Can we talk about barking issues?

[tomatosandwich]

The first time Divot barked at our lab, it was cute. He is so tiny in comparison, and it was such a little yip. We didn't reward it. We just ignored it and giggled to ourselves.

Fast forward a week later: He CONSTANTLY barks at our lab. My lab walks by his crate: yip, yip, yip. Divot is outside by Bacchus: yip, yip, yip all over the yard, even when he is on a leash. Right now, as my lab is trying to sleep at my feet, Divot is circling him, pouncing, yipping nonstop.

We've tried associating the commad "speak" to introduce the "hush" command when he gets quiet. The problem? He never gets quiet! Really. I don't want him bark every time he wants to be near another dog.

Help?

[Rattlesnake Gal]

I too, am interested in responses. We took Bailey and Mac with us down to Rhode Island to see our son. We took a side trip to the beach and she was unbelievably barky. This could get old quick!

[Dempsy's Mom]

I have no ideas. But just had to chime in that I bet Divots little bark was just adorable. I have to chuckle that now that he has learned he has a voice - he doesn't want to give it up. When Demps barks it is a shriek. High pitch and hurts your ears! I am sure that someone has a good idea as to how to curb their barking. If you look in the history - some time back - I think there are some ideas. Good luck with teaching them their manners.

[Liz in PA]

Hogan is NOT barky, and I thank his breeder for the "Can of pennies" tip! She told us to keep a can of pennies within reach, and to shake it, or toss it a few feet away from Hogan when he barks. It really didn't take long for him to get the connection, he loathes the can. Seven years later, all we have to do is say "don't make me get the can!" Don't even have to touch it, just saying that will get him to stomp off, glaring at us as he goes by...

~Liz

[Idaho Cairns]

Can of pennies would probably be great IF you had one dog but throwing a noise maker at the misbehaving dog is going to effect the quiet, behaving dog in a negative way. I wouldn't do it. I have used a ball cap tho--thrown,it will break their focus and scare them. All I have to do is reach up and touch the brim of that cap to get them paying attention now. I also would never teach a dog to "speak"--especially a potentially noisy breed like the Cairn.

You can teach your Divot two valuable commands right now, after only a week and half, -- "No!" and "No bark!". You must be on him every time he vocalizes and while he is vocalizing a lot and that seems impossible to you (you don't want to be all over him all the time) it is only impossible because you let it go on. He ought not be attacking the older dog either--reach down and grab Divot's nose, make him look at you, and say firmly, "No!" and when he comes right back at you, thinking you are playing, do it again until he stops. Cairns learn fast what they can and cannot do and at thirteen weeks they are plenty capable of learning. If you can housebreak a puppy, you can also teach it to be quiet.

I understand that you have children that are excited and probably love rowdy and noisy play with Divot, which is fine so long as they and you realize that dogs can play hard without barking. It really is just like have a toddler--when ours got rowdy and "out of control", we hauled them in, got their attention, and demanded they "slow down" and "be quiet!" and it worked.

The nice thing about puppies is that they don't throw tantrums after you haul them in.

Always remember with Cairn puppies that an hour spent teaching it how you want it to behave is worth years of an annoying dog.

[Liz in PA]

Thanks, Idaho Cairns, your advice is exactly right for this situation!

[pindrop]

Poor tomatosandwich - aren't you glad you found this site. Lots of helpful advice for the newbie huh? Idaho Cairns is great at offering sound advice. It always makes such sense - the problem is because we are in the thick of things, we lose sight of the issues. Thank goodness for all the wonderful folks on this forum for their insight and advice when hell is running amok. I too still have concerns with Layla and find by talking with these kind people, I come to realize all the their thoughts and words are very useful.

[tomatosandwich]

Idaho, thanks for the advice. I was hesitant to use the can of pennies because of Bacchus. I hope I can teach Divot to behave. I am finding that training a puppy is more exhausting than I remember. It's very hard to haul him in: He's fast and can disappear under a piece of furniture in no time flat! Then I'm torn on whether to keep trying to climb under there to get him (only to have him pop out the other side) or lure him out (but I don't want it to look like I'm rewarding him. Sigh.

Yes, I am so thankful I found this board to help me!

