. I think he'll sometimes just seem to peter out - five barks in a row, say, and then he'll be quiet - or else he stops when I move on from what I'm doing and give him attention (ear scritches almost always shut his mouth) or food. Mostly attention.

[Batmom]

When does he go out and when is he fed? Before or after barking? Or both?

[Guest Fluffy]

When does he go out and when is he fed? Before or after barking? Or both?

 

Feeding is definitely well before barking. The morning schedule usually goes something like:

 

1. I wake up

2. 10-15 minutes later, he gets breakfast

3. I shower

4. I dress <---insert possible barking here

5. I brush my teeth & hair <---insert possible barking here

6. Take Badger out

7. Return inside, give him his Kong, leave for work <---never any barking here

 

Looking at that list, it would appear that maybe he just needs to go out earlier. But between steps 2 and 5, there's not really any way to do that. He either goes out before I get in the shower (which I've tried, and he tends to not need to go and just wander the yard), or after I'm dressed (when he does potty).

Edited May 17, 2010 by Fluffy

[Batmom]

Betcha he wants to go out. If his main issue is "gotta pee," it might work to do a quick potty trip before you feed him, then follow your regular schedule.

 

Absent that, the best way I know to stop a dog barking is to deflect the urge by, in a whisper, giving him a command to do something else that you can "good boy!" him for.

[ahicks51]

Looking at that list, it would appear that maybe he just needs to go out earlier. But between steps 2 and 5, there's not really any way to do that. He either goes out before I get in the shower (which I've tried, and he tends to not need to go and just wander the yard), or after I'm dressed (when he does potty).

 

If your yard fenced? Is it otherwise safe for him to be unleashed, and not under direct observation?

 

(While I appreciate that many GT'ers have "eyes on" their dogs at all times when in the yard, we have done our best to winnow the threats such that we can let them out and peek out the window now and again while preparing breakfast.)

 

Is a doggie door an option?

[greysmom]

The trick to distraction is to not *just* distract him with a good thing - bark bark bark give a toy. Give a command that he knows that you can reward him for - watch me, or sit, or something else that requires him to *do* something else. Toni is a big barker and we've worked on teaching her a "quiet" command. This works great for her as she's extremely food motivated and will do literally anything for a treat - even be quiet!

[Guest momofevie]

I, too, think he could probably use a trip outside earlier in your schedule. Imagine how hard it would be to wake up and not use the bathroom for 45 mins. How about taking him out as soon as you wake up? As painful as it is some days I take Evie out as soon as I crawl out of bed. She gets her walk later--after I've had my coffee and a shower --but her first trip outside is ASAP. Hope that helps.

[Guest Fluffy]

If your yard fenced? Is it otherwise safe for him to be unleashed, and not under direct observation? Is a doggie door an option?

 

Sadly no to both - my yard is not fenced, and the option of fencing it in is one my landlord has said they are not open to, so a doggy door wouldn't work. All potties are necessarily done on-leash.

 

I, too, think he could probably use a trip outside earlier in your schedule. Imagine how hard it would be to wake up and not use the bathroom for 45 mins. How about taking him out as soon as you wake up? As painful as it is some days I take Evie out as soon as I crawl out of bed. She gets her walk later--after I've had my coffee and a shower --but her first trip outside is ASAP. Hope that helps.

 

I actually had been taking him out first thing the first week or so, and then cut back because he never seemed to need to go first thing and we were just walking in circles. But hey, that was the first week and maybe he was just having early-morning shy bladder. Taking him out once more in the morning is an easy thing to try, so I'll definitely do that tomorrow and see if it makes a difference.

 

And if that fails, well, I stopped at the dollar store and bought a squirt bottle! :!!

[Guest krystolla]

What about desensitizing him to trigger activities (hair brushing, putting on shoes)? Brush your hair multiple times while you're home, take your shoes on and off but don't go anywhere . . .

 

If you can disassociate the triggers with the SA maybe it will keep him from starting the barking.

 

The other thing is reward him when he stops barking, even if it's only a few seconds then stretch that out. Ignore him when he's noisy (no eye contact, turn your back, whatever) then once he takes a breath tell him he's the best dog in the world. If he starts barking again, ignore again. He should figure out the quiet dog = cuddled dog connection, hopefully.

[Batmom]

Taking him out once more in the morning is an easy thing to try, so I'll definitely do that tomorrow and see if it makes a difference.

 

Give him @ 5 days to understand what you're out there for first thing before you give up on it.

[Guest Fluffy]

Well, here's what we did this morning:

 

Outside first thing, he peed.

I showered, dressed, made sure I had a squirt bottle nearby.

