Please help with Shianne...

How do I teach my dog to stop barking? She never barks at anyone in the house except for my dad. EVERY time he makes a noise, talks loud, coughs, walks in the room, or anything she just barks and barks at him and he yells at her. And he gets mad bc she does this ... so how do I fix the problem?
She has always barked at him when they play but now she barks at him all the time and he hates it.

 

Angie,
Sounds like another case for a behavior specialist. I saw an episode of the Dog Whisperer where he dealt with a dog that would constantly bark at the toaster when it popped up. Another case where the dog would bark ceaselessly whenever the door bell rang. He worked each situation by putting the dog on a lead and when the dog was in a calm submissive state he would have them face the situation that would make them bark. By keeping the dogs in a calm state they realized that the object of their attention, like the toaster, was under control and they no longer needed to "protect" their environment.

 

LOL!! :lol:


Thanks for the info. but its different from that.
She follows me everywhere and we can pass through my dads room and she will be fine but when i have her in my room with the door blocked off or when she is in her kennel thats when she mainly does it. Sometimes he will come inside and she will run out my room and bark at him and bark and bark for about 3 mins.
I think she wants attention from him. Because when they play, she barks. So I think she wants him to play with her. But she just doesnt know when its not 'play time'. I dont understand bc she only does that with him.
Would your suggestion work the same way in this situation??

 

Those canine brains are beyond my comprehension so I can't answer that question. I would call a specialist and ask "Why is my dog doing this?" If the specialist can give you a logical answer then I would trust that trainer to work with your dog for a session. If all they say is "I can fix that problem." then I would think all they care about is getting a fee.

 

Ignore her barking. Any attention to her is good so even the negative yelling is rewarding her for barking. Once she calms down and gets quite I'd do some OB stuff and reward that sort of thing... Back to the basics... EVERY time she barks ignore her... She's a pit right??? My male barks at us when he thinks we are leaving and he wants to go... or when he wants us to play with him... Ignoring or giving him a little bit of a pat gets him to stop... most of the time... Usually we pet him a bit and then ignore his barking... At first he just went on and on...finally he started getting the picture...

 

Its a habit (in my opinion) your dad, probably not realizing what he was doing at the time has 'taught' her to bark when he's around, he's allowed her to do it.
Let me know if Im wrong but what I imagine happened is your dad was playing with her one day, probably playing ball, tug-o-war, or more physical games, a lot of excitement and adrenilin going, she barked (as dogs do when they get excited) your dad became vocal...maybe even imitated barking back at her. In one play session your dad has 'trained' her that barking at him means playtime, you say that he yells at her now, if the scenerio I just wrote is close to what happened she sees this as "playtime", the fact that she only does this to your dad and Im assuming the barking is not in an aggressive manner it is easily fixable but I do think you need a good behaviour specialist to york with you and your dad. Good luck.

 

Thank you all so much for your help.
Sara, yes, Shianne is a Pit.

DeLaUK, I think you are right.

Thanks again.

 

I agree with Delauc too, unfortunately we have done that with our dogs so when we do something a certain way, they start barking at first it was okay, I would try dukes dog whisper technique

 

Yes, I know my dad has taught her to be this way.
I have told him not to yell at her and not to give her any attention at all so that I can handle it but he doesnt listen to me.
I can fix the problem during the day by distracting her.
But at night when everyone is trying to go to sleep, my dad is usually awake. Mostly on the computer. And he has a very squeaky chair so everytime he moves in it, she barks at him.
Most of the time, if its at night she will only bark 2-3 times.
But if I hear him yell at her I get up and tap her on the nose and that works.
I just didnt want to have to do that to her.
I know things will be much better when I move out in about 4-7 months from now.

 

This is going to sound totally insane, but bear with me. To eliminate a behavior, you have to get control of it. To get control, you first teach the dog to do the behavior when you ask for it. That means you teach this dog to speak. Once the dog learns to speak, you teach it not to speak.

So here's how you do that. Once the dog knows 'Speak', ask her to speak three or four times, praising her when she does it, but no treats. Then tell her "Enough" or "Quiet"...the word doesn't matter, just pick one and stick with it. As soon as you give the command, stick something edible in her mouth. I prefer peanut butter, but any treat will do. The idea is, she has to shut up to eat it. Don't offer her the treat; stick it in her mouth. Be quick. Get that treat in her mouth BEFORE she has a chance to bark again.

After giving the command and sticking food in her mouth a few times, go back to 'Speak', then use the 'Quiet' command again, but pause a few seconds to see how she responds. If she looks at you, expecting a treat, offer it to her, and praise. If she barks, tell her NO, Quiet, and stick the treat in her mouth. Continue until Quiet makes her pause and look at you expectantly without making a sound.

Most dogs will figure this one out pretty fast. Speak means I bark, Quiet means I don't bark. At that point, you're ready to start using the Quiet command when she barks without being asked. Tell her Quiet, and wait until she looks at you. Then praise and treats. If you tell her Quiet, and she continues barking, go back to Speak, Quiet, Speak, Quiet a couple of times until she's responding appropriately. Then tell her Quiet, and wait. If the barking stops, lavish praise and a treat.

I swear, this works. I've used the technique many, many times. Some dogs get it in the first session, especially those who don't have years and years of barking under their belts. I've never had it take more than three training sessions. But YOU MUST BE CONSISTENT. Once she's gotten the idea that Quiet means don't bark, if she starts barking on her own, you MUST continue the Quiet command until she stops. And it's important that your Dad uses the same command. Otherwise, she'll be quiet for you, but bark at your Dad.

 

actually i thought about doing something along those lines but wasnt sure how to make it work. thanks for explaining to me. now hopefully i can teach it to her.

She definitely already knows this one!

 

Well, right when I got in from work, I tried what Shineillusion posted. She seems to get it and she hasnt barked yet for me to try it out. So I will keep you all posted on what "Quiet" does for me!
Thanks everybody