I need help and advice quickly. I have 3 dogs and all are very well trained and very obediant and  apart from one thing.
First of all I will say my dogs are very affectionate and very gentle natured so its not agression thats causing this but my problem is whenever anyone passes my window(they dont even need to be coming to my front door and sometimes they are  not even infront of my house but halfway up the street) and my dogs spot them they all jump up ,rush to the window and bark like crazy.
If my neighbours are loading or unloading their cars they bark continuously till they go inside the house,this could take 10 mins or more.
If the window cleaner comes its the same till hes gone and even if someone passes my house and walks up the road ,if they are in eyesight the dogs bark till the person goes out of sight.Its becoming a bit of a mare and I can no longer be doing with the noise cause its deafening.
I feel I am contstantly trying to deal with this problem and to be honest its spoiling my enjoyment of my dogs and im sure it must get on my neighbours/other peoples nerves too.

I have tried methods of distraction eg clapping my hands making high pitch noises...it doesnt work.Ive tried blocking their view with my body to break their eye contact,it doesent work and with 3 its hard.
Ive tried removing them from the room and putting them somewhere else,it doesnt work.
I havent shouted at the dogs as I know the dogs will think they have to join in with me and keep barking ,but its getting beyond all controol and im desperate.
I cant understand why they insist on doing this as they are otherwise very well behaved.
Any suggestions as to how to stop it would be gratefully recieved
Thanks in advance
Philly

I have three dogs as well  Philly and I have the same problem.  One of the windows of our sitting room looks out on to the road.  We live in a quiet cul de sac so that when a person parks nearby and unloads, or someone walks by with a dog or - worst of all they spot a CAT (aaarrrggghhh) they go ballistic, at least the two olders one do but the puppy hasn't cottoned on yet.   The leap up on to the sofa so as to get a better view.  Fortunately our house is detached and not that near another so I don't think it bothers the neighbours.

I do resort to shouting I am afraid and end up putting them in the kitchen at the back of the house.  I have thought of keeping the curtains closed but that does seem rather dismal.  One of my dogs, a rescued JRT is equally awful when he spots a dog on a lead when we are out on a lead walk - so embarrassing,  I often have to turn tail and go the other way!

At obedience training we were told to put some pebbles into a tin box and rattle it  ( for excessive barking)- I do occasionally and it does seem to work in that it startles them - you could try it.  Sometimes just picking up the box and giving it a gentle rattle works!

Good luck

Snowflake

Have you tried feeding them treats when it happens? They can't bark with their mouths full, and if successful you will instead end up with dogs that run to you looking for treats when they see somebody outside. There is a great little video on Youtube explaining this: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uKltnrHsnrg (It deals with doorbells but it will work the same.)

Hi philly

It sounds as though you've tried a few possible options but perhaps not stuck with one or any long enough to get it working ;)  The dogs need to know, through learning, that this behaviour is unacceptable and has a consequence.

IMO you should immediately remove them from the room for some time out- it may not work the first or fifth time, but be consistent and firm with them and the penny will start to drop.  The dogs have to realise that barking means something - the message is entirely your own choice :)

(a) being removed from the room and away from you - so boring
(b) being removed from the room and getting a treat in another room - so rewarding

I'd go with (a) because if you mis-read or mis-time their response you may well encourage the problem you're trying to stop!  Positive and reward based training is generally always my first port of call but when you have a pack - and 3 dogs is undoubtedly a pack! - then it is more tricky to use a reward based method for many elements. 

To clarify, there will still be a reward in store for them - just not immediate :)  The reward comes when they are quiet, calm and allowed back into the room with you.  If this then starts up the same behaviour again, banished to the kitchen or wherever - and start again :)   Dogs aren't stupid but they don't reason in the way humans do so only by repetitive actions or commands on our part do they eventually realise what we mean. 

All behaviours are habit forming - whether good or bad.  To break a bad habit we need to educate them with the habits WE form - i.e. in this case, exclusion until WE are satisfied the dogs will behave.

