Barking?

Another post made me think of this..

Was your furbaby always a barker or did the barking start later in his/her life? I was thinking about this the other day also... Molly & Emma RARELY bark! They will let out little barks sometimes when they are playing with each other, but other than that they are quiet.

I'm sure it varies, but I wonder if they'll always be this way or do dogs start barking more as they get older?

Right now of course, because it's so few & far between, I think their barks are so cute! :mrgreen: Perhaps I will feel differently in the future should they bark all the time! :lol:

 

wow... this is ironic... cuz I was just thinking of posting something about this. To answer your question, Bailey rarely barked as a puppy. (up until now)

Like I said, over the last year, Bailey rarely ever barked...unless there was a reason (e.g., knock at door). Well, just this past week, he's been a royal pain in the hiney with the barking. The weather has been great so the doors/windows have been open.... which, of course, let's the outside "noises" in. Well, every time another dog barks outside or a person walks by or a BIRD FLIES BY, he goes into a little barking tyrade. And, I tell ya: It's driving me nuts! I am constantly telling him "no no" when it's unwarranted barking. The thing is, he never ever barked like this. I'm certainly hoping it's just a phase... or he starts getting "used" to the other noises... cuz if he continues, I bet we get a letter from the association! argh... :x Anybody else?

 

See... two great minds think alike Monster! :mrgreen:

Seriously, that's very interesting about Bailey. Maybe it is just a phase?! I am pretty sure that MyBaby (I'm sure she'll stop in this thread soon!!) taught Mickey & Tigger the "Quiet" command, so perhaps she can offer some thoughts on that.

I am surprised that Molly & Emma don't bark at birds or cats etc. yet. When we are out in their play area and a bird lands on the ground, they'll stop and look at it but not a peep! Then, there was one day when a cat was walking by and actually came through the fence! I of course went over to scoop up the girls quickly, but again, they just looked at it!

 

My jasmine is the same way she NEVER used to bark then the end of march my rottie passed away and every since then Jasmine has been a royal pain also. Her high pitched bark kills our ears she barks at everything and i cant get her to stop even when i tell her no. My kids yell that they cant stand the barking it give them a head ache i'm not sure why she does it but I dont think it's a faze since she has been doing it since the end of march. when Nala passed away Jasmine became a way different dog. Before she was forever bugging Nala trying to lick in her mouth, roll on her back in front of nala anything to get nala's attention and Jasmine never really said a word. But what a change now she thinks my house is a race track and she is always attacking sebastain (playing of course) trying to bite him in the wrong place, humpping him. I dont know why the sudden change like that but i can handle most of it just not the barking geez.

 

Sebastian has always been a barker and to make matters worse....his previous owners encouraged him to bark at everything so by the time I got him he was an excessive barker and it used to drive me insane! He's alot better now and seems to understand what "Quiet" means thankfully.

 

Sorry...double post!

 

Several reasons why a dog may bark:

~Believe it or not, dogs actually find barking to be enjoyable! (It's fun...they like hearing themselves!)

~Separation Anxiety

~Fear (dogs bark in response to things that frighten them)

~Territorial/protective reasons (the dog's bark is his/her warning to the individual or animal)

~Boredom and/or loneliness (in this situation, the barking is a form of entertainment)

~A means of alerting their owners of something they consider suspicious

How to reduce barking:

No one should ever expect their dog to be quiet 100% of the time, barking is a natural instinct for dogs. However, by teaching the "quiet" command, one can usually bring the barking down to a tolerable level.

How to teach the "quiet" command:

There are several ways it is taught, but I'll only share the way I use when teaching a dog the quiet command. (Because you usually don't know when a dog is about to bark, it is a good idea to always carry around some treats in your pocket so you're prepared when the barking begins.)

