How can i train my dog not to bark when he wants attention.. which is all the time! I cant ignore him as i live in a terraced house and my neighbours have already commented on his noise..

Please help... he is driving me insane!!

Can you have a word with the neighbours and explain you are dealing with his barking but it will get worse before it stops altogether? Then you can consider other options like a behaviourist to come and see you at home and support you with a programme. A useful website is People and Dogs (PADS) for advice on general training/problems and a free counselling service. There are dobeowners on here who can offer more knowledgable help.

Thanks Lorelei I will give that website a go.

Hi,

You don't say if he is separated from you when he's barking etc and it depends on what really sets him off I guess. We found that our dobe (6 month old now) got used to being separated from us for short periods when we put him in a different room and went back before he started to cry and praised him, gradually increasing the time so that he got used to a bit of time away from us and not barking. The key thing seemed to be not to return when he barked (oh look, I bark, they return!) and start very short (minute or two) only increasing very gardually. Someone else can explain this method better than me though. We do play with him a lot too (currently loves 'find it'), and sometimes use kongs etc to distract him (he can't bark if his gob is wrapped round kong trying to suck treats out!). He loves his chews as well. Oh and long walks/swims to tire him out :)

I found that I could get him to be quiet in the garden if he was barking madly by calling him and giving him a treat when he was quiet, and saying 'quiet' when I gave him the treat (liver cubes worked like a charm!). Not perfect yet (he will bark a fair bit if he senses someone outsdie the garden) but he does now run inside to me if I say 'quiet' when he's barking in garden. I want to get to the stage where he'll bark to tell us something's up but be quiet when we say it's ok.

Good luck! I'm sure talking to your neighbours and behaviourist if appropriate is a good idea as already suggested. Hope the neighbours are understanding. I'm sure our neighbours must have thought we were being horrible to our pup when we first had him!

Jude