Barking Lab

[ray]

I follow this post a lot and most of my questions are answered before I can ask. I am a first time lab owner. My dog is an 11.5 month old male black lab. He seems to be doing pretty good although I don't have much to compare with as I have never owned one before.

My problem is my crabby old neighbor came over the other day complaining that the dog is barking too much early in the morning. He stated 5a.m. although my wife and I don't hear the barking at this time and the dog's kennel is closer to our window than his. He will start barking around 6:45 however when things start to stir outside and he knows feeding time is coming. He also barks when he hears the kids playing in the yard and he wants to be a part of it. Most of the time I let him out but sometimes I would like the kids to be able to play ball without him interfering(they are 3 and 7; along with other neighborhood kids). I would also like to have him on a leash while we are out but he goes nuts with the barking when he can't get in the middle of stuff.

Went out and bought a bark collar(figuring it would be a good one for $90). Have been following the directions and there has been a slight improvement but when he wants to bark he really barks. Put the power to the highest level only once and that time I could tell he got a good jolt but on the lowest and medium power can't really tell. Any suggestions on what I could do different or reinforce that what I am currently doing will work would be appreciated.

[lawdog]

This is a tough one. I'm still struggling with my 9 mo old and his barking some too. Dogs bark, that's natural. What you need to do is try to minimize it by 1. Never rewarding that behavior (ie. letting him out or giving him attention when he does it) and 2. Negatively reinforcing the bad behavior while praising the good.

When he barks tell him "No" or "Quiet" sternly and then walk away and don't acknowledge more barks. Use that bark collar. If the low level doesn't stop it, you need to move up to the lowest level that does. That's how they are made to work...most have a one bark freebie or slight tingle before the real negative reinforcement anyway so he won't get the jolt right away.

[leechlake]

For long distance the bark collar, for close distance spray him with a water bottle or with a hose if it's handy, for those two things you need to anticipate the barking for them to work. When I've used the hose with a nozzle attachment I then have cut off a piece of old hose and hung it on the kennel fence to make him think the hose could "get him" when I wasnt right there. Never had a problem with hose water making him fearful of water either.

[GullGuide]

Here's something I did with my first dog....

He had a really bad problem of barking at night. I tried everything, even putting a radio out in his kennel tuned into a talk-radio station. Nothing worked (this was before bark collars).

So one night I was so fed up that I put him in his dog house and turned the door around so it was facing the garage and he could not get out. I just stood there and waited for him to start barking. When he did I pounded as hard as I could on the top of the house. He'd quit, for a while, then he would start barking again so I banged on the roof again. It took 3 or 4 times a night, but after 2 nights of doing this he never, and I mean never barked at night again. It actually took him almost 5 years to bark again at anytime.

Some might think of that being a bit cruel, but I never actually hit him, just scared the heck out of him so much that he was afraid of the big boom...lol. Funny cause he was never afraid of gunshots or storms.

[lawdog]

leechlake...I think the problem with the squirting is that its not consistent like the collar is. If the dog occasionally gets squirted when it barks and sometimes doesn't, it won't realize that that's the connection. With the bark collar its everytime and that consistency makes for a much quicker association between bark/bad

[LABS4ME]

Your bark collar is about your best bet for speed in resolving the problem. He still needs to be taught the command "quiet". If you are only getting corrections on the high setting of the collar, then use that. Do not teach him to bark over the correction. He needs to learn right now, right away that the behavior is not tollerated. As Lawdog stated, never let him out or reward him for barking... (feeding him, letting him play etc). Always make him quiet down for a good 5-10 minutes before he gets 'rewarded'. The collar works well because he is getting corrected no matter if you're around or not. The hose technique has worked for some, but most times the dog sees you coming and then quiets down... do you still spray him? or not? Like shocking a dog with an e-collar after he has already returned to your side.... Also some dogs relate the spraying of water with their kennel and will avoid going in the kennel and worse case scenario, develop a fear of their handler when they come out to the kennel thinking they will be sprayed. The bark collar is instantaneous, and will always correct him no matter what time of the day and the dog will not associate it with you. You may also want to work with him on a leash to sit at your side and watch quietly as your children play. This goes a long ways towards teaching him etiquette in the blind also. Over a couple weeks time, you should be able to progress him to sit at heal calmly and quietly until "released" to go play with the kids.