My dogs are not allowed to be in the same room as the window cleaner is working on - they would all go nuts LOL - so do I have perfect dogs? Definitely not! BUT I try to find ways to manage behaviours that I am not able (for whatever reason) to erradicate entirely.  They occasionally will bark at the sight of passers-by or dogs from the lounge windows and a firm, mid-loud 'Nuff is sufficient to put paid to that but I'm well aware that wouldn't work with the window cleaner :-D

> I cant understand why they insist on doing this as they are otherwise very well behaved

they insist because they can - and they are enjoying it!  The fact they are otherwise well behaved proves that you're good at assessing, training and controlling them so take a deep breath, relax, don't get yourself all wound up and casually observe their behaviours individually :)  You'll almost certainly find that one starts the others off each time for example and that often at least one is barking without having a clue as to why!

HTH,
regards, Teri

Thoroughly agree with Teri,

My three used to be exactly the same very well behaved, but used to go frantic at the window. I used the technique Teri outlined above with great success. Just requires patience and consistency as with most things :) Good Luck :).

I use obedience (more often than not though, the show training, cos it is really ingrained into my dogs - but obedience would do the same thing).  When they are barking, tell them to do something (come, sit, stay, stand, whatever command they are really good at).  Have them focus on you, and when they turn round to continue barking, then just place them back in the position they were in.  Eventually, they learn that they cant bark at something passing the window, and then everytime something does, they sit or down, because thats what you have taught them to do instead of barking.

HTH

Thanks everyone im glad its not just me who has this problem....some of the methods mentioned i have tried  and they got no responce and some i will try and see if it helps.Like i said  other than this problem they are very well behaved and do what i tell them. Its the middle dog of my 3  that sets it off and she is the hardest to stop from doing it.Ive even resorted to grabbing her scruff and putting her to the floor on her back and holding her there till she calms down..I think she will be the toughest nut to crack,any suggestions for one on one with her by herself would also be appreciated.the other 2 are  better and I can get them to stop but not for long as they copy the middle dog.If I didnt have the middle dog I dont think the problem would be a problem if you see what i mean.

Hi again philly

A few basics if you please :)

1. How old are the dogs and what breed(s) are they?
2. Over how long has this problem been ongoing and was there an obvious and sudden start to it or gradual build up?
3. What methods, and in what order, have you already tried?
4. Does any dog have an obvious higher rank among them - not necessarily in all situations, but in most?

Possibly with more specific info on the dogs themselves, their pecking order (if any), breed specific characteristics (if any apply) etc, some of the members more experienced in behaviour modifications will be better able to assess how to help you move forward here.

On what's been offered so far, IMO the fact that you mention that the middle dog of them appears to be the catalyst and you feel her 'the toughest nut to crack', suggests to me that more one to one concentration on her would be the best start to addressing the problem - but I have to say I wouldn't consider alpha rolling a suitable form of redirecting her energies ...... 

'Tough nuts' are most often highly intelligent, frustrated, exasperated and commonly 'acting out' because they are lacking in mental stimmulation - brute force, apart from the obvious reasons, is not how best to get through to them.

Its the middle dog of my 3  that sets it off

Yep, always an instigator and the rest will follow. :-D

Whilst we are awaiting your responses to Teri's questions,

Ive even resorted to grabbing her scruff and putting her to the floor on her back and holding her there till she calms down..I think she will be the toughest nut to crack,any suggestions for one on one with her by herself

I think this little one needs some one to one clicker training, the clicker, (just as a whistle but as we are in the house a clicker will be better) is understood immediately as a need for a response and with a bold little madame like your middle one who is not listening to your voice commands of stop, shush, quiet, I think it will be a valuable tool.

It is amazing how quickly a dog can learn with a clicker their ears are raised and they come to inspect even on the first click, if you click and offer a reward you will find when you use it you will get an immediate response.  That way when she starts barking if you click you can firstly distract her and then secondly give her the command you want her to do shush, quiet or no! will do to cease her barking, when she complies she gets a treat, continuing clicks will over-ride her barking without sounding as though you are joining in.

You can also progress to other training with her, it is amazing how some dogs who often don't adhered to vocal commands will to a clicker or whistle, I guess that is due to some not using the correct commanding voice (and some dogs thinking their owners a push over :-) ) and also it can not be mistaken for anything other than a stand of attention as it requires a response.

