Help! My dog won't stop barking!

My mom has a corgi that is the same way. He is a fetch-aholic and will bark like crazy until you throw his toy for him, then he'll bring it back and start all over again. Drives me batty when I go home to visit!! Unfortunately, they haven't found a way to stop it. I just wanted to let you know that I feel your pain! And, it must be something in the bred!!!

I really wouldn't recommend the spray bottle. With very smart breeds you can really end up alienating them. She will not stop barking completely, just when you have the spray bottle in your hand. She will also start to resent you (my aunt tried this with her Corgi and she eventually started peeing in the house again whenever she brought out the spray bottle). Unfortunately, you have to be VERy patient with this. Ignore her when she barks. Don't look at her and don't give in to her. Don't touch her. The second she's quiet for more than 5 seconds, tell her she's good and act like she's the greatest thing ever. If she barks, stop. Make her be quiet for 5 seconds and then praise her. Keep it consistant... no attention when she's barking and lots when she's quiet. You also get to decide how long she gets attention for. Make it enough so she realizes that she's getting a reward, but you don't have to sit there and pet her for 10 minutes. She's smart, but they can be stubborn. Be constitent and she'll get it quick.

Corgis are very hyper and active dogs and they do require alot of attention. Some dogs just love to bark and nothing short of bark collars or spraying them will help. You can also try putting her in a kennel as a punishment and see if that will help. Debarking a dog is also an option, one that I do NOT like but I worked as a vet tech for 8 years and there was a couple dogs that we had to do. Just keep doing what you are doing, you are on the right track, dogs are like kids some are more hard headed then others. Congrats on your baby!

I'd really advise against putting her in a crate or kennel as a punishment, unless you want her to never want to go in her kennel again. A well balanced dog will have absolutely no problem going in their kennel and using it as punishment will create anxiety every time you put her in there.

I just saw something on this. Not a problem that I have but none the less. It said to ignore the dog when they bark and when they quit barking to treat them and pet them etc. So if she's barking you ignore. Then when she pauses you can say good no bark and treat her when she starts barking again quit the attention.

Now personally I think that like a child crying I don't know if I could "ignore" barking.

But hey worth a try. you're just going to have to be firm and no attention if she's barking.

The idea is there. But when the dog is barking, purposly look the opposite direction and up at the ceiling. This sends a message to the dog that you are not interested in their behavior. Also, you can do what's called a "too bad" where you put the dog in a place where they are isolated from the group. (We use our downstairs half bath when my cocker spaniel gets demanding.) Put them in there for 2 minutes. They can not come out until they are quite and demonstrating good behavior, so if the dog is barking at the end of 2 minutes, wait until she is quiet and then let her out. Don't reward her or make a big deal about it, but let her out and resume whatever you are doing.
Also, in our training class we learned to keep the toys up so that a dog can't bring it to you and demand your attention. Bring the toys out on your terms so that the dog knows you are the leader, not her. Otherwise she can get pretty demanding, as you have probably already seen. The time out has really worked for my cocker, as well as the looking up and away. When he stops barking at me, I pay attention to him. If he barks again, I ignore and look up and away. Our cocker used to bark as we were coming downstairs in the morning because he knew it was potty and breakfast time, so he was almost demanding it. We would stop on the stairs and look up and away. Now, he no longer barks at us when we come downstairs. He's still super excited, but no barking and it's so much better. Now we praise his good behavior when we get downstairs and he's much happier.
Good luck! It's hard, but I highly recommend pet training classes. It's only $100 at PetSmart and their trainers have done amazing things and have shown us how to interact with our pets so we aren't the ones encouraging the bad habits! I learned more than they have. The cocker graduated from advanced and the boxer just finished beginner. The difference is amazing!

Try a muzzle. Dogs can't bark when they have one on. Put it on when she barks and remove it after a few minutes. Each time she barks for no apparent reason put muzzle on. She will eventually get the idea that when she barks for no reason that the muzzle will go on and dogs do not like muzzles. I have also sprayed mine with WATER only. That, too, lets the dog know that it is not appropriate behavior.

I'm sure you've watched the "Dog Whisperer" TV show. If you haven't, rent it from Netflix.

I disagree with the punishment (spraying, shock collars, or kenneling). A time out might help if you catch them as soon as they start barking, and then stay consistent with it. But they can do a time out in the other room, they don't have to be confined. It is going to take consistency and some time.

I think more exercise is in order, and stopping the dog immediately when it barks. Corgis are working dogs, herders, and need more than just a walk every day, they need a job.

Can you take the dog to a park where it can be off-leash? If you have more than one dog, that's great, but they all need tons of exercise.

If you can't take the dog to a park, can you jog with it or ride a skateboard or roller blades with it?

The dog sounds bored to me. Corgis are super smart dogs. Especially if this gets them what they are asking for - more exercise!

Go to http://www.dogforum.com/ and there is a Behavior Forum.

Good luck.

Corgis are very hyper and active dogs and they do require alot of attention. Some dogs just love to bark and nothing short of bark collars or spraying them will help. You can also try putting her in a kennel as a punishment and see if that will help. Debarking a dog is also an option, one that I do NOT like but I worked as a vet tech for 8 years and there was a couple dogs that we had to do. Just keep doing what you are doing, you are on the right track, dogs are like kids some are more hard headed then others. Congrats on your baby!

I'd really advise against putting her in a crate or kennel as a punishment, unless you want her to never want to go in her kennel again. A well balanced dog will have absolutely no problem going in their kennel and using it as punishment will create anxiety every time you put her in there.