[Idaho Cairns]

Don't chase him Elise--that becomes a fun game for a Cairn pup real quick. If you can stop what ever behavior you don't want by chasing the little guy under a couch--that's good. So long as he knows what isn't allowed to the point that he is hiding from you is a grand start. They figure it out pretty quick and they do want to please, even if you are doubting it at the moment.

[Aurora5000]

The key is to get the focus off of the object and on to you.

[2littleterrors]

if you're close enough, a squirt bottle (some dogs need a touch of vinegar mixed in) works well. When we were doing adoption out reaches at stores like PetsMart, a quick squirt or two along with a sharp, firm "quiet!" worked wonders.

[KShep]

Ripley never barks in her Kennel unless she wants to go out, but on the couch in the evening she barks and seems to fuss and scold me over and over. I have to laugh. I never know if she has to go to the bathroom, wants my attention, or wants to play.

Also, today after a bath, she seemed to throw a tantrum and was very ticked off and had no problem vocalizing her feelings on the matter.

[ScruffynMag]

Scruffy comes and sits in front of me and barks when it's almost his dinner time. He barks when the postman comes and barks his fool head off when there's anything different that he hasn't noticed in the house. I put a table lamp on the dresser at the back of the room the other night and it'd been switched on a good hour when he suddenly spotted it - you would have thought we were being invaded!! Once he'd had a sniff at it he was ok

[jodi0553]

I second the squirt bottle (or water gun) suggestion. Currey's response to the can of pennies was to bark his head of AT it. Not so helpful! The squirt bottle helped with barking, nipping and other not so awesome behavior that I hope you don't get to experience (let's just say he started to mark what was his and I fell into that category briefly)

Of course, I should mention, eventually, the squirt bottle stopped working for me too. He liked to lick the water off his face...Oh how much I need this forum to remind me I don't want another puppy for a while after that little devil!

[2littleterrors]

Of course, I should mention, eventually, the squirt bottle stopped working for me too. He liked to lick the water off his face...Oh how much I need this forum to remind me I don't want another puppy for a while after that little devil!

Add vinegar to it. I think a 3 to 1 ratio (It's been a few years since I had to do that) In all my experience, I haven't found a dog that likes vinegar.

[oldfox]

I have used a ball cap tho--thrown,it will break their focus and scare them. All I have to do is reach up and touch the brim of that cap to get them paying attention now.

I got the cap out Idaho, even has the name on it so Layla knows who wears the hat in the family...

[Agasthya]

Scruffy comes and sits in front of me and barks when it's almost his dinner time. He barks when the postman comes and barks his fool head off when there's anything different that he hasn't noticed in the house. I put a table lamp on the dresser at the back of the room the other night and it'd been switched on a good hour when he suddenly spotted it - you would have thought we were being invaded!! Once he'd had a sniff at it he was ok

this is what i had to deal with when I first put the bell up for bell training

he barked at it nonstop for about 15 mins and then collapsed out of exhaustion. after that he was cool with the bell.

[Idaho Cairns]

I'm telling you that hat thing works. The first couple of times that goes sailing over Layla's head with a loud "NO BARK LAYLA!" will do the trick. I don't wear a hat in the winter--only during the golf season when it is on daily but I keep one handy so all I have to do is slap it on and reach for it and both dogs immediately cease the barking.

Don't think for a second that these little dogs don't learn fast and remember. Cairns are obsessive to a fault and if you let them bark at anything they will drive you nuts and I believe a calm, quiet Cairn is a happy Cairn. The sooner they learn "No ....!" (fill in the blank), the happier they will be.

The most positive thing about corralling the barking is that, being Cairns, they will try to stubbornly persist in making some verbal protest so you get this whole litany of sounds, the huffs, chuffs, half barks, puffs, quiet little acts of disobedience which stubborn Cairns are famous for. Sammi in particular will look right at me, eye to eye, and test my limit--these little gruff half growl/half bark thingys that go on until I put my foot down. She stops, I turn away, and she gets one final "last word" and then stops. Cairns never give in easily or completely--there is that edge to their obedience that screams "You do not have a Labrador retriever here!". My fiery little Bonnie is sensitive to criticism so she will dive into her hideout the minute she is told no for any reason--she actually pouts and no doubt thinks she is punishing us by removing her delightful self from our company.