When the dog barks, have a REALLY tasty, small treat in hand, stand in front of him or her, dangle that treat in front of their nose, and say "quiet." When the dog stops barking, IMMEDIATELY give him/her the treat and praise profusely. (Dogs can't sniff and bark at the same time, so when you dangle that REALLY tasty treat in front of their nose, they will stop their barking in order to sniff the treat - that's exactly what you want.)

Start as early as you can in teaching the "quiet" command...it is a WONDERFUL command for a dog to learn!!!

What NOT to do when a dog barks:

When the dog barks, and the human says, "no, no, no, no, etc." or whatever they do in attempt to get the dog to stop, they are inadvertantly reinforcing the behavior.

Firm and proper training should do the trick! :wink:

Why barking has a tendency to increase as the puppy gets older:

Most dogs will not be terribly vocal until they feel really comfortable and secure in their new home/surroundings. As they become more and more comfortable, the more they will feel free to bark and be vocal if they so desire.

Just my two cents on all of this!

Happy training!

 

Great post Mybabyshihpoo! :y_the_best:

 

Thanks mybabyshih for the advice! I'm working on the quiet (actually it's been more of a "shut the hel* up"...KIDDING) command. I need to work on the positive reinforcement part more.

I definitely think that Bailey has been barking more for the territorial reasons....cuz he always is barking for a reason. I also think there is a tad bit of entertainment in there. Did I forget to mention that he sometimes barks at his toys?? now THAT is a sight!

 

LMAO!!! :lol:

Yes, very important...dogs are highly responsive to positive reinforcement!!!

Now THAT is something I have never seen! :?

 

oooooooooh come onnnnnnnnnnn...... mickey and tigger don't do that??? :wink:

Bailey takes one of his squeaky/berber animals (usually one of the cows or the pig) and puts it on the hearth/fireplace and then backs up... and then proceeds to carry on one heck of a conversation!!! (of course, it's one sided) :-s .....

Now that I think of it, he chewed the ears off of one of the pigs last week! 8-[ hmmmmmmm... I wonder if the pig BEGGED for the mercy "chew" so he didn't have to listen to Bailey screaming at him anymore.... hmmmm.. :-#

 

I second that Nern, great advice MyBaby! :y_the_best: I'll keep it for later as I'm sure I'll need it!

Monster, that is TOO FUNNY!! Molly & Emma have yet to bark at their toys, maybe cause their busy barking at each other! :lol: That's probably quite the site to see!

 

That's too funny Monster! :lol:

Like PooGirl said about Molly and Emma, Mickey & Tigger are too busy barking and chasing one another around the house! However, at the pet store I bought Mickey & Tigger this ball type thing that has a bunch of nub type things sticking out of it, and when you turn it on, it bounces around all over the floor. Tigger LOVES it and could spend all day barking at it. You should see it when he picks it up with his mouth and his whole head shakes...HYSTERICAL! :mrgreen: (Mickey doesn't like the ball though. :? )

 

i bet you both are right.... they have each other to bug and bark at, Bailey just has his little toys ( :cry: )

and mybabyshih... omg... I bet that is a sight to see with his head bouncing around and everything! I've seen those toys and decided against it, cuz it would just be another toy to bark at and annoy the neighbors

 

I'm tellin' ya' Monster, Bailey needs a four-legged pal!!! :y_the_best:

 

BITE YOUR TONGUE!

 

yes... I second what MyBaby said... hee hee

 

LOL at PooGirl and Monster! :lol:

 

not sly at all, poogirl!! hehe

 

baiely too barking

our big dogs got out yesterday and bailey came tearin to the front yard whining and barking - to let me knwo what was going on... she hates to be lonely and that is the only time i've seen her bark. :cry: we can't find the big dogs yet so we are just giving her extra attention....

speaking of funny behaviors... bailey has this toy cow that moos if squeezed. oh man. she's hilarious - she'll bite down a tad, the cow will moo and her head goes from side to side trying to figure out hwere the heck that noise is coming from! :lol: that girl is a trip i tell ya.