Good Luck!

Ken

[ray]

Great replies guys! I feel better about what my plan of attack has been and clearing up those questions. Couple more questions:

1. The info that came with the collar mentioned that there is a possibility of some problems with rashes and sores due to the collar. Is this common and if so how can I prevent it?

2. If all goes well and the dog quits barking, is there a recommended time frame to go away from the collar?

Finally, what do you think would happen if I slapped the collar on my old crabby neighbor when the dog is done with it?

[LABS4ME]

1. Your dog will develop sores from extended wear. To avoid this take the collar off frequently... ie: whenever you are playing with him, training him, time in the house, walks etc. You won't notice them unless you have it on for many-many days in a row. I've gone 2-3 day in a row with no problems in the past.

2. Use it non-stop at first. Maybe go 3 days in a row, then use it only at night or when you are gone for the next few weeks or so. Re-inforce the correction with the "quiet" command when you are at home when 1st starting off, then you should be able to just command "quiet" if he starts barking and his collar is off. If the "quiet" command doesn't quiet him down go out and put it back on him for another 24 hours. Eventually the conditioning will work and he'll quit barking.

3. Never used one on a cranky neighbor, but they work great on "barking" wives during the hunting and fishing season! hehehe

Good Luck!

Ken

[marine_man]

The other thing I would check on your collar is that it's on tight enough.. it seems that most first time collar users do not put the collar on tight enough, or in the proper location. The collar should be tight enough that you can only get 2 fingers under the collar, and it should ride high, just behind the ears.

The reason your dog may only be responding to the highest setting is because the prongs on the collar aren't making good contact with the dog's neck.

marine_man

[koWALLEYEski]

Well if you want to try it on a person before your neighbor you know where you can find me, coach o

[ray]

Unfortunately for all or us Case using the bark collar on you now would only serve as entertainment as we have missed the window to truely correct your barking problem. Hear you have been entrusted with the care of a certain baseball field. Take care of it with tender care as that was my baby for quite a while.

By the way, the bark collar has worked wonders! Even seems to have calmed him down a bit in general.

[koWALLEYEski]

Well, It'd be nice to see it on you, I remember a few times you were barking at me for something. Well I suppose you have gotten a little better. ha You should see the field, better than ever.

[poutpro]

Its just too bad that there are no more stars to play on it now. Seems like all the good players graduated in 2004.

[jblabsnduck]

One thing to remember, you can always turn the collar off. Your dog will not know the difference if it is on or off.

I have a 9 year old black lab and he was a barker like you couldn't believe. He would bark through the highest setting on the bark collar. He would keep going so much that he actully got burned by the collar shocking him but he kept barking.

My fix was I put his tri-tronics collar on him while I was home and I let him have it when he barked. That seemed to take care of the problem pretty quick. Then I would put the tri-tronics collar on but never turned it on since I wasn't around to nick him. No more barking.

He was collar conditioned.

[French Spaniel]

There is another product out there that sprays a strong smelling substance instead of giving the dog a shock. Their ad says something like "Bark collars are only 45% effective and this product was 87% effective.

The good thing about the spray is that you can always leave the collar on. You buy refills when it gets empty. It has quite a few sprays per canister.

I think one of the reason it is suppose to work better is that you are not suppose to leave the bark collar on for more than eight hours because the prongs can damage/irritate cause infection on the dog. The spray does not have prongs.

I have never used this product but I thought you might want to try it.

[james_walleye]

My GSP barked for about 2 days when i first got him and that was enough for me. I got a small bark collar and it worked immediately. He doesnt bark at all. He will wine a little from time too time but he knows barking is a no-no.