Loud Dogs

[Otto'sMom]

I got a new petsitter and she came to meet the dogs Thursday. I could NOT get them to stop barking, mostly Mimi and Dolly. Austin did a lot of chewbaccing and Otto put in a harrumph or two, but Mimi was the worst, and Dolly was the loudest. I wasn't prepared for that nonsense. I'm going to have to get the watersquirter out for the next time I have guests....which will probably be never. How do you deal with a problem that so rarely presents itself that it really isn't a problem until that ONE time you have a stranger in the house?:scratch:

[Irminsul]

With my two, there are two things I can do. If I meet the strangers outside and we walk even once around the block together and go into the apartment together, there is no barking.

If that isn't an option, visitors are told to pretend there are no dogs. Don't look at them, don't go 'awww you're so cute'. This results in minimum (two or three woofs each) barking.

Also, the more people I have over, the better they actually are about new people.

I would not spray them with water, because then strangers would equal punishment...

[Otto'sMom]

Good point about not spraying them....but Dolly, voted most barkingest dog EVER at clicker training class, wouldn't stop barking for much of anything. She barks with rawhides, stuffed toys and bones in her mouth. Thankfully, I'm antisocial and don't have many guests....don't want any guests for that matter. Just had to introduce them to the new sitter and it was BARK CITY at my house. Sometimes it helps to pick one of them up, giving into demands of my barking terrorists.

[Bella's Mom]

I too agree, maybe just have your guest totally ignore the dogs when they come in and then after 5 - 10 minutes acknowledge them. Good luck!

[Frzframe]

Welcome to my world! That and the jumping and giving kisses to everyone who looks their way it gets so embarrassing at times. Man I need to work with them on that getting to behave themselves. :rolleyes:

[Otto'sMom]

Have you ever tried ignoring 7 dogs? :rotfl: I sent them outside, picked up Austin and gave milkbones to Dolly and Darwin to zip thier lips and Mimi just kept right on barking....then Grrrrrt barked at the fact Mimi was barking without her written consent (in triplicate) and Otto harrumphed at the fact that Austin was in his spot (my arms) and Dolly barked with treats in her mouth. Buddy was good, as always. Darwin was just following his idol, Dolly. And this was all after we had a good 30 minute walk (one mile)

Pupdemonium.

I do the same thing every day when I come home to the barkfest. I don't even make eye contact with ANY of them and just release them from the kennels and fortresses and send them on their merry way out the door to pee. Thank goodness I don't have any submissive peers! Then again, what difference would that make with Grrrrt being a senile pee'er? She's the only one I acknowledge and I just tell her to "HURRY GRRRT HURRY"

I'd rather not have more strangers into my home, since I hate people anyway. Just wishing the pups had a mute button that evening. Usually my "THAT'S ENOUGH" mom voice does it, but we've been isolated for the past 4 months and the ONE visitor sent them into a frenzy.

When we were walking the other day, I got comments from a runner and a lady in a pickup truck about how well behaved they were, and just when I'm feeling all Dog Whispery, they pull that 'we don't have to zip it when mom says zip it' stunt.

[lotsadox]

I have the same problem because we rarely have people over to the house. I use the squirter, which I have to dig out when I know someone is coming. If I get a surprise visit I usually put them all in the backyard (or at least Cash, Miller and Scooter because they're the barkers). It's very hard for them to get any better because I only have visitors to my house may once every few months? :scratch: Not nearly often enough for them to learn to not bark.

[Courtney]

I do use the squirt bottle too. It shuts loudmouth Thor up and tells everyone else to back off from the door when someone comes in. Then everyone gets to swarm the new person so I don't think they care so much. Crowd control is not easy with 6+ dogs esp when most are fosters!

[Lori]

I'm new here and don't want to step on any toes. I have four dogs. My new doxie mix pup doesn't bark so much as he is ALL over company jumping and licking. I have found the best way to stop any dog from barking or licking and jumping is the old "down" and then "stay" command. Pippin the puppy does down but we haven't done stay yet. My other dogs down immediately and stay. At one point in our lives we had 6 dogs and when you have so many I personally think training is very important to keep order. Now it's true I have NEVER had a doxie before but Pippin does do his down and sit very well. We worked with treats and now that he is five month if he doesn't comply I will gently push him although I haven't had to much. He sits when stop on a walk and is doing well. I will be doing stay soon. I also think squirting works in some situations and doesn't make the dog think strangers are bad but it does let them know that they might get wet when barking at strangers. I had aggressive male, barking aussie (fear based) and we worked with a squirt of lemon juice for the barking in the mouth, corrections (from me) treats from other folks and we worked through it. Pippin barks some, especially at his reflection in the window at night and at disembodied voices when I take him in the car, like at the starbucks drive through but we are working on it. I tell him quiet. I have yet to teach him speak which is very effective cuz then you can teach quiet but because all my dogs speak they scare Pippin LOL, so I'll have to teach him by himself where they can't hear.

