Another dog related question

Are muzzles okay to use?

I have a dog that barks a lot. I've tried training at home, but maybe I'm doing something wrong. And there are no trainers in the rural area where I live. Plus, with the baby on the way, I don't feel comfortable driving too far to take her somewhere else.

So, would the occasional use of a muzzle be alright?

I don't plan to use it all the time. I really do mean occassionally!

Thanks!

[Marisa6826]

Muzzles are for biting, not barking.

You can use a "no bark" collar, that gives them a static shock when the collar senses the vibration of their voice box. There are others that spray citronella oil into their faces when they bark.

My mother has one for her mangey mutt and it works!

The collar tends to go through a lot of batteries though, and not to mention the oil.

You can get them either online or at PetSmart/PetCo.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...1&N=2001&Nty=1


-m

Thanks for the information. For some reason I thought muzzles were for barking. Now I know! :)

I think I'll definitely look into a no bark collar. Maybe it'll work for my mutt too!

As Marissa, said, muzzles are for biting. It's not going to help with barking.

And the shock collars - which is what they are - aren't a solution I favor, either. If you have to use aversives, the citronella collar is a gentler option. The only long term solution is training, i.e., behavior modification.

Why does your dog bark? Just because he *thinks* he heard something? For attention? When someone comes to the door? All of the above? What do you do when the dog barks?

Barking that is attention seeking can be corrected by ignoring the behavior. There will an extinction burst when it gets worse, and then the behavior will diminish and eventually vanish. It's vitally important to be consistent about ignoring the dog when he's barking (no saying "no," no eye contact, nothing) through the entire time, and praise the dog, and pay postive attention when he's being quiet.

You could also teach the dog to "speak" on command. Then teach a command like "Enough" or "Done" to stop. This is especially effective for barking when someone comes to the door.

(FWIW - we taught the cocker to "kiss" on command because he loved to lick people on the face, which not everyone appreciates! :) We rarely give him the command, and he rarely exhibits the behavior without it.)

And, actually, what breed? Some breeds just live to bark (like Shelties - not picking on them, they're cool, but barky).


ETA:

This should be helpful: Ian Dunbar's booklet on barking:

http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB181

I haven't read this one, but he's a very well-respected trainer.

HTH

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

Angel is a purebred mutt. :) We think that she is part cocker, part long-haired dachshund (sp?) and part who knows what! She never barks for attention. It's always because of someone at the door or a sound (either real or imaginary). And, really, I don't mind her barking. What I mind is the fact that she won't shut up! We've tried so many things to get her to stop, that honestly, I think we may have confused the poor thing. :(

She also loves to lick people. And she already knows "kiss", and does it quite well, but she'll also just lick people for fun. (Arms, legs, face, whatever is handy!)

I'll be sure to take a look at the link you listed. Thanks so much for your help.

Take a look at Dunbar's books. He's a proponent of positive reinforcement, which, IME, gives much better long term results. And whatever method you settle on, be sure to be consistent with the command. To a dog, "enough" is not the same as "stop" or "no." For my dogs, "stay" is a different command than "wait."

Shock collars can really hurt a dog - especially on a dog with a high pain threshold (when they'll also be ineffective) - which is why I don't like or recommend them.

For generally understanding dogs, my absolute favorite recommendation is "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson. Sometimes, we actually set up dogs for "failure" because we don't understand how their little minds work, or perceive events, and Donaldson's book is great (but not an easy read). She has another book on psycho dogs - I'll see if there's anything about barking in it when I get home tonight.

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

Oh, Nita, I have so many questions for you!! I have a shepard mxi with some food aggression issues (not to mention a terrible milk allergy) but that is another post entirely...

We take a different tact on the barking issue with our guy. We lived his first two years on a large, dark farm in the country. Whenever the neighbor's horse/cow/stray deer popped by, Chaucer would bark. It got frustrating--not to mention frightening and saying "no" wasn't working. Becuase Chaucer was barking in order to warn us but the offending animal would not necessarily be moving on, we developed the strategy of walking to the window/door, looking out and saying: "Okay, Chaucer. It's a deer/horse/cow. Thanks." It works really well for us. He wants to let us know that something univited is near and once we acknowledge it he feels better.

Just a thought. Good luck with the barking!

Paula
Paula
Mama to Dante, 8/02

Yes - we do something similar too. If the dogs are doing their job by letting us know that someone's coming to the door, it's "Thank you. Good dog, {name}. Enough."

BTW - I posted a link to a collection of articles on dog aggression in response to Anna's post.

ETA link

http://www.geocities.com/jetflair/behaviorarticles.html

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD