Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Beth on April 22, 2011 at 11:10pm

Here's a good article about tubal ligation/ vasectomy in dogs.  I think you'll soon start seeing more people who compete in dog sports looking at vasectomy instead of neutering.  Most vets won't do it, though.

 

http://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2010/april/ligations_vasecto...

Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on June 11, 2011 at 11:49pm

There are always choices.  Having 5+ dogs is a choice.  Breeding dogs is a choice.  Having Corgis is a choice. If, as a breeder, you choose a barky breed and have several of that breed and close neighbors, then it may look like you had no choice when it came to de-barking.....  It's different if you have to  do it to preserve the life of the dog, but no one should be breeding who does not accept breed characteristics in their chosen breed.  There are plenty of breeds to choose from.

Permalink Reply by Nicola Porter on April 22, 2011 at 7:12pm

Oh boy my Bootsie boo is a big barker and it is so annoying, wish I could stop him too.

Permalink Reply by Quincy ^,,^ & Michelle : ) on April 22, 2011 at 9:36pm

Quincy is a big barker also.  I have been working on teaching him "speak" (loud bark), "inside bark" (low soft - buh buh) and "quiet" (silence).  He gets it, but sometimes gets so excited to please he "speaks" I am hoping with consistency and time it will all come together..... Wish us luck!

Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on April 22, 2011 at 10:36pm

how do you teach quincy this? I'd love to teach frank something like speak and inside bark. Mostly because when I see dogs doing it it cracks me up! :-)

Permalink Reply by Beth on April 22, 2011 at 10:53pm

I always thought the "inside voice" trick was pretty neat, too.

Permalink Reply by Quincy ^,,^ & Michelle : ) on April 23, 2011 at 9:31am

Hi Melissa,

I decided to teach him one day, hoping it would give his barking some boundaries.  I started with speak would say speak and bark, when he let out a loud bark I would say good boy and give him a treat.  At first Quincy would look at me stunned as to why I wasn't telling him ENOUGH!  When he seemed to understand speak I moved to inside bark, which he tends to do anyway, I just gave the buh buh a name.  I would say inside bark and do the buh buh, when he did it say good boy and give him a treat.  Last I introduced quiet, I would say good quiet when he was quiet and give him a treat.  As I say quiet I put my finger index finger up in front of my mouth so he also gets a visual sign.  It is still a work in progress, but I know if we just keep practicing and are consistent it will come together.  My family (including my 3 year old niece) will tell him inside bark when he's too loud.  Most people know he is barking loud because is excited. 

Also when he is outside playing with his basket ball I let him bark.  He will bark and herd the ball a bit and look at me, I tell him "get your ball" or  "herd it" and he goes back to barking and herding his ball a bit to look at me again.  I encourage him to play with his basket ball how he wants (barking) because that's him.    I am hoping the end result will be he knows there is a time and place to bark loud...  As far as my neighbors I really don't care if they are annoyed by him barking when is playing with his ball.  To me barking while playing is different then nuisance barking.  If Quincy is barking and not playing I will call him in or tell him enough, so no one gets annoyed.  If your neighbors are annoyed by Franklin barking while he is playing, it is an unrealistic expectation, kind of like asking their children to play silently.  Hope this helps : )

Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on April 23, 2011 at 1:28pm

yeah this is going to be fun to teach. I have been working on "speak" with Franklin. Its funny how such a vocal dog won't bark loud when asked too! Haha. He is starting to get it though. I used to take him to the river by my house everyday and when he was there I would let him just bark and bark and bark all he wanted. I wanted to do the same thing, teach him there was a time when it was ok to bark. He never used to bark when I used to take him to dogparks and he actually learned the behavior from a dog that used to go there and just bark in his face until he played. Then over time the barking got worse. Its very clear to me that he is herding the other dogs, but oftentimes other owners don't understand that. I don't take him to dogparks anymore but its still an issue when he plays with my friends dogs. Its more the inside play barking that gets on my nerves. He can bark all he wants outside, so I just need to somehow find a way to teach him inside barking is not ok, I doubt that will happen though, so maybe teaching him an "inside voice" type command he can still be vocal but not necessarily bark.

Permalink Reply by Bax & Zigs & Rosie on April 23, 2011 at 3:31pm

I agree with the other posters that this is a corgi trait. This is also Baxter to a T. He is always barking at the dog park-- chasing dogs, trying to get dogs to chase him, trying to get dogs to play, laying down and barking at other dogs that are laying down trying to get the dogs to move. Thankfully I know most of the people at the dog park now. They call Baxter "The Sheriff" because he always investigates when dogs are playing and, much to my worry, when they are fighting.

He is so loud though that one day someone I knew seemed to get really upset by it. So I've started trying to re-direct his attention to treats by calling him and making him sit/stay to calm him down. If he keeps going right back over there, I will call him and we will go walk away together to another part of the park to play in the tunnel.

You are right though, even with the re-direction, he is still very much into barking while playing. I have to say though, he has been a lot quieter than when we first started going to the dog park. I'm not sure if that is from the constant re-direction. I just happened to notice this the last few times we were at the dog park when a daschund came in and was -really- barking/yipping up a storm. Maybe Baxter finally figured out how annoying other dogs think his barking is.

Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on April 23, 2011 at 3:48pm

Franklin was always called the referee at our old dog park and the owners wanted to get him a striped t-shirt. He gets so upset when dogs are fighting, and I think one of the reasons he has had so many bad experiences at the dog park is because he is constantly breaking up fights. Its very dangerous and if he breaks up a fight with a dog faster than him then he is in big trouble. He starts by running around the fighting dogs barking and if that doesn't work he will run full speed right through the middle of them!! Generally this results in the two dogs being so confused that the situation settles down and/or they start to chase Franklin and it goes back to play again. But if it is a really vicious dog they will redirect there aggression towards Frank! I hate that he does this, but at the same time its really cute and funny to watch, this is why I only take him now if I know ALL the dogs at the park when I go.  His need to referee is just too dangerous to risk him being around dogs I don't know.

Permalink Reply by Beth on April 23, 2011 at 4:33pm

Maddie and the cat sometimes scuffle (totally the cat's fault all the time; she'll sneak up on Maddie when she's laying on the couch and box her in the ears for the fun of it).  If Maddie starts to chase off the cat, Jack jumps in and chases the cat away himself.

Permalink Reply by Lucy & Ricky (Wendy/Jack ) on April 30, 2011 at 9:39pm

@ Beth - Thank you for your comment about working dogs and barking. It explained a lot about Lucy's barking when chasing her "brother" Ricky/Rafa. She was not a yippy girl until she started frapping with him.

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