Brushed my hair. One bark, I squirted. My aim was terrible and I didn't even hit him with the water, but it seemed to startle him enough to break the barking.

Put on my shoes. One quiet bark, which I let pass, and then one louder one, which I squirted at. No more barks.

 

So it looks like I have a promising combination to start building off, first making sure he's pottied, so I can be sure that that's not why he's barking, and then using a squirt bottle to startle him out of bark mode. Thank you everyone for your advice!

[Guest rachel2025]

Ha! Good boy!

 

I know you were concerned about this approach in your first post, but we also have had lots of luck with distracting from barking (and formerly, nipping) with a toy. He learned to pick a toy up very quickly (after a few times of shoving it in his mouth when he was barking). It is kind of cute -- now Pike uses toys as a coping mechanism. As soon as he starts to get worked up, he'll grab one off the floor. Keeps him quieter and focused on something safe...

 

[Guest Fluffy]

Ha! Good boy!

 

I know you were concerned about this approach in your first post, but we also have had lots of luck with distracting from barking (and formerly, nipping) with a toy. He learned to pick a toy up very quickly (after a few times of shoving it in his mouth when he was barking). It is kind of cute -- now Pike uses toys as a coping mechanism. As soon as he starts to get worked up, he'll grab one off the floor. Keeps him quieter and focused on something safe...

 

 

This give me a funny mental image of a dog trying to bark through a mouthful of stuffy! And when you phrase it this way it does make sense - it's not so much rewarding him for barking as it is giving him something else to use to express his [insert bark-causing emotion here]. I'm going to be picking up some new stuffies soon anyway, since Badger has pretty much desqueakified his current one, so maybe I'll get a nice big one I can put in his mouth when he starts barking.

[Guest Fluffy]

And this morning I heard "grumble mumble whargle mumble" (which is usually the lead-up to a bark) as I was brushing my hair, so I reached out for the spray bottle and suddenly, he didn't feel the need to complain quite so much. I think the connection has been made, folks!

[Fruitycake]

Ha! Good boy!

 

I know you were concerned about this approach in your first post, but we also have had lots of luck with distracting from barking (and formerly, nipping) with a toy. He learned to pick a toy up very quickly (after a few times of shoving it in his mouth when he was barking). It is kind of cute -- now Pike uses toys as a coping mechanism. As soon as he starts to get worked up, he'll grab one off the floor. Keeps him quieter and focused on something safe...

 

 

 

Our Keeshond (a naturally barky breed, but this one has a very piercing, high-pitched bark that hurts!) seems to have been trained in this way. When we get home she's so excited she barks, then runs around and tries to find something, anything to pick up and carry around. She doesn't want to give it to us, just carry it. When she looses herself and barks for other things she does the same thing, with an "oops, sorry, I forgot" look on her face.

[cleptogrey]

i support the squirt bottle. if done correctly you will not have to refill it for a really long time. felix who yodells, barks and makes tons of noise is not allowed to bark at me. as a wee pup he was awful and you couldn't get a word in edgewise- we had a crazy barking puppy (i got him at 7 weeks).

 

i haven't had to fill it in quite some time(over a year). as a matter of fact he was barking at the door to come in last week. one squirt and now i get a soft polite woof and he waits patiently. no more jumping on the door or loud barking demanding me to RUN to the door to let him in(at 3 the pup in him is still there).

 

try it, have your trusty little bottle w/ you at all times. only one squirt with the key words,"no bark". all the other squirts will be silent, the water is telling him to knock it off. unless he is one of those characters, like some crazy terriers who snap at and drink the squirted water, it should deter the noise.

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

Glad the squirt bottle worked! I don't think mine even has water in it anymore Very effective tool for crowd control in my house! I also think he needed to go outside, that is the ONLY time any of mine bark at me.

 

I like the stuffie suggestions, and think I am going to try that on my spaz girl when I come home for lunch. She always nips at me and gets over-excited because they are going outside. Oddly enough my lab does this naturally too, and I've had her all my life. When she is excited, she grabs a stuffie to hold on too. I really think this might work if I stick with it.

 

Thanks!

[jetcitywoman]

 

Things I have thought of to try:

 

*Distract him with something that prevents him from barking, like a treat or a chew toy - again, seems too much like paying him for barking, even if it results in temporary quiet

 

 

This isn't helpful but you've already gotten lots of good advice. This is just amusing. We used to have a cat who was EXTREMELY vocal. A siamese in a tabby suit. She would N O T ever shut up. DH tried to make her shut up a few times by giving her peanut butter. She would take a mouthful and then look up at him and talk with the p-butter in her mouth:

 

mmmooowwwwwwooooowwwooooooowwww