Though I must admit, removal from the room/window for a barking dog IMO always works best out of sight of the thing that is exciting them usually does the trick, but this little girl can have no harm done by some one to one training aswell. :-)

I'll need to try that with my lot when at the caravan LOL!!! I'm really fed up with the barking when they see someone, or, a dog on the path to the beach.

I think they sense when you are going to pass with yours as well, as you know "all hell breaks loose" LOL!!!!  They all love one another really!!!!

They don't do this at home, just if someone comes to the door, my windows are higher so they cannot see out of them, which is a blessing with the neighbours I've got LOL!!!!

It only works with mine at the caravan when indoors (as you know ;) ) - on the deck and MadAss is a whole different beast as you well know and passing dogs get the same vocal response as birds, hares and pretty much anything caught in the wind :-D

Well, they're on their hols after all - just gotta love 'em!!!  And fortunately we do (dimented creatures that we are :-D )

luckily for me we have a wide drive at the front and high bushes so they cant see anyone walking past , the front door is on the side of the house which also makes it easier but saying that I more often than not have the blinds near closed so the fact they cant see out does help.LOL

My hubby works on a rostered night shift as does one of  my neighbours so I have to have control of my 3 dogs  mainly if there is a knock  or when they are playing outside in the back garden.
If my girls dont stop barking when I say 'be quiet' ,I use the noise of a newspaper banged down on the worktop or a cupboard then say 'quiet' they disperse very quickly in silence  as they know they have pushed me too far , now I just pick tap the top of a paper and they know I mean it , I think its the noise and tone of my voice brings them back to thier senses!

Year ago we had  Rough's I used to rattle a chain in my hand and taught them to down at the sound of it maybe you could try something on those lines.

Roni

Hi Terri.
To answer your questions as best I can....
I have an 8 yr old wiemeraner,shes is getting on and has not been a well dog most of her life so she tends not to bother with the other 2 and sleeps a lot next to me on the sofa when we arent doing anything else.She also doesnt really play with the other 2 much either,I dont think she can be bothered....she is only naughty when the barking situation arises,otherwise she is very obdeient, She has her gold good citizen if that helps and I never had  the barking problem with her untill I got my middle dog..

My middle dog and the one who triggers off the behaviour in the other 2 she is a 4 yr old Hungarian Vizsla, She again is very obediant all the time apart from the window thing however out of the 3 she is the most boistrous in play and can be quite hyper at times.If we are on a walk she is the first to want to run and play with other dogs and has no fear of anything. If I tell her no she stops imeadiately again apart from the barking at the window thing. She retrieves, walks to heel will stay put on a spot when I tell her untill I tell her to come. The barking is the only issue I have with her. She plays all the time with my youngest dog,but also likes to sit next to me on the sofa sometimes for a cuddle.

My youngest dog is a  15 mnth old Wirehaired Hungarian Vizsla, she is the most biddable dog and the most loving gentle natured dog i have ever owned, again she is very well behaved and will do things when asked immeadiately. Again on her own no problem but put her in a room with the smooth viz and as soon as someone comes into view she joins in with the barking.

I feed them in this order .......Wiemeraner first as she is the dog i got first, Smooth viz second and  wire haired viz 3rd. They all know their feeding order  and wait patiently by their food station untill i put the bowls down.

I will say however as a pup the smooth viz was the most boistrous when training and although she responded well to me and knows what is expected of her, she was the only dog who chewed anything when I left her to go anywhere. she was always in the kitchen/ dining room  with the Wiemie but she did chew loads even though she wasnt on her own. I never leave any of my dogs alone for more than 2 hrs max if I have to go out.If I need to be out longer the are minded by a friend who comes to our house as a dog sitter or they go to my in laws house.

The barking is the only issue i have with them ,it doent matter if i remove them from the room and put them somewhere else,they still carry on barking, they also bark at the upstairs window if anyone is in the field behind my house, sunday morning football is a nightmare.
Ive tried shaking a tin of money,ive tried getting them to focus on me till the  person is out of eyesight .
the oldest and the yougest respond well but the middle one wont so eventually the other 2 rejoin in.
I hope all this info helps you
Sorry if Ive waffled but im now getting desperate,hence resorting to the scruffing and holding down of the middle one...I know thats not the best way to deal with it either hence my asking for help
~thanks in advance
Philly xx

Hi philly,

It's good to know the breeds and ages involved because some breeds are more easily hyped than others and of course youngsters of any breed can be in a world of their own when over excited :)

I'd still recommend removing them from the area where they are most likely to kick off so that you can establish a pattern WITH them - something which they link to the behaviour and so recognise consequences.  IMO if you allow them to remain in the vicinity of the stimuli then you will not get through to them at all whereas if they are removed immediately there is a window of opportunity for you to get their full attention.

