How do I stop my 7 month old Dobe barking at our neighbour every time he's in his garden? Now that the weather is better, he is in his garden every day, and my Dobe won't stop barking at him - although she "knows" him, sniffed and licked him on several occasions, and he's always very nice to her.

He doesn't mind the barking but the other neighbours already complained.

Thanks in advance,

Katie

I would tackle it by taking him back into the house the minute he starts, keep him there for 5 or 10 mins let him out again and repeat...... and repeat.........and repeat :) 
It requires patience, he has to get fed up before you do but it worked for me :)

The problem is that she starts barking as soon as she steps foot outside and sees the neighbour - and if I take her immediately in again, she won't be able to do what she was going to do in the first place (pee and poo). That's why she goes in the garden, after all - to eliminate, and then back inside again.

So I am worried that if I do as suggested, she will not be able to eliminate, and will instead pee/poo at home.

Katie

Use a lead so you can control her while you need to let her toilet.

Katie

I sympathise! I'm having the exact same trouble with my 11 month old Dobe (Hattie) and her Mum (Lottie). My other dogs (gundogs) are happy to lay out on the patio or grass and don't bother when he appears, but Hattie goes berserk which then sets Lottie off. The fact that they are a guarding breed makes this quite difficult to solve, it is in their nature. I'd be interested in anyone's ideas. I do get her in whenever she barks, then the others get upset because they've been locked out!

Karen

I would totally understand if she barked at a stranger, but she's known this particular neighbour ever since we brought her home 5 months ago! Why can't she just watch him silently?:rolleyes:

Hi Katie (and Karen :) )

Apart from Isabel's routine - which by and large does work with patience and consistency - you could try a number of things.  I too have a guarding breed that are prone to taking it upon themselves to ensure the security of the perimeters are never breached :rolleyes:

You could try teaching your dog(s) to "speak" on command - that IME is easier than teaching them to be quiet :D  If you have an amenable neighbour, you could always encourage him/her to participate in this training once you have established in the dogs' head what you are trying to achieve which is that they should not bark unless asked to.  I can now use the command "no shouting" (in a very low, calm tone!) when they do begin to rev up and 90%+ of the time this works.

I currently have damage to one side of my boundary and this is temporarily fenced off with heavy duty mesh panels - meaning the dogs are able to see through to next door's garden and occasionally feel the need to ensure the "perps" don't get too close :D   With a bit of neighbourly cooperation I've managed to mainly keep them quiet although occasionally the younger one just has to remind them she's queen bee!

Whatever method you choose - and there's nothing to say you can't combine a few different measures of putting them indoors, distracting them, rewarding the nanno second of silence etc - will take patience and 100% consistency but should work (hopefully ;) )

regards, Teri   

Since territorial barking is kind of like saying 'go away, there isn't enough stuff for you too. This is all ours!' then how about if your neighbour actually added to the resources. Give him some prezzies to hand to your dog. Treats, a new toy, a bone. Just have a supply at the ready (though I'd wait until the barking stopped because you don't want to reward that part) I have heard of a behaviourist doing something similar to solve problems with barking at posties. All the dogs toys, food bowls etc. were placed in a box at night and in the morning the postman brought all of the dogs back.

Nothing I've tried or anything so take this with a thoughtful grain of salt. It's just an idea to ponder.

As soon as the barking starts and not 10 mins later, get them in,in,in,in,in, tell them why too. Insist on "no barking." I'm sorry, but hard luck if it's a pain, because you'll find it is. Only if your consistant and determined to control your smarter and more stubburn than you dobe, will it work. I'm afraid as far as the wee and poo issues go, on lead of course. My girl is 10 months old and if I step out into the garden, without my saying a word she knows to shut up, or she's in,.....nasty Mummy!

I noticed from the photos that you have chain link between you, and dobes are a guarding breed.  I would put up a solid barrier, as it is a bit much to expect her not to react to all the stimulus both visual and sound.

I would also be very consistent at making her come in as soon as she barks, and not let her out again until she is quiet.  Keep repeating quiet and praise and treat her while she is during his presense.

Do not let her out unattended at all, so that she can't practise the bad habit.

I have a vocal breed, and previously an easily aroused/exciteable shepherding breed, and this worked with both.

The latter had already made a habit of reacting to the neighbour so I put a four foot fence across my garden so she only had access to the first 15 feetby the width, limiting the length she could run along (getting her more excited) and it also meant I could easily go out and grab her and make her come in.

When I got the Elkhounds I kept the partiton fence, though did make the space a bit bigger, as I now have multiple dogs.

This also means that there is a smaller area to poo patrol, and meant the kids when small could chase around without interference from the dog with their friends.

