my dog barks a lot.. any idea on how to stop him?

Hi there - I can sympathise with you. I have two dogs (Yorkshire Terriers). The first one is 5 and the other one is just coming up to her first birthday. The older one has always barked if she sees cats or if she sees someone she doesnt know coming down the path. The younger one didn't bother with cats at all but it seems that the older one has taught her to start barking at them. She also now barks at anyone passing the house or coming up the path. The pup also barks at the other one to ask her to play and she will give a loud bark to us if she wants attention AND.... of course, they both bark like mad when you produce their leads for a walk!!! On how to stop them....I went in to our local pet shop recently and pleaded with them to give me advice. They gave me this aerosol thing and what it does is release high pressured gas which makes a loud WOOSHING HISSING noise. It doesn't hurt the dogs but it gives them a fright so they stop barking. The idea behind it is association. The dog then associates that when it barks it gets a fright so it stops the barking. So far, so good - I've used it for about a week now and the majority of the time, just producing the aerosol can is enough to stop them, however, if they are mid bark and too engrossed with what is outside, I give a quick squirt and the barking stops. I then distract them and give them a treat so that they will learn that if they stop the barking they are rewarded. If you can't get your hands on this aerosol, you can make your own deterrent..........Get a metal tin and half fill it with pebbles or beans etc. and seal it with a lid. Use the same principle as the aerosol that when the dog barks give a loud quick shake of the can and it will startle the dog - hopefully he will stop barking - then you reward. It might take a wee while because in effect you are trying to undo a learned behaviour but do persevere and I'm sure it will work for you. Keep me posted and good luck

I hope that my power doesn't go out while I am writing this, the winds are really picking up from Gustav here. Anyway... There are some tactics that are known to work sometimes. Nothing is ever guaranteed, though. Some dogs are really receptive to training, some take more time than others, and some dogs figure out what you're doing and decide to ignore what you're teaching them. Some dogs bark out of boredom. For those types of dogs, if you are with them a lot, they will start barking if you give them less attention than what they are used to receiving from you. Start by not responding to your dog when he barks. It may seem cruel, but he is likely barking for attention, and even if you are saying things like, "Be quiet!" he is still getting a reaction out of you. He is wanting you to acknowledge that he is there. When you enter the house, pay no attention him, especially if he is barking. Similarly, when he barks at friends or family coming through the door, have them pay no attention to him. Let them go sit down or do what they normally do for about ten minutes. This gives the dog and family plenty of time to calm down, and he will soon come realize that you are still paying attention to him, but barking grants him nothing. Actually, I just found a really interesting website: http://www.placervillevet.com/training_your_dog_to_stop_barking.htm It discusses some of the things that I just covered, as well as extra information that might be more helpful to you than I have tried to be. I hope that you are able to train your dog to stop barking inappropriately.

my dog is a barking machine too....he makes me crazy..lol