Barking

[Zen_Qed]

Hello Everyone,

i need help with a barking problem. Kimball has  turned out to be a barker and we need some advice on how to break him off it.

he barks inside and outside usually trying to get one of the other dogs to play but he also barks if they have a treat or a toy he wants.

Inside it's annoying, outside it's a problem. We have an evil neighbor and if she hears our dog/s barking more than once she calls animal control or the humane society on us trying to turn us in for animal abuse.

i'm not even kidding i am on a first name basis with both the humane society and the animal control group they are here so often.

Anyway advice on how to get him to be quieter would be very helpful!

He also has more energy than any other giant breed puppy that i've ever met. Nobody can keep up with him.. he wears out Serenity and Trip and still wants more.

Because of his energy level we are going to do agility work with him as he gets older to give him an outlet for all that energy

He's also much more of an alpha personality than any of the other dogs so we are already working on the NILIF method of training with him.

~Beth

[Brownis15]

Have you considered doggie daycare a couple of days a week? That will shave off some of the energy he seems to have. Barking can be a product of excess energy, pups can do it sometimes just to let off some steam. The barking to get a dog to play is really hard to fix, but at daycare he may be corrected for it by other dogs that are annoyed by it.

Inside barking for attention is a little easier to solve. You can teach him a quiet command. But when he barks dont give him attention, instead, say Kimball, QUIET, and when he hushes, say good quiet and treat. It will take lots of patience to do this, but he will learn soon that sitting quietly by your side = more attention rather than barking at you. Also, teaching him to speak on command will help too.

If you need a really quick fix to avoid the H.S. and A.C., try the spray commander by Premiere. It has a remote on it and when he barks and you want to correct him you can press a tone, then spray citranella. It doesnt shock or hurt him, just is an unpleasent smell and taste. Soon, just the tone will be enough, and if you incorporate that with the commands and treats I mentioned above, you will quiet him down significantly. GOOD LUCK!!!

[Zen_Qed]

Doggy day care isn't really something we can do. First of all we are way out in the middle of no where, second i do not drive for medical reasons and my husband works strange 12hr shifts. However the main reason is i do not take the pups anywhere that they might catch cooties until they have had all their shots. We live in a *very* heavy parvo area.

 ~Beth

[Fumble]

hmm... i wonder if you can try spraying water at them when they bark... fumble likes water so it never worked from him, but i saw it on oprah.  you spray the dog every time they bark and say quiet, they stop cause they're shocked, and then soon they get it.  maybe an idea??
also try a few walks a day, maybe little walks throughout the day will help to tucker him out!

[mama23+pyrs2]

We use the water trick too. Pyrs are bred to be barkers and some can start to become nuisance barkers if it's not nipped in the bud so inside when they do it for attn or something they get squirted and told 'quiet' and it works instantly lol. It's gotten to the point now that we just have to point the bottle at him. My male is the barker. You may try that.

Oh, and I wanted to add that I'm very mindful about not discouraging barking altogether since I very much WANT him or them to bark when they feel it's needed, since that's how they warn. Yukon will bark if he hears a strange noise or voice on the computer or anywhere, or if the UPS guy comes to the door, at big dogs or people he gets a vibe from..and I always tell him 'THANK YOU, it's OK' and that seems to be enough to get him to calm when he sees it's really okay for him to stop.

[CalistogaPyr]

Unfortunately Pyrs are barkers, pure and simple.  It's the number one reason they are turned into rescue organizations!!  And I have a nasty neighbor, so I can totally empathise with your situation!!!   So, knowing that you will never get a pyr to stop barking, the idea is to train them to settle or to stop  barking when you have acknowledged that there is no need for it.  What you are describing sounds like a pushy Pyr than a guarding Pyr...he's demanding attention from the other dogs/you and using his voice to get it.  Bo can be like that, but she mostly demands attention with the "pyr pat" (I've got the bruises to prove it).  If you can work on teaching a "settle" or "enough" command, that is a great way to curb the behavior.  I use a squirt bottle with water & when I want her to stop, I give her a "shot across the bow" (I don't even have to make contact with her, just the sound of the water is enough) and say "enough".  Eventually she learned that me just picking up the bottle meant that she had to stop.  IF all else fails, I recommend a citronella collar as opposed to a shock collar.  Pyrs are extremely sensitive dogs in spite of their massive size, and sometimes they can become pain-aggressive, so it's best to not use pain as a negative reinforcement for training.  That's just my two cents.  Good luck!! =) 

[Zen_Qed]

Calistoga,

just wanted to point out that my post was about a great dane =) tho lots of pyr people posted helpful suggestions about it and will try the spray bottle of water on him. It didn't work on our saint because he adores water and thought it was a fun game
maybe the dane will be different.

I love pyr's but i wouldn't own one because they do tend to be barkers and all of them that i have met enjoy being outside a lot. Seeing as how we live in arizona and during the summers it's 115 out  the dogs only go outside to go potty.

~Beth

[mama23+pyrs2]

Calistoga,

just wanted to point out that my post was about a great dane =) tho lots of pyr people posted helpful suggestions about it and will try the spray bottle of water on him. It didn't work on our saint because he adores water and thought it was a fun game
maybe the dane will be different.

I love pyr's but i wouldn't own one because they do tend to be barkers and all of them that i have met enjoy being outside a lot. Seeing as how we live in arizona and during the summers it's 115 out  the dogs only go outside to go potty.

~Beth

Ours HATE to be outside when it gets warm haha. Only love it out there in the Winter time which doesn't last long seeing as we live in FL. But they are perfectly content to be in the house laying around on the cool tile floor hehe. Luckily we don't have a barking issue yet either, just when it's needed. In fact, when hubby takes them for walks and dogs run out barking their heads off at them, they just look at them like they're confused and keep going lol. People ask how we trained them to be so well behaved and not even bark. We say, they're just 5 month old puppies and haven't learned a whole lot yet! But I think we got super lucky even with a great dog, I think they're extra great.

I hope you have success with the spray bottle!