Boring help me with my barking dog thread.

motero

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Most everything I know about tortoises I learned on TFO. Maybe you can help me with my wife and daughters dogs. I did not want dogs. We got two dogs from a friend, Australian shepherds. 3years old. The problem Kota barks continually when out side in their dog run. Dog run 40ft by 20ft. They get walks, runs, bike rides, play fetch, Frisbee. We keep them going. Back to the dog run, they can't have free unsupervised access to the yard because of the multiple low walled tortoise pens. We let them roam when we are out there too. Every thing I read about controlling barking requires the correction to be done right as the barking happens. The dog run is 60 yards from the back door of the house. Kota stops barking as soon as some one is in the yard. So he is not barking when you get to him. So how would I correct or do any training about barking when he has been quite for two whole minutes. He is only barking to get us back out side. Separation issues? So when we go out to correct the barking we just rewarded him for barking. We are trying to only go out side when he is quiet. Only reward him when he is not barking. Any ideas on how to work on his barking when we are inside the house? Sonic bark controller and shock collar are mostly ineffective, he is to smart. Kiki the other dog is so good and obedient. What if we went out when he was barking and gave Kiki treats and attention for being quiet, would he be able to understand why she was being rewarded, and follow suit. There are no other reasons for him to bark the whole yard has a block fenced wall. He cant see out of the yard and the neighboring houses are very quiet. He is just barking at us.
 

wellington

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Australian shepherds are big on family and being a part of it. They are also very active high energy dogs.
Trying to get an adult dog to stop barking when hes done it his whole life will not be easy. You will have to untrain what has been done.
I never had to untrain a dog from barking. My advise would be to try the centranella no bark collar. It squirts an unpleasant sent in front of the dogs face when he barks.
My other option would be to run, play, ware him out before putting him in the run.
You can also try giving lots of play/chew options in the run.
It's hard to give these dogs enough exercise.
@Tom ideas?
 

Yvonne G

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Any chance you can make these dogs part of the family and let them live in the house with you? Aussies need to be with the herd. They are high energy and being cooped up in a dog run is hard on them.
 

mark1

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what does the dog have to do in the pen besides bark ? your correct on all your observations/thoughts ………… is there electric in the kennel ? a radio may help . I've used a security camera to tell my dogs in the kennels to shut up , but my dogs are raised not to be barkers … i'm sure a baby monitor would work .... there's always a chance your voice coming out of nowhere will cause barking , keep it short and simple , to commands they know , don't attempt to talk to them through it ….. as wellington said barkers are tough to stop ……. you really need to get them out the kennels and start from scratch …short periods of time with you there with them , leaving for short periods of time . gradually extending the period of time their left in there ……… those food puzzle toys can occupy them for periods of time , spring pole if you can get them interested in it …. they need taught to be in the kennel and not bark … I would definitely teach them not to bark even when they're out the kennels ….. as with most things it's easier said than done ……
 

KarenSoCal

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Aussies are working dogs, so it might help to give him something to focus on. Is there any way you could join an obedience class? It's great fun and helps to calm many dogs. Then go on to agility, an obstacle course for dogs, and great exercise for the human.

You could also try a doggy day care. He would get to play with other dogs, and be tired when he got home.

My niece has an Aussie...these are the things she did to calm him. Now, 2 years later, he's a totally different dog. But she still does the agility, and day care 2 or 3 days a week.
 

AnnV

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All of the above...dogs are pack animals. Aussie are busy-minded, brilliant dogs. Their needs are not being met. They want to be members of the family.
They are not like tortoises, happy to roam the yard alone.
Do they live out in this pen?
If so, maybe you should convince the ones who do want the dogs to bring them in, give them a job, a team type job, and train them to be polite members of the household.
 