As they appear otherwise well trained and very responsive to you outdoors it may just be that changing your indoor routines will get them refocused on you when at home.  From your description IMO they are too intent on what may be happening around them (albeit tantalisingly out of reach on the other side of a window!) and so you have to get through to them in a novel way with a novel approach.  It has to be something which makes them THINK - manic barking is just that! Manic and without purpose other than they begin to enjoy the hyped up state.  Get their minds working and they will calm down (easy to say!).

In particular I think you need to build a greater bond with the 4yr old so that you can work better together.  Carrington's advice re clicker training sounds to me to be an excellent start :)   I currently have a 4yr old bitch of a 'busy' breed which, if allowed, would behave similarly to yours and I've found that when we do 1-2-1 work and sometimes just 1-2-1 time spent she is a whole different creature :)  Calmer, more attentive and definitely more willing to please.  If there was to be one of mine winding up the other two I know it would be her - she's too darn smart for her own good and needs lots of mental stimmulation otherwise she gets bored and makes her own entertainment (so would result if allowed in lots of bouncing and noise LOL).

Prevention is usually the key and when something takes us by surprise then having a 'tool' which was previously novel to training can make the world of difference :) 

For eg, on the beach mine can't hear me call if they're too far off, playing in the surf, strong winds etc - a clicker would be useless as even my 'strict' voice doesn't carry well enough (or is that selective deafness LOL).  I wished one wet, cold, miserable day when they were ignoring my attempts at rounding them up that I had thought of a whistle - not much use for immediate effect when I didn't have one! - so I used a loud "BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR" noise (remember trim-phones?) which got an immediate response.  They all stopped, looked back at me, and I bent low and opened my arms so they came galloping back (knocked me over of course :-D ) Now, for recall, that's what I always use when they are out together - it's easier than shouting three names too.

You're not alone in having dogs which have quirks so chin up - I've no sooner patted myself on the back for resolving one issue when another raises elsewhere :)  They must think we like the challenge!

regards Teri

> You're not alone in having dogs which have quirks so chin up - I've no sooner patted myself on the back for resolving one issue when another raises elsewhere :-)  They must think we like the challenge

Keeping us entertained LOL.
I have recently had similar with one dog, the eldest one, when I am there I just talk very softly and distract him and he  stops . Two neighbours say he does bark when strangers are around, ( and we are not) and actually are rather pleased he does. The other neighbour who is only in  residence now and then, always moans under the guise of being concerned! When she is around and I am going out, I close the curtains at the front of the house so he can not see out. Pointer is fully aware of people around but barking is "such a waste of energy" seems to be his opinion..

Hi Philly256 :-)

What happens if you just remove your middle dog from the room when they are barking.  If they're all removed together then I'd guess they could still be feeding off each other's excitement? 

Zingiber x

Try a dog stop alarm I got one when Whistler started barking when anyone visited the office, it took a few weeks but nothing now. Its like a personal alarm thing and it really is loud and they are so stops them dead in their tracks. I have it here on my desk but i havent used it for months..

Thanks to everyone for their advice and support its very much appreciated.I will try everything as advised and let you know which works best.
Please is any of you have other ideas which may help keep them coming Im always open to advice
thanks
Philly x

Hi Whistler.

Where do you get the stop alarm from. That sounds like a good idea.

Hi Philly, is there any discernable pattern you can work with?  Time of day perhaps or key events?

We have a bit of an issue with Finn who then manages to start Y off (Y wouldn't ever bother if Finn didn't get amped by passers by, or car doors etc and start bouncing at the window).  I've noticed that F is much more likely to bark in the mornings and there are two things I'm aware of.  F is much much more likely to bark before our walk rather than after - I think he's more awake, more alert and a bit excited at the thought of going out.  I do have to wait for their food to go down so can't get out as early as I'd like but not hanging about past 10am certainly helps a lot.  The postman is another trigger, long before he gets here F can hear him banging his car door, opening gates or shouting hello at passers by!  If I haven't left the house at post time I put the boys in the utility room at the back until after the postman has been and gone - it helps a lot as F only barks once or twice and Y never starts at all.