But, I do not come down on the barking because I want to encourage the little games they play--I don't like noisy dogs. I live in a generally quiet neighborhood with a couple of people one above and another below the hill I live on that let their dogs bark constantly and it infuriates me. We seem to grant ourselves dispensations to the wrong kinds of things anymore--noise being one. I guess we have just given up--or we have more important things to work at than nice quiet neighborhood. I am determined that my dogs will never bother anyone barking--I can let them out at one in the morning and they always go with a "no bark" command and no matter what they encounter, they are quiet, even if a Mule Deer is grazing just off the deck.

So the "Old Fox" hat is your friend, your tool to a quieter Layla. Don't hit her with it--sailed over her head, slapping the window or wall will be adequate. Let us know how she handles Mom and Dad putting their foot down.

[ScruffynMag]

Agasthya, thanks for posting the video. yes, he barked exactly like that!

[Islander]

I had to laugh when the video brought Gus rushing downstairs from his bed, growling, and jumping up on my lap to seek the intruder!

[hallswel]

You can teach them not to bark but I have experienced the big fluffly black dog thing ... large black dog = Cairns bark. I had a trainer tell me it was all about them not being able to see the eyes. I cover the crates going in and out of dog shows as they are so LOUD! In the show ring Harry would watch the dogs outside the ring walk by and when it was a large breed black dog or a big dog that the hair covered it's eyes he would give the low growl and then bark as soon as the passed he was fine...these dogs were well away from us but that did not matter to Harry nor the judge, he laughed and said that is just what they do.

Harry knows quite puppy and obeys the command every time but when it is a fluffy or black dog thing.

[Tracy A.]

Idaho, thanks for the advice. I was hesitant to use the can of pennies because of Bacchus. I hope I can teach Divot to behave. I am finding that training a puppy is more exhausting than I remember. It's very hard to haul him in: He's fast and can disappear under a piece of furniture in no time flat! Then I'm torn on whether to keep trying to climb under there to get him (only to have him pop out the other side) or lure him out (but I don't want it to look like I'm rewarding him. Sigh.

Yes, I am so thankful I found this board to help me!

Your puppy has too much freedom. He should be on probation and only have limited area.

and on a leash when outside. I used an expen, and baby gates to restrict access. and a leash in othe rparts of the house. Meaning the puppy shouldn't be able to run away from you.

[Tuesday]

Listen to Idaho, he's the Holy Grail of Cairns!

We do something similar to Idaho that someone on her suggested - "SHOE!!!"

No Cairn terriers are hurt in the throwing of the shoes. Since we live in Florida, we always have a flip flop available. It's even gotten to the point where we just waggle the shoe and say "SHOE!!!" and he stops barking.

We just get the shoe near him, and couple that with the slap of it on the tile, and it's a quiet little guy!

Hey Idaho - you should come to Florida, the golfing is OUTSTANDING this time of year, okay, anytime of year!!!

[Idaho Cairns]

Listen to Idaho, he's the Holy Grail of Cairns!

We do something similar to Idaho that someone on her suggested - "SHOE!!!"

No Cairn terriers are hurt in the throwing of the shoes. Since we live in Florida, we always have a flip flop available. It's even gotten to the point where we just waggle the shoe and say "SHOE!!!" and he stops barking.

We just get the shoe near him, and couple that with the slap of it on the tile, and it's a quiet little guy!

Hey Idaho - you should come to Florida, the golfing is OUTSTANDING this time of year, okay, anytime of year!!!

It is interesting that you bring that up--we thought about coming down to Florida in the winter but it is a long way--also, what do you do about letting your Cairns swim? Ours love creeks, rivers, and ponds but I'd be afraid of the alligators down in that part of the country--how do you keep you dogs out of harm's way with those critters lurking about?? Then there is the humidity! I grew up with 90% humidity but having been away from it for years, I'm not sure I could readjust.

I have, by the way, been saved--our club opened today! Yay, while it was a bit cool, I had a good start for what will be a long golf year--I hope.

I like the shoe idea--that would work! I think so of our forum Cairns are going to get taught some lessons soon, what with ball caps and shoes flying at them. Surprising how quickly they learn to stop bad habits when they learn the master can decrease distance instantaneously with a scary object!