Its not any different then ignoring her! I have worked with animals over 10 years and never had a dog get screwed up from being put in a kennel. I am not talking about leaving her in there all day long! Its really just like a doggy time out.

Corgis are very hyper and active dogs and they do require alot of attention. Some dogs just love to bark and nothing short of bark collars or spraying them will help. You can also try putting her in a kennel as a punishment and see if that will help. Debarking a dog is also an option, one that I do NOT like but I worked as a vet tech for 8 years and there was a couple dogs that we had to do. Just keep doing what you are doing, you are on the right track, dogs are like kids some are more hard headed then others. Congrats on your baby!

I'd really advise against putting her in a crate or kennel as a punishment, unless you want her to never want to go in her kennel again. A well balanced dog will have absolutely no problem going in their kennel and using it as punishment will create anxiety every time you put her in there.

Its not any different then ignoring her! I have worked with animals over 10 years and never had a dog get screwed up from being put in a kennel. I am not talking about leaving her in there all day long! Its really just like a doggy time out.

You're right, if you're using it for a time out then it is very effective. I have two pitbulls that I refuse to leave alone together, so they're always kenneled when I'm not home. So for me, a kennel is their bed/holding area... not a time out area. Misunderstand on my part!

If you figure it out, let me know. I hate to admit it but I have been outsmarted by a 65 lb Doberman. Even though she is almost 3 now, she still acts like a puppy. Knowing that she has a lot of energy, we take her to day camp every day where she runs around with other dogs for ~8 hours. She also gets regular walks and running sessions at the bark park, plays with the child and other dog in our house, and goes on lots of car trips. As a guardian breed, I expect her to bark when she senses something out of the ordinary, but she barks WAY too much. To complicate matters she has a liver condition which means she has to go to the bathroom every 2-4 hours. She has a doggy door, but if we leave it open we risk her barking at the neighbor's dogs in the middle of the night. So we have to choose between being woken up every 2-4 hour, to take her outside, being woken up every 2-4 hours because the doggy door was left open and she is barking, or deal with accidents when we wake up. I am actually worried for my husband's health- he is a light sleeper and I am a heavy sleeper, so he has taken the brunt of the evening punishment. She also barks when she wants to play, when she wants attention, when she is hungry, when anyone passes by the house (even kids just riding bicycles across the street), when the neighbors are in their backyard, etc. We tried pretty much every method recommended on websites, by trainers, and message boards, including:

1) Shaking a can filled with quarters behind her to startle her- the noisemi doesn't scare her.
2) The spray bottle- she catches the water in her mouth and barks between sprays
3) Ignoring her- she will bark for over an hour straight (after which point I stopped testing this method, because our neighbors were not appreciative). Or she will start pawing at us like a boxer to force a response.
4) Putting her in time out (behind a baby gate, not in her kennel)- she continues to bark wherever she is at, or worse, starts crying because she is separated from her family. We still are firm and do not let her out of time out until she stops barking, but without fail, she will start barking 5minutes after we let her back into the room.
5) Putting her on her side (Cesar Milan style). She will calm down, but as soon as we let her loose, she will start again within 5 minutes.
6) Training her "Shhh"- she knows if I hold my finger in front of my mouth and say "shh" she needs to be quiet. This works only if she is looking at me, and thinks she will get a treat. Otherwise, she is already distracted by whatever she is barking at and won't notice or hear my command
7) Positive reinforcement- every time she is relaxed and NOT barking we pay attention to her.
8) A sonic emitter bird house- lets off a sound every time the dog barks within a specific radius. This worked for about 3 hours, then she figured out the tool is only triggered with a repetitive bark "ruff, ruff, ruff." It isn't triggered by a single bark. So while we had that on she would bark: "ruff (pause 2 seconds)...ruff...(pause 2 seconds)...ruff." Ridiculous.


Lastly, the shock collar. If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said only a terrible dog owner would use one of these, but we are to the stage that the neighbors have commented on her bad behavior and even reported her as a nuisance to the city. More importantly, as much as I LOVE my dog, her illness, combined with the barking problem is putting my husband's health at risk because he has gone several months without a good night's sleep. I did see Cesar use one of these in a situation where the dog was putting itself in danger, and the owner was not in arm's length to correct the dog themselves. We tested it on ourselves before putting it on her just to make sure it wasn't painful.

So far, the collar is the only thing that works because the correction is instantaneous. Otherwise, the correction takes too long to be effective: for instance if she is outside and starts barking, she will continue to bark until she hears my walking to the door, and then will stop and run back in the house. She knows she is not supposed to bark, and will stop (temporarily) when she is "caught," but always resumes barking as soon as she has the opportunity.

I agree though, you can't just put a collar on your dog all day long- it isn't realistic and I don't want my dog to stop barking altogether. I just want her to keep her mouth shut between 9pm amd 7am UNLESS someone is actually breaking in to our house.

With dogs barking...I personally don't believe in putting any dog in a crate or kennel..would you like to be put in one..if a dog is kept in there all day this is wrong...of course you will get people who disagree..my dog never barks and has never, even as a puppy been put in a cage..She was and is allowed to explore her enviroment..A cage is a lazy way to train a dog and basically to keep a dog quiet..A dog needs company and plenty of exercise..also I have a toy breed that people put in their handbags..again my dog has never been in a handbag and that's why they get a bad reputation as being yappy..