dog bark

My wife and I adopted a small terrier (about 18 pounds) from the local animal rescue. He's a little over a year old and he's really cute and lovable. My problem is he has the loudest bark I think I've ever heard. I am sick and tired of his 'roar' startling me! When he hears or senses anyone or anything in this entire neighborhood he jumps up and barks his fool head off. Just this morning he did it again and I flipped out. I could have strangled that mutt but all I did was scream at him. I told my wife I am done with him doing that and she said we should take him back. I KNOW fully that she would be really bothered if we did that. Any suggestions what to do with this loud mouth? Thanks.

 

Learn to live with it? Seriously, sounds just like my dog, lol. I've been living with it for 6 or 7 years now. I keep saying I"m going to go deaf or die of a heart attack.
Mine was adopted too and we even hired a dog trainer because he has other issues too. The trainer quit on me and said some dogs aren't trainable. We kept him anyway because I'm pretty sure no one else would have put up with him.
Sorry, no help here, but just so you know you're not the only one.

 

I'm trying to learn to live with but as I'm sure you know it's not easy! This poor dog has already been through the mill in his short life. In January he got away from his former home and while running in the streets in a nearby city he was hit by a car. He needed extensive back surgery and was placed in a foster home until he got better. When that happened we were contacted about adopting him and once we met him we felt he was a great dog for us. We didn't want a big dog because our last several dogs were small, like our Jack Russell. So we adopted Jeffrey and soon learned of his very high decibel bark. We are not the type who would just simply take him back to the rescue place because we would always wonder what happened to him and if he was doing well and if he was treated right. A friend was over last weekend and after seeing how nice Jeffrey has it said he won the doggie lottery. That was nice to hear but she doesn't have to go through the ear piercing like I do. My wife seems to handle it but she is much more patient and tolerable than I am. We will keep pursuing. Thanks for your reply.

 

Years ago I had a customer who's dog barely barked. He said he had taken it to the vet and had something removed [part of his voicebox??] that prevented the dog from barking loudly. Not recommending you do this but that it could be an option.

 

Dogs can be trained to not bark. Here is some information from the Humane Society:

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I think the tip about not yelling might help.

I do not have a dog, but my daughter has one that is a cross between a chihuahua and an Italian greyhound. A breed that is small and tends to be yappy. Rosie has been trained to not bark using techniques like those described in the link. An additional deterrent is a squirt bottle when treats do not work. Now just the sight of the bottle is enough to keep her from barking. (The mail carrier and the FedEx guy at the door are her big triggers.)

Do not feel that your dog's history is an excuse to not train it. Rosie is a rescue dog who actually spent time at San Quentin in a program designed to socialize both prisoners and dogs. While there in the care of a prisoner fire fighter she fell off a bunk bed and broke her leg requiring surgery. After she was adopted she still recognized her prison handler on a visit.

Something in her past must have had something to do with running water because she balked at crossing bridges and even sewer grates. Training with treats got her over that.

She is in California and even before coronavirus we only got to visit about once a year. Despite that she still recognizes us on video calls. (It is a little confusing and she sometimes looks behind the screen to see if we are there but she responds when we speak her name.)

Good luck and have fun (quietly)!

 

I'd try a dog trainer. I've never used them but I know Pet Smart offers dog training. Exactly for what I dont know. It may be for certain things but, it could be over all training. Certainly, or at least I would think, that barking would be something that could be controlled with training.

We have two adopted dogs. A mini Schnauzer that we adopted from the pound 10 years ago when she was 11 months old. She is jealous of our other dog and barks at her if things dont go her way. But, we just deal with it. Nothing like what you're describing.
Our other one is a Fiest that her, along with her sister, showed up at our house one morning. We suspect someone threw them out. We suspect they were about 6 months old. She is now about 3 - 1/2 years old. Her sister died at the vets office over night from some stomach infection.
This one doesn't bark.... much.

Sadie & Sally (Suzie Belle died)

 

My ex's new husband installed an electronic anti-bark device. It worked with one dog but not the other. The one it did work with had previously had a bark collar and that worked with her as well.

 

While I agree the barking can be a real problem...here's my two bits.

Training-Training-TRAINING.

I would not suggest the de-barking surgery unless absolutely necessary to save the dog from euthanasia.

I can honestly say that you need a proper dog trainer, not just a Petsmart employee who was given the title without extensive training and years of experience. (I am experienced and know the difference) They are good for puppy socialization, but I would never recommend them for anything else.

There are several methods of training available out there...I do not suggest anything that the "Dominant Owner" celebrity trainer says works. It does not in the long run. DO try to find someone who is not a clicker/food based, with no corrections trainer.

I'll leave off there...I could go on for a very long time about the face of dog training these days...I know what works, and how consistency is not the only factor in a reliable change in behaviour.

 

I would try a shock collar.
They are relatively inexpensive on Amazon etc.
Get one with sound, vibrate and shock and all modes with controllable intensity.
Start with just sound, if that does not work try vibrate, if that does not work try shock but at a low intensity and then increase the intensity.
If he has to be shocked then find a setting he does not like do it a few times and usually you can go back to vibrate.

with some dogs it works and others just do not care but may be worth a try.

 

Seems anyone wanting to use a shock collar, should wear one for a few weeks first and then decide if they'd want their dog to be wearing one.
Not sure if they hurt or not, but seems like a cruel thing to do to a dog. My 2cents only

 

Shadie, I appreciate your input in post 8. Thanks for posting that.

 

For your info I did try it on myself.
Perhaps euthanasia would be kinder!!!!

 

As a former professional dog trainer I have to speak up here... I have seen the results of unreliable training methods up close, in person and sadly the bloody mess that can result from a dog that will not respond properly to the commands of either recall or sit/down stay.

I use eCollars, and prong collars as TRAINING TOOLS.

Any training tool can be misused and abused. As a retired Vet Tech I have seen this up close and in person as well.

Now, there are many people who do not condone the use of either eCollars or Prong/Pinch collars. I am definitely not one of those people.

I have personally put an eCollar around my neck(within the last 5 years a second time, the first was decades ago) to see how the collars worked and the level of discomfort they cause when used at various levels up to and including the highest level. Did they hurt? No. Were they Very Uncomfortable Yes.

The difference in whether or not you should use one of these tools is whether or not you know the proper use of them.

I can guarantee you that if you use only "Positive Reinforcement" training methods with no corrections, you may very well end up with a dead dog.

I have seen it, in person and helped the owner pick up her dog out of the street where it ran despite her calling "Come Come Come" at the top of her lungs...as it ran out in front of a car whilst chasing a squirrel that ran from her front yard out into and across the street. The squirrel made it...sadly her dog did not. She kept saying things like "But he's always come when I call him" and "He's never disobeyed me before". When I dug deeper I found out she followed a basic "Clicker/no-correction" training method and though her dog had been extremely successful overall...he still ended up failing on recall, and dead.

I have never had any of the dogs I have trained, either my own dogs, or those of customers' dogs, fail on recall, or sit/down stay(for however long) when trained with proper tools. Ever.

I'll get down off my soapbox now, as it is probably not something I should be standing upon...but I am very tired of so many people without proper knowledge of these two particular training tools saying how cruel and harmful and dangerous they are...

Please feel free to disagree, but please let us not get into a mudslinging match. You have stated your opinions, and I have stated mine now.

Let us please agree that we can disagree, and continue to move forward to help ErnieBanks and his situation.

And no more euthanasia comments.

 

Can't resist telling a shock collar story that involved my wife's sister and her husband. He bought one to train his hunting dogs, his wife asked how it works so ........ holding the collar in one hand he pressed the remote with the other. He's been dead for over 10 yrs but she'll still grin if someone brings that up.

 

I have a similar problem with my dog. We have a Samoyed, he's only 2 months old, but he's sooooo loud. We already tried to teach him some commands, but it didn't work because he barely even knows his name.