I used to be able to put up with Finn and the barking but since Y has arrived I am concerned that he may learn bad habits so I'm trying a new approach.  It doesn't get rid of the issue completely but does stop the long barking which is what happens when I ignore him.  If Finn starts, I walk to where he is, say 'thank you, good boy' then 'all finished' and call him into the hall.  I give him something to do for me like sit, paw, on your bed - any instruction will do - then praise him for doing it.  I've been doing this 100% consistently for 2 weeks and it appears to be working.  I'm prepared to live with the alert barking as long as it's only once or twice then stops.  He really wants to tell me something is happening or someone is coming and I thought I was asking too much to eradicate that completely so I'm attempting to give him the message that his job is to tell me ONCE.  Interestingly Y has mostly stopped joining in with the barking as he doesn't really get a chance to start, he now just goes to the window for a quick look before coming back into the hall with me.

Sorry about the long reply - thinking of you.  R xxx

I think it was online zoo plus or something try dog stop on goggle.

thanks everyone i will let you know how I get on,Ive tried some of the advice already and so far so good so fingers crossed...thanks once again
Philly x

> have recently had similar with one dog, the eldest one, when I am there I just talk very softly and distract him and he  stops . Two neighbours say he does bark when strangers are around, ( and we are not) and actually are rather pleased he does. The other neighbour who is only in  residence now and then, always moans under the guise of being concerned!

In a previous post I wrote the above.

Well guess what she got burgled this week, I am so, so sorry for her, but if my dogs had been barking you never know!!

Poor soul - but as you say, you never know.

Different side of the coin - some years back one of my neighbours was complaining about alarms ringing and nobody ever paying them any heed.  Not just car alarms but house ones too.  (I have always phoned the police if a house alarm is ringing, just in case).  Anyhow, she had a dog and said because of that she didn't need an alarm because he would raise the dead with noise should anyone uninvited breach the boundaries.  Some weeks later she got up one morning to find an elderly gentleman sitting in her kitchen - beside the dog LOL.  Poor old guy had dimentia and wandered in accidentally and the dog said nowt :-D

I prefer to go with an alarm and dogs - hopefully one or t'other provides enough of a deterrent!

> Well guess what she got burgled this week

Just worth a quick mention: when we were burgled some years ago the police said that they often come back to nearby houses.  They did, and burgled a neighbour.  It's happened again in this village only a few months ago, someone burgled 3 houses on consecutive nights.

It's not my intention to worry you but it is worth just making sure your sheds and garages etc are secure and that everything else is as safe as you can make it (particularly if your dogs are ever confined to one room when you're out).

Can you tell we've recently had a visit from our neighbourhood watch coordinator?!! :)

> I prefer to go with an alarm and dogs - hopefully one or t'other provides enough of a deterrent!

I have both as well. I have OCD when it comes to locking up. My husband USED to be so lazy but he is almost as bad as me now!
Any one trying could take everything in my house. They are just things. But I am so scared of my cats being hurt or dogs running off. I read about some one whose dog ran off during a burglery and he got run over. We live near a really busy road and if my boys ran that way my god they could cause an awful accident.

> Poor old guy had dimentia and wandered in accidentally and the dog said nowt :-D
>

Bless the dog obviously knew no harm was meant!

TBH methinks her dog was a whimp LOL.  It was always bullying my then puppy dog - biting his bum and running off with its owner excusing it saying it was 'only playing'  hmmm.  Funnily enough when my lad got big enough to outwit it, she then said her dog was 'just pacing itself' but could outrun anything if it needed to so cue my (by now teenage) lout who chased it the short sprint home from the park and joined it going through her back door   Fortunately he didn't hold any grudges and was content to show his disdain by claiming the resident dog's water bowl - unchallenged of course.

Methinks her dog really just hid in the kitchen from perceived threats and if anything or anyone joined it in there it stayed very still, very quiet and tried VERY hard to be invisible :-D