Hi all, I have a westie, now two and a half, who is well trained but barks! I havent been able to stop him from barking when people pass by the house, door bell rings etc and it is becoming intolerable to OH. I paid for a trainer to visit the house who gave some good advice but it hasnt actually worked and OH gets so worked up by the barking that it kiind of sabatages the training.

What I would like to know is, are there any residential dog training courses I could go to with my westie for bark training? Can anyone recommend anywhere in UK?

In desperation

June

Welcome to the world of westies LOL !!!!  Imagine what its like with 3 of them.

Hi,
I have Mini Schnauzers and they can be very noisy when people arrive at the door and when the neighbours cat crosses the garden, well it was deafening.
Several years ago when i only had one, I bought an anti-bark collar with the ultra sonic noise, it worked brillantly. Now I have several mini's I use an anti-bark device which can be put any where, even out side. You can buy these from any good pet shop about £35.
Now we have peace in the house.
Chris

I'm not sure if a residential course would be any good as dogs are very context specific and so may learn not to bark away from home but revert back to the original behaviour at home.
What techniques have you tried?

I tried an anti bark collar but it didnt work because Rory learnt that if he shook his head vigourously he could set the beeps off! I have heard of the devices but I thought that they only worked if the dog was in the same part of the house and would be set off by other dogs barking down the road? I would be willing to try one if you think it might work, which one do you have Chrissey?

Techniques I have tried are - spraying water! The trainer taught me to distract him with a treat when he barks, then add "quiet" as a command later on followed by treat, gradually increasing the time between offering treat and letting him have it. It doesnt work because I have not been able to get past first post as OH cannot tolerate the barking. As my husband is a teacher we both tend to be at home at the same time, so I thought that if I could go away to start the training it would help. It should be possible to simulate door bells etc on a course.

Any other advice would be helpful, because I think OH wants me to get rid of the dog, and it wont be the dog going!!

Hi Jnue,
Have got two portable anti-bak devices, one I bought from Pets at Home and the other through a catallogue. Both only work if the dogs is within a certain distance about 10 - 20 feet, both take a 9 volt battery. Both work well. I have two as one lives by the front door, and one lives in the garden. They have both worked so well, they are now turned off, but the dogs know they are there and do not bark.

As it has been suggested getting a friend to walk past windows and ring bells is excellent idea. Can they ring the door bell, then enter with a treat, this way the dog will associate the door bell with a treat and possible not bark!!!!!!!!!!

I will find out make and model and let you know
Chrisy

I wouldn't expect residential training to work very well. Dogs barking at passing people and doorbells are usually territorial barkers. They wouldn't feel the same need to tell everyone to go away from a place that wasn't theirs. Without knowing what the trainer told you I can only guess at general help. Can you get a friend to come over when your OH isn't there. They can ring the doorbell over and over practicing what the trainer advised until it starts working. Does your dog know how to bark on command. Teaching a bark is the first step to teaching a quiet. You won't get far if the dog is already excited. If you've asked the dog to bark for you, then you can introduce the quiet command using a treat and be more successful since the dog wasn't keyed up to begin with.

Remind your OH that shouting will just make your dog think they're joining in on the fun.

Hi JuneH,

Your trainer has given you some good tips, territorial barking is the hardest type to stop. :-(

Don't give up on the doorbell, treat training method, it is difficult if you live on a residential estate granted, even whilst training and explaining why your doing it, neighbours can get extremely upperty and a lot of barking does upset people. But persistance does help.

Personally, I would use that technique after installing in your dog that the barking is unaceptable, a good method I found for a bark attack,pick im up and removing him from the room the very second he begins or pop him in a crate and put a blanket over it, so he is in darkness immediately which will stop the excitment of the barking, he can't see anything to bark at, and he won't like being segregated and even worse not able to see anything, don't shout, don't get angry as already said, he just thinks you are joining in with his tirade of 'keep away from my home!'  So tell hubby this needs to stop.

Let him out after 3-5 mins and if he starts again, back in!  You then need to say the command Quiet! Or Shush! before putting him in, when he stops repeat Quiet or Shush! with a treat or big good boy :-)  That way you are installing what the command means.

Once you are getting success with this method and he is learning what Quiet or Shush means, you can then continue training with the doorbell and neighbours friends etc, walking past your window and door, if he fails to respond to your command, he goes back in the crate with blanket over or is removed from the room for a few minutes.

I tried this method with a friends border terrier, who was a barker holic :-D and I'm happy to say it did work. :-)

Good luck, and persistance is the key, and remember you are not teaching your dog NOT to bark!  You are purely teaching him to obey your Quiet, Shush command. ;-)

:This might be of some help:

http://www.seefido.com/html/taming_doorbell_madness_.htm

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001c/manicbarking.htm

Thanks Carrington and Lindsey for your advice and articles. I had tried putting him in his crate but I havent been doing it in a consistant and structured manner like you describe. So I will give it another go.

In case anyone is interested i have found a residential 3 day course with a trainer who will work with me and Rory for 3 days specifically on barking issues. I am going to try this because I feel that I need to get a head start without any family disruptions around me, and then I have taken time off work afterwards while I'm alone in the house to carry on. I will let you all know how it has gone.

Good luck to you, and look forward to hearing how you get on.
Karen.

Hi
You may also consider teaching your dog to speak or bark on command.  Once you have that under control you can then teach the no-bark or the hush.....in effect the 'off switch'.  This is what I had to do with my gobby male kraut!  :-D  (GSP!)  I think there are a number of posts on here re how to do this - have a search and if you can't find them, I'll try and post something later on for you.