If you don't want to partition then I would put a long line on her that was long enough for you to pick up wherever she was at that moment, so that you can enforce your wishes.

This probelm witll become worse and worse if you don't stop it now with her developing need and enjoyment of guarding and become ingrained habit too.

Agree with the others ;)  Definately in in in  immediately the barking starts :rolleyes:  It works with my bedlington, she only has to think she sees a cat and starts up but most of the time she's quiet now, she just can't resist telling thew cats off :rolleyes:

From the other side of the fence (sorry about the pun) I have trained a dog next door not to go berserk every time I or my family or the dogs went out.  It had got so bad he was barking at us if he saw us thru the window :rolleyes: and was in the garden 24/7 :(     It had got really scarey and the owner actually liked it :rolleyes: :(  
Sooo...  I used clicker training to get him to calm down (I also trained him to sit, lie down stay on command) couldn't even reach him to pat him, but the clicker training worked (while his owner was at work :) )  :D :D :D 

Agree with the others ;)  Definately in in in  immediately the barking starts :rolleyes:  It works with my bedlington, she only has to think she sees a cat and starts up but most of the time she's quiet now, she just can't resist telling thew cats off :rolleyes:

From the other side of the fence (sorry about the pun) I have trained a dog next door not to go berserk every time I or my family or the dogs went out.  It had got so bad he was barking at us when he saw us thru the window of our own house :rolleyes: and he was in the garden 24/7 :(     It had got really scarey and the owner actually liked it :rolleyes: :(  
Sooo...  I used clicker training to get him to calm down (I also trained him to sit, lie down stay on command) couldn't even reach him to pat him, but the clicker training worked (while his owner was at work :) )  :D :D :D 

I know what you mean Brainless, I too have put up a partition fence which does  help a bit (on the poo patrol at least!).

Could it be excitement barking? my GR does this when the neighbours kids come by as soon as we let him out to see them he stops. Sorry this won't help with your problem i just wondered what kind of bark it was?

It's not an aggressive bark, it's part excitement and part "watchdog" bark.

I spoke with my dog trainer about it this morning during our lesson, and she advised me to let her in the garden only on a leash for the moment, and to bring treats with me, and reward breaks in barking, plus say "it's okay" over and over in a calming tone. She said after a few days doing this every time I take her out in the garden, it should get better.

Katie

My dobe used to be the same -still can be with strangers :rolleyes:   we taught him 'quiet'  similar to what your trainer is saying it does take a while to sink in and we have to re-inforce it every spring when the cricket season starts but he's grasped it ok ............now if I could just get the same concept into the terrier's pea-brain I'd be ok :D :D

Ps Kimmy is absolutley stunning..and your boy is a cutie too ;)

Awww, thank you :)
Katie

This is quite a problem isn't it?
I have the opposite...neighbour's dogs bark at us when they hear us in the garden.
Very irritating but that i can cope with. However the other day their dogs got thru the fence into the ditch between us and strained thru fence to get to my girls.....snarling and making a hell of a din. I've never heard such a noise.
I'm afraid i lost it. If they'd got in there would have been bloodshed.
Yes. my dogs barked back but didn't try to attack them, even though they had their head and shoulders thru the stock fence.
I just marched round there and said it!!!!
Oooops. I was a bit upset. poor lady apologised over and over and to her credit I've hardly heard them since. I was wondering what had happened. Perhaps she's doing the very same thing you're suggesting...although i have heard hardly anything at all.
Oh dear.

perhaps they're under the patio!

Yes that's a thought. (Don't tell OH, he says I nag too much).
I wondered if they've been taken somewhere?
I haven't heard them AT ALL today, not even playing in the garden or anything.........what have I done..........

My dobe is just over two and he will bark at our neighbours at the bottom of the garden, but not the ones to the side of us.  I generally put him on the lead late at night, but during the day it isn't too much of a problem.  If I am in the kitchen and he starts to bark, I generally call him and try to distract him with something else.  We are lucky our neighbours are not too bad and they all have dogs as well, and I must say their dogs will bark too.

while i'm writing this, nips has discovered that our neighbour has had the bloomin' cheek to mow his own lawn and i shall shortly be removing him from the upstairs window where he is happily telling the neighbour's fortune!

oddly enough, he isn't an over territorial dog but seems to have set some rather odd limits in his own head - thus while he's very fond of the neighbour and wouldn't bark at him if he came up our path, he seems to think it's unreasonable of him to set foot on his own garden path without a comment. :rolleyes:

usually he stops barking without a fuss or much more than "put a sock in it"  - he's just come back into this room and dozed off on the pillows again - but every once in a a while i actually remove him from his vantage point. out of sight, out of mind seeming to work well!