My 7 month old retriever loves the sound of her voice but unfortunately we don't! She has got into this habit of barking like a crazy animal whenever we go outside at 10.30 for her last wee. Theres no real reason for it but i'm worried that if she doesn't stop the neighbours will complain. She is usually too far away for me to do anything other than shout but i think she just sees that as me joining in! Because of the distance i can't use anything to interrupt her behaviour, (i.e. a can filled with stones, bean bag or training discs) so i am wondering whether a spray collar is the only other option. (I can hire one from my dog training club.) Has anyone had any similar problem?

Dogs don't normally bark simply because they like the sound of their own voice - at 7 months old she's possibly still feeling a little vulnerable and is telling the world to back off because she can sort them out!! How's her recall? Will she come when you call? If so, call her, ask her for a few training behaviours (sit, down - ones she knows well) then reward her with a small treat, then let her go again.

PS - anti bark collar in this situation *could* also teach her that the dark garden is not a place she wants to be because there are spitting squirty things out there ;)

Mine used to bark for attention if I was on a walk and stopped to talk to someone. She knew the speak command so I taught her the quiet command by asking her to bark then putting my hand up like the stop signal and saying "quiet" and treating her when she stopped. :) I did this at home for a while till she learnt it then used it on a walk.

If your dog is going too far away and she's got good recall then just keep her close and tell her quiet and treat her when she is. If she hasn't good recall it's not a good idea for her to be out of reach in the dark anyway so you could try a long lead and pull her back the moment she barks, tell her "quiet" and treat her when she stops.

Kath

I think it is mainly caused by excietement. The other night she went outside and a cat dashed across so she chased it and even though it had gone she went mad running round the garden barking. Her recall is another sore point, despite all my training she will only come when she feels like it, which isn't often. We are working on it though.
Thanks for your advice, i shall give it a try. :-)