Barking

So, we've had Ein almost a month now! Things have been going pretty well. We keep her leashed to me (for the most part) and potty training has been fairly good. Our big issue is barking now. Ein has a really bad habit of barking at the worst moments. Like, I'll put the baby down for a nap and she'll decide it time to bark up a storm. She doesn't need to go out of nothing and I play with her sometimes. I just am getting tired of the barking at the worst times. Often for no reason or because she flipped a toy out of her reach or there's a trace amount of food on the ground. Help?

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on May 7, 2013 at 8:36pm

Unfortunately barking is fun! Since she is a puppy it will take some time but usually you can curb this a bit. I would immediately shush her and give her a little touch when she barks inappropriately. Some dogs are more vocal than others so you may not be entirely successful. A shaken can of coins often will startle enough to stop barking but that will wake the baby too!

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Permalink Reply by Nina & Nellie on May 7, 2013 at 10:17pm

When she barks because there's a toy out of reach, it's because she has no impulse control (Nellie does this too). All you can do at this age is to wait till she stops obsessing over the toy and then get it for her and make her sit/do something for it.

When she's barking "for no reason" (something is out of place, the baby is going away, etc) you can tell her "Quiet" once and wait for her to stop, then tell her "Good quiet". It doesn't really work as a cue until they're older I think, kind of like how the potty cue doesn't sink in for a while. Unfortunately you don't want to actually teach her "speak" and "quiet" at this age because they will start thinking that barking will get them something -- same with "jump/up" and "shake/paw", it's really fun for them to do these behaviors but really annoying when you're not asking for them.

The only other thing I know to actually stop barking is a citronella collar, but I'm not sure if those are appropriate for puppies. They don't hurt or anything, the collar just sprays this smell into their face that they hate whenever they bark and that tends to curb the barking. My friend's mutt is also a huge barker and they used it for her, and she's much better now even without the collar on.