My suggestion is next time you have someone over (and you will even if a hermit LOL) put the pups on leashes before you open the door and have them sit or down, then open the door. IF you know someone is coming over have two treats (one for each dog sitting outside for the vistor to give, that is what we did with our aggressive barking aussie and we set him up that way many times, along with tons of socialization and corrections from me as aggression was something dangerous/serious and we would not live with it, my kids were young about 9 and 13 with lots of friends so Gus could not be aggressive to the kids). So they get the treat from the visitor as long as they are sitting nicely. I think barking when someone is at the door is natural but they should quiet down after you tell them enough or quiet. If you don't have company enough to care about it really training them not to do it, put them in the bedroom when someone knocks. *shrugs* Also I always have people ignore the dogs when they come in (although that hasn't deterred Pippin in his enthusiastic greeting LOL) and that also calms everything down. When the kids come home from college they immediately take the dogs outside and they all love each other, bark, jump, whine do their thing then after a few minutes come inside and the dogs are calmer after being able to greet their boys in a very excited manner.

[Otto'sMom]

They do a really good "Get back and stay" when at the door, but the barking has always been my cross to bear. When I had the dudes coming in to install my door, I put the pups in the bedroom and bathroom and that worked, but the sitter was there to meet the pups. She didn't have an easy time with them either. No one wanted to go back into their kennels. She felt very bad about it, and I told her not to worry...my dogs are deliquents and I'm just a bad dog mom:sosad:

[alfina]

Oh, I thought that was a positive thing.:scratch: I do not like having people over. :duh:

Seriously, at times, I myself wish they had a mute button. It is tough.

[Lori]

I don't think you are a bad dog mom! Goodness. When you live alone and don't have much company these things become issues only once in a while. So this time it was a problem because of the pet sitter but overall it is not a big deal for you right? I think we all train regarding things we don't want to tolerate, or figure out how to deal with the unwanted by outside or kennels or bedrooms, nothing wrong with that. Don't be hard on yourself. For the pet sitter situation I would have sprayed with water or put them on leashes, just while you tried to talk to the lady. LOL. Really I think people get a little nuts about training, or not training, what kind of food, harnesses or halties or collars...I have learned with parrots and people that we all seem to do what is best for "us" our families, "our" particular situtations and most of us (goodness I hope so) always want what is best for our dogs/pets so we do what we can and agree to disagree on somethings. I have 4 parrots, 3 cats, 4 dogs and will probably be getting another dog next year so for me "I" am more comfortable with certain dog behaviors, I would not be strict enough for some and perhaps too strict for others but we all get by. You need to give yourself a hug, your dogs look healthy, very happy (in the pictures) and you enjoy them correct? Hey it is obvious you love them and okay they are barky, much worse behaviors out there. :hearts:

They do a really good "Get back and stay" when at the door, but the barking has always been my cross to bear. When I had the dudes coming in to install my door, I put the pups in the bedroom and bathroom and that worked, but the sitter was there to meet the pups. She didn't have an easy time with them either. No one wanted to go back into their kennels. She felt very bad about it, and I told her not to worry...my dogs are deliquents and I'm just a bad dog mom:sosad:

[alfina]

I don't think you are a bad dog mom! Goodness. When you live alone and don't have much company these things become issues only once in a while. So this time it was a problem because of the pet sitter but overall it is not a big deal for you right? I think we all train regarding things we don't want to tolerate, or figure out how to deal with the unwanted by outside or kennels or bedrooms, nothing wrong with that. Don't be hard on yourself. For the pet sitter situation I would have sprayed with water or put them on leashes, just while you tried to talk to the lady. LOL. Really I think people get a little nuts about training, or not training, what kind of food, harnesses or halties or collars...I have learned with parrots and people that we all seem to do what is best for "us" our families, "our" particular situtations and most of us (goodness I hope so) always want what is best for our dogs/pets so we do what we can and agree to disagree on somethings. I have 4 parrots, 3 cats, 4 dogs and will probably be getting another dog next year so for me "I" am more comfortable with certain dog behaviors, I would not be strict enough for some and perhaps too strict for others but we all get by. You need to give yourself a hug, your dogs look healthy, very happy (in the pictures) and you enjoy them correct? Hey it is obvious you love them and okay they are barky, much worse behaviors out there. :hearts:


:ditto:

[Otto'sMom]

I wouldn't have them any other way...except for that mute button and maybe a pause and rewind button for Grrrrt when she poops on the bed. I was just being dramatic about being a bad Mom, but I do find myself wondering "What would Cesar do/say?" when they're behaving like lunatics.
I would NEVER want Dolly to be a silent dog. I keep 3 messages on my answering machine of her barking when she was staying with my ex boyfriend while I was on the stupid boat. Music to my ears:hearts:

[Tex]

Thank doG we don't have seroius barking issues! We live in an apartment and I can so see us being evicted if they barked too much!! Hang in there, I hope the bark-fest is undercontrol fro Halloween!!!!! (although it might save you some money on candy if the doggies scare all da kids away!!!):duh: