dog barking when people come over- advice??

nikki702

cant see hackney council being much help lol :eek:

Hope u get it sorted...

katiesmummy

nikki702 wrote: »

cant see hackney council being much help lol :eek:

Hope u get it sorted...

im not in hackney anymore hun- moved out of london earlier in the year (praise the lord!). quite right though, hackney council are pants

Debt_Free_Chick

Try ignoring him - both you and your visitor(s) should ignore the dog when its barking. If you "sshhh" or otherwise talk to the dog, he may see this as a "reward" and think that he's right to bark. Same with the treats - he thinks he's being good so will keep barking.

If the dog's barking, ignore him. Turn your back on him - make no eye contact, have no communication at all.

It will take time, though so don't expect "instant" results.

foreign_correspondent

yes, ask visitors to ignore the dog, no eye contact, nothing, turn away from him if needs be, and when he is settled and quiet, then they can give him a treat and maybe a fuss too, if he likes being fussed by strangers.

It will take time and patience, and manily consistency, but please do not resort to an antil bark collar, it may well cause more problems!

becs

Can I ask why people are so against the collars? I don't really know much about them apart from the old electric shock ones which I think are awful but what are the problems with the citronella spray ones? I only ask because it's something we had been thinking of for a while as we are at the end of our tether with our dog! We've tried so many things but nothing seems to work. We have a nearly 13 year old border collie who goes absoloutely crazy barking at anyone that walks past the house and also when the phone rings. She also nips at us when we get up to answer the phone.She is a fantastic dog in every other way and is so well behaved it's just these 2 things (well 3 actually-she shreds anything that comes through the letterbox as well so having to get one of those outside ones now. She's not normally at home when the postman comes so fortunately not too much of an issue!) But the barking with the people walking past and phone ringing is driving us crazy. WHen we've answered the phone she continues to bark for a few seconds so you can't even hear the caller. She's my husband's dog but has been with us both now for 4 years. She used to be a very nervous dog of people as she wasn't socialised much at all before we got toghether. She was aggresive towards new people and would go to bite them if people tried to stroke her. Fortunately with patience and time she is now fine and although we're still careful with her and do warn people that she needs to come to them this now only takes a few seconds. I don't want to use the anti bark collar for these problems if they will cause us other problems so if anyone has any suggestions as to how we can try to resolve the problems we'd be very grateful!

mrcol1000

Don't use the collars. They can make the dog associate being told off with something different to what they are actually being told off for.
You should let the dog approach your guest not the other way round. My OH uncle first time met my dog walked in and lent over the dog and nearly lost his hand. So I the first time they meet anyone I would just ignore them, sit down and once the dog comes and says hello then give it attention.
If they won't stop barking though which happened to me once when a police officer visited and the dog went nuts and just kept barking and barking at him so its best just to send them to their bed.
I would get the problem sorted though as its not nice for your neighbours to listen to your dog barking away for whatever reason. Also they could complain to the local council which would mean you would have to sort the problem out. Its better to do it before it gets that far.
By the way there is nothing wrong with the dog barking to alert you to someone at the door. I actually think thats something to be encouraged. But you need to teach them that once they have barked once or twice to alerty you their job is over and you take over seeing who is at the door. I usually thank the dog and tell her to get in her bed so she can wait.

sarabe

becs wrote: »

Can I ask why people are so against the collars? I don't really know much about them apart from the old electric shock ones which I think are awful but what are the problems with the citronella spray ones?

The collars punish the dog for barking without any consideration for why. Barking is usually the dogs way of coping with a situation wether it be fear, frustration or excitement. You might stop them from barking but they'd still be fearful, frustrated or excited, in fact I'd guess they'd even become more fearful and frustrated.

Added to that even when they stop barking the citronella has gone up their nose and stays on their coat and in the air and so they continue to be punished.

becs wrote: »

We have a nearly 13 year old border collie who goes absoloutely crazy barking at anyone that walks past the house and also when the phone rings. She also nips at us when we get up to answer the phone.She is a fantastic dog in every other way and is so well behaved it's just these 2 things (well 3 actually-she shreds anything that comes through the letterbox as well so having to get one of those outside ones now. She's not normally at home when the postman comes so fortunately not too much of an issue!) But the barking with the people walking past and phone ringing is driving us crazy. WHen we've answered the phone she continues to bark for a few seconds so you can't even hear the caller. She's my husband's dog but has been with us both now for 4 years. She used to be a very nervous dog of people as she wasn't socialised much at all before we got toghether. She was aggresive towards new people and would go to bite them if people tried to stroke her. Fortunately with patience and time she is now fine and although we're still careful with her and do warn people that she needs to come to them this now only takes a few seconds. I don't want to use the anti bark collar for these problems if they will cause us other problems so if anyone has any suggestions as to how we can try to resolve the problems we'd be very grateful!

If this is a new behaviour then it is probably age related. At nearly 13 she could be losing her hearing a little and various other things that are associated with old age - dementure for example.

