Need to stop the barking - ASAP! Suggestions?
Here's the quick story:
We moved into our apartment 4 years ago. We're good tenants, we never got into trouble for anything other than forgetting to kennel our dogs when they did the monthly pest control sprays one time.
Last year, someone moved in on our floor with a nasty little kid that likes to run to our door, pound on it, and fly off down the hallway and disappear in the time it takes me to cross the 20ft to the door from where I'm sitting now. I'm not kidding, in the time it took me to get there and open the door, I heard the door that leads downstairs slam. I know it's our responsibility to make sure our dogs aren't barking, but when they're being harassed by that little punk, it sets training back.
Now we have new management in the building, and they are decidedly anti-dog. We got an infraction today because of the barking, and if we get 2 more they'll kick the dogs out. We've been planning on moving out, but our lease isn't up until May of 2012, and we aren't exactly prepared if it happens.
Shock collars are an evil torture device, I won't even consider them. Do the citronella collars work? I'm considering those, or the alarms that you can put on the door that emit a high-pitch squeal to deter them. Do these things work? Have any of you tried them? I really need some quick advice. Thanks!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chris West on
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Have you tried talking to management about the trouble you are having with the neighbors child? Maybe they will be willing to help work with you if you explain the situation and show you are willing to do whatever it takes to improve the situation?
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Permalink Reply by Zigward & Kimberly on
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I would complain about the little kid to his mom, if you haven't already.
In the nicest way possible. Be sure to bring up the fact that you wouldn't even have bothered her with it, if it wasn't becoming a threatening situation.
And even if she gets her defense up and becomes snotty, (I know nothing of this woman, but telling someone that their kids are doing something wrong, even if it is affecting the person that usually doesn't end well, so yeahh) just grin and bear it and try to reason with her. Tell her what your dogs mean to you, etc.
If that does not help. Go to the manager. Ask them to call the previous manager/s and talk to them about it to let them know this isn't normally a problem.
I'm really sorry this has happened. I've heard of a few cases of people signing leases and paying huge nonrefundable pet deposits only to have thier pups kicked out at the first noise. I would reccomend not having a lease if it's possible/if you are comfortable with it. (My fiance and I won't. Just in case, because something can always go wrong.)
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Permalink Reply by Amanda Saul on
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I agree with the people who wrote previously! I would take the FIRST step of going downstairs and talking to his mother/father. The little boy has no business knocking on people's doors that he doesn't even know! I have kids and I would be very upset if my child was doing that and distrubing people they didn't know (but they don't think of it that way, it's just fun to them!) Bring it to their attention first!!
Second I know people that have the high pitch sound collar (sorry have no clue the name of it) and it does work! I worry about the dogs ears later in life. We have the little "my pet trainer" but it's a hand held high sound pictch, therefore unless it's in your hand it does work.
Third I would prepare to move :-( Any place that isn't dog friendly is only going to stress your family out! It's natural for a dog to bark, even more so if someone is coming to your door, they are just trying to protect you. If they are THAT strict, you could possibly try talking to your landlord and seeing what you can do to get out of the lease early since new managment came in and they don't care for dogs... Hopefully SOMETHING could be worked out since you had the dogs before the new rule!
Good luck to you and your "kids"
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Wow, can you get it on film that someone is knocking on your door and causing this problem? Keeping a corgi from barking after a knock on the door will be very difficult. Be sure to put it in writing to the management and keep a copy that you are being harassed. It may help you avoid penalties if you have to move. The citronella collars work for some dogs, I have had a little success with an air can called Pet Corrector (It is from a company called The Company of Animals 800-203-345-4234). It emitted air but you have to be there to spray it (not at the dog ). Good luck.
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Permalink Reply by Sandy Stickney on
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Hi Katie! Apartment living can sometime be frustrating. It may be easier for you to train the dogs than try to control the kid knocking on your door. (Although maybe the parents aren't aware of what he's doing and a friendly conversation with them may help.) We live in a small neighborhood of 23 houses which ALL have glass front doors. We had a dog trainer come to the house and help us work with the dogs (2 corgis, 2 other dogs) to desensitize them to knocking/doorbell ringing, or even seeing people walk by. The Pet Corrector has been very helpful in stopping the unwanted barking. It takes a lot of practice, and while they may still give a bark, we can get them to stop very quickly with either a quick spray of the can (or even a loud verbal shush). You may be able to do it on your own, but having the trainer come to the house was extremely helpful (and took less than an hour to get the dogs to start reacting in an acceptable manner.)
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I would definitely talk to management about the kid knocking on your door. I would explain, calmly, that the child is intentionally making your dogs bark. Get in on record so at the least you have a way to fight any penalties for breaking your lease if they force you to move early.
I don't know if I could train mine not to react to someone pounding on the door and then running.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Maybe have something that you could record the knock????
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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on
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As everyone else has already stated, try to address the cause of the situation first (the child knocking on your door.) You don't strike me as the type to overreact, so just keep things mellow and speak with the child's mother/father (if you're sure it's their child) as well as management. Get the complaint in writing, as Bev suggested, and see what that can do.
In the meantime, you may wish to try the sound deterrents first. I, personally, hate the smell of citronella and would not want my home smelling like that just because someone isn't keeping their child out of trouble. Even if you have a hand-held device (those things are nice and cheap!), just keep it in your pocket at all times. I have yet to try one of these, but I know others who have them and love them.
And I also agree that you may wish to start looking at new places sooner rather than later. I'm not sure how expensive things are where you live, but you may want to consider renting a small house rather than an apartment. My husband and I found a small (very small, a ranch style with just six rooms including the bathroom!) house to rent when I was pregnant with our first child and I'm so glad we did! The place wasn't a palace, but we didn't have neighbors right on top of us and I was finally able to get my first puppy, Yuki! :)
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Permalink Reply by Michelle on
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I had a very similar situation with two children in my neighborhood that were being home schooled. I happened to be at home one day when my two dogs went absolutely crazy outside, this was when we had our large dogs an aussie and bulldog chow mix. I was so sick of hearing it that I stepped out of my back door and low and behold in a very large tree were those kids throwing sticks and rocks at my dogs. I proptly yelled at them to get out of the tree, then reported to their parents in a nice manner what the kids were doing (as I suspected they had no idea) and they never pulled that little stunt again to my knowledge. Good luck. Talk to the parents as calmly as possible.
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Permalink Reply by Kari & Quin on
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You can train your dogs not to bark when someone knocks on the door!!! Please this is the best solution to the problem. Corgis are very smart and will get it quickly. Clicker training! Watch http://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup#p/u/138/Jp_l9C1yT1g Emily is an excellent trainer watch as many of her videos as you can. The easiest thing is to control what you can, someone else's child is their problem and they will have to deal with that when he is 15:( I use these videos with Quin and I LOVE them. I wish everyone could see them she is so much better than Ceaser, her dogs would do any thing she asks.
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This is exactly why I'm such a fan of clicker training. It's a tried and true method to get an animal (even people!) to do what you want them to. I'm really excited to start clicker training with my two in another month or so. :)
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I agree with Kari. They can be trained. If I can do it, anyone can do it! Especially if you have two people to do it (a trainer and a knocker). Like I mentioned before, they may still give a small bark, but as soon as I correct them, they come running back to me. If I put in a little more time & effort (I am a lazy trainer, unfortunately), I know I could get them to ignore the door altogether. You may or may not be able to get the kid's parents on board with you.
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