Tony the Tort42

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I also believe that shock collars are cruel. Invoking pain because your dog wants to be with you is wrong, weather it works or not. These dogs should be loved, and considered part of your family, other wise they will be miserable. If this is not possible then put them up for adoption, because dogs are not like fish: they need love, praise, and to be part of a pack. Excersise is not enough for a dog to be happy. You can't expect them to be happy sitting alone in a pen. They are like toddlers. You see, they are barking because they WANT to be with you, not to be irritating. At least give them something to do, a job like other suggested. But remember, your dogs want to please, and to be acknowledged. They were breed to help you herd sheep, so don't be surprised if they don't tire easily. I have a lab, and she could play until the sun exploded. However, after playing for about an hour, and two walks a day, she plops down and snuggles us. I would actually let them inside your home, let them BE with you. I think people help them calm down. Well, good luck.
 

Tom

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Most everything I know about tortoises I learned on TFO. Maybe you can help me with my wife and daughters dogs. I did not want dogs. We got two dogs from a friend, Australian shepherds. 3years old. The problem Kota barks continually when out side in their dog run. Dog run 40ft by 20ft. They get walks, runs, bike rides, play fetch, Frisbee. We keep them going. Back to the dog run, they can't have free unsupervised access to the yard because of the multiple low walled tortoise pens. We let them roam when we are out there too. Every thing I read about controlling barking requires the correction to be done right as the barking happens. The dog run is 60 yards from the back door of the house. Kota stops barking as soon as some one is in the yard. So he is not barking when you get to him. So how would I correct or do any training about barking when he has been quite for two whole minutes. He is only barking to get us back out side. Separation issues? So when we go out to correct the barking we just rewarded him for barking. We are trying to only go out side when he is quiet. Only reward him when he is not barking. Any ideas on how to work on his barking when we are inside the house? Sonic bark controller and shock collar are mostly ineffective, he is to smart. Kiki the other dog is so good and obedient. What if we went out when he was barking and gave Kiki treats and attention for being quiet, would he be able to understand why she was being rewarded, and follow suit. There are no other reasons for him to bark the whole yard has a block fenced wall. He cant see out of the yard and the neighboring houses are very quiet. He is just barking at us.
  1. First and foremost, do a full course a basic obedience with them with a competent trainer. Preferably someone who does protection dog work. Protection dog trainers understand what motivates dogs to do the things they do better than "regular" trainers. Even though you have no intention of doing protection work, this will be a better trainer, and a better way to go. Why do obedience? That isn't your issue, right? Because obedience is nothing more than an understanding between you and the dog. Right now, you don't have that, or there are gaps in that. Regular old obedience, done correctly, will solve 95% of dog problems, because it addresses and corrects the CAUSE of the problem, not just the symptoms. Fix the relationship and learn how to communicate, and you solve ALL of your dog problems.
  2. Get a couple of dog crates and put them somewhere in your house. Most of their down time should be spent in there, especially in the early stages of training until you get where you need to be. They can sleep in them overnight, so hours at a time should be no problem. Just make sure to keep doing all the exercise and interaction you mentioned before. Enlist the help of a good trainer for this too.
  3. Eventually, after you've done the first two steps, an electric collar might be the ticket. They are not cruel or inhumane in any way, if used correctly. They are literally lifesaving devices for some dogs in some cases. They are very effective if used correctly. Most people don't use them correctly and if you think they are not effective, then you aren't using it correctly. When used correctly on a smart dog, bad behavior can be stopped with one or two light corrections. This is not as simple as putting the collar on and pushing the button. There is much more to it than this, and you need professional help from someone who knows what they are doing.
There are a thousand ways to mess any of these things up. You aren't going to solve these problems on your own any more than you are going to do heart surgery on yourself. If you need heart surgery, hire a heart surgeon. Luckily, dog trainers are MUCH cheaper than heart surgeons. A few weeks or months of your time coupled with a few hundreds bucks to a good trainer will buy you a dog's life time of peace and quiet and a lot fewer problems.
 

motero

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Thanks Tom, that all makes sense. He is a great dog. Sit, stay, come, go to your crate. He loves his crate, so he spends nights in his crate. We are new to dogs, I think we need the trainer more than he does. He does better when he gets structured training time. We're trying more crate time for now and work up to more outside time later. And I just ordered a quality Dogtra bark collar. The petsafe brand one we got from his previous owners was not consistently functional.
 

motero

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Thanks all, good thoughts and suggestions.
 

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