If she has always done it then whatever the reason it started it sounds as if it has become a learned behaviour - a habit.

You need to mange the environment and teach her to do something else instead.

Can you deny her access to the front of the house?

What about changing the telephone ring?

You could associate a new behaviour with a new telephone tone. You could do it with the old ring but it would be easier to start with a new one.

Every time the phone rings run to another room and give her a prize in the corner of the room. A favourite toy that she doesn't have at any other time, a slice of ham or bacon maybe - something really, really wonderful.

Set this up by calling your phone with your mobile or asking someone to call you at a set time so that you don't have to answer the phone.

Eventually she'll automatically run to that corner and wait for her prize.

Is she getting enough exercise and mental stimulation otherwise?

Collies are bred to work and without a job they do tend to go self employed. That is what the nipping is all about, it's her herding you when you suddenly get up and move.

foreign_correspondent

becs wrote: »

Can I ask why people are so against the collars? I don't really know much about them apart from the old electric shock ones which I think are awful but what are the problems with the citronella spray ones? I only ask because it's something we had been thinking of for a while as we are at the end of our tether with our dog! We've tried so many things but nothing seems to work. We have a nearly 13 year old border collie who goes absoloutely crazy barking at anyone that walks past the house and also when the phone rings. She also nips at us when we get up to answer the phone.She is a fantastic dog in every other way and is so well behaved it's just these 2 things (well 3 actually-she shreds anything that comes through the letterbox as well so having to get one of those outside ones now. She's not normally at home when the postman comes so fortunately not too much of an issue!) But the barking with the people walking past and phone ringing is driving us crazy. WHen we've answered the phone she continues to bark for a few seconds so you can't even hear the caller. She's my husband's dog but has been with us both now for 4 years. She used to be a very nervous dog of people as she wasn't socialised much at all before we got toghether. She was aggresive towards new people and would go to bite them if people tried to stroke her. Fortunately with patience and time she is now fine and although we're still careful with her and do warn people that she needs to come to them this now only takes a few seconds. I don't want to use the anti bark collar for these problems if they will cause us other problems so if anyone has any suggestions as to how we can try to resolve the problems we'd be very grateful!

It sounds as if you have a slightly bored older girl, who is clearly rather nervous too... you want her to be calm and relaxed, as the anxiety is the cause of her behaviour. Surprising her by spraying an unpleasant smell in her face every time she reacts to feeling nervous will only add to her stress, and you will end up with an even more anxious and bewildered dog.

Imagine if you had a habit you did when you felt nervous, perhaps biting your nails, and everytime you did it, a shocking spray of something vile was aimed at your face, making you jump and then gag... would it make you feel calmer? For starters, you may not necessarily associate the two behaviours as being cause and effect, (ie. you may well not realise what action triggered the spray) and would probably gradually become a nervous wreck.

Collies are so bright and highly strung that they tend to be little on the nervy side anyway, and are prone to becoming a little neurotic.

Is she walked much? Do you do much with her? Training, games etc? I know she is on the elderly side but her brain needs engaging with to tire her out, then she may well become more relaxed in the house!

miamoo

I have to disagree with all the negative comments regarding the dog spray collars, they are fantastic and a really helpful tool if used correctly.

I dont use the citronella spray, I use the air with no scent. I would never use the anti-bark collar as I have a guarding breed, and she needs to be able to bark, I use the remote controll spray collar.

Mia barks at strangers when they knock, which is great thats her job, but she needed to learn to stop when I told her to, not when she felt like it. So I would allow her to bark a few times, then tell her to be quiet, if she didn't she would get a spray, this would suprise her enough to stop her barking, and I would then very quickly give her, her favourite treat, she then took her treat (usually a stuffed kong) with her while she investigated the visitor, and then she went off to her bed to eat it.

Now I never have to use the collar, I tell her quiet if she barks to much, she stops barking sometimes gets a treat, sometimes not.

Personally I would try distracting with a stuffed kong/favourite treat first, before you try the collar, as they are expensive, but my doberman is 2 now and she really is a pleasure as she is so well behaved:D

becs

Thanks for the replies re the collars that does make perfect sense to me now so we shall persevere with other methods rather than go down that route.
Regards the exercise thing, she doesn't get a huge amount mainly due to her age. DH has had her since a pup and I have to say that has been very lazy with her and never done much in the way of exercise so she's never been used to loads. Now she just likes to trot about a bit so she goes out twice a day for short walks. She's been starting to have some weakness in her back legs recently so don't want to try anything too strenuous for her. The nervousness has definately been exacibtaed by DH being a typical young bloke whose priorities used to lay with the pub rather than doing lots with his dog! Since we've been together she's been exposed to a huge amount of people and different situations and is all the more confident for it.
With regards to changing the phone ring she does it to any ring, mobile phone, home phone even Dh's work phone (as she goes to work with him), my parents phone and even phones on the TV so it's not going to be an easy habit to break! I do like the idea of a treat thing though so will give that a go!