Hi,

Could someone give me advice on how to shut up a barking dog. I have a 17 week old Westie who up until this week hardly ever barked. But since last Friday every night between about 7.30pm and 10.pm she barks continuously (and I mean continuously). If I bring her in from the garden she is scratching at the back door to get back outside - I think she can hear foxes or something. To top it all just a couple of minutes ago I heard one of the neighbours shout out "shut the XXXX up".

Even when indoors she is barking and hairing around as if something is bothering her. Whereas before she was usually fast asleep by now.

Any advice??!!!!

PS I know dogs bark but is it normal to bark continuously like this
PPS She doesn't bark during the day like this

Don't know if this is normal but I'm being driven mad by Molly (also Westie) too. She's 19 weeks and barks at everything and when she starts she doesn't stop! We're in the process of moving house so there are boxes everywhere and evrything sets her off. Don't mind her barking a couple of times at something new but she just won't stop once something starts her off. If she's not doing an all out bark then she's walking round doing a little 'ruff ruff' kind of under her breath.

Was told by the breeder that although some terriers can be yappy Molly's mum and dad are really quiet and Westies are not as yappy as some others. Don't know if this is true.

The only thing that would stop Mol is if we shout her and give her a treat but we don't want her to think she's getting rewarded for barking so don't do this. So I will be waiting to see what response you get! Maybe it's an age thing.

Get a water pistol and spray her when she does it , try to be discrete so she doesn't know it is you..

Pam

I've got a 6 month old retriever who barks at the slightest sound. She is normally very laid back and not particularly nervous but she barks when the door opens, when a family member walks in the room, up the drive e.t.c. She even went mad today at training because someone scraped a chair. Its a manic bark which starts off with a very high pitched bark which then sets off my other dog. Its almost as if she doesn't recognise us. She is not going to attack or anything, i think she just likes the sound of her voice. I'm starting to think it is a retriever thing too as the other two retriever pups in her class both bark a lot. Its an incredibly annoying habit though isn't it!!

Hi Cindygirl

I can't suggest anything to stop your dog barking; but if it is annoying your neighbours, it may be worth approaching them, just to let them know you're aware of it, and are looking to find a solution. Just a suggestion to maintain good neighbourly relations :)

liberty

I agree with Liberty's comment. Prevention can be better than cure. My would-be-grumbly next door neighbour now chats to Sparky over the fence if he barks when I am out, despite openly admitting that they"aren't dog people". (His wife is a different matter, though ;))
Tracy

I am also being driven dotty with my two 16 week old bichons barking. They bark at people when we are out walking despite plenty of new folk visiting the house all the time and everything that moves sets them off also. They bark like the blazes for their food as well and almost anything happening like their crates being opened sends them into a frenzy. I can't put them outside for long as their barking is so loud and I like my neighbours!! It really gets to you after a bit especially after 3 years of a lab whose voice we have only ever heard about 3 times! Is it their age as lotsof the posters on this thread seem to have dogs who are quite young? How can we minimise the disturbance?

I think you really need to train them seperatly, as two dogs together will just egg each other on - are they worse when let out together? Could you let them out seperatly - hopefully one on it's own won't bark as it won't have the other to back it up. If it does then distract it by clapping your hands and call it to you for a brief training session then give it a small food reward. Good luck!

I do training sessions separately and let them out to the toilet separately but they are allowed out to play together and also with my lab sometimes in the back garden. It is possible that they could go out to play separately but don't they need some time ti interact?
Thanks.

What I do with my lot is, when I let them all out together, if they start barking they come in straight away. If they're quiet, they get to play out. It doesn't take them long to learn, provided you're consistent.
:)

We'll give that a try. I wouldn't want them to be teaching my lab their bad habits:D