barking.

[kelkie]

HELP

Comments

[verona]

Growl the word "enough" very deeply and firlmy. Hold Chewie on his back and make eye contact when you do this to assert your dominance. Do NOT pick him up. Gently push him to the ground and then fglip him over.

Time and patience. He's still a baby.

[kelkie]

the thing is, he's usually in my lap or up in my arms when he has his barking fits. should i put him on the floor to discipline him?

[kelkie]

aaand what if he continues to bark and growl when i do that? then what?

[leatherfemme]

Yes. On your lap is a dominant/privileged position. He's barking because he feels it necessary to protect his human. Remember, they were originally bred to be guard dogs.

[pawlush]

You could go to a training class and speak to the trainer and tell them your problem. A lot of them will focus on correcting and solving that problem. Other then that there is the bark collars or the ultrasonic bark collar/system. I was thinking of picking a ultrasonic system up for my dogs and it has a span of 25 feet in diameter...Apparently they work quite well and don't look as harsh as a shock collar does.

A cheaper route is get a pinch collar for a small dog. A guy I know used one on his MinXchi for barking. And it corrected the behavior really fast. However a lot of people thought it looked "mean" because it was on such a small dog but they just don't understand the concept and how they are used.

Good luck!

[kelkie]

i've never heard of a pinch collar. and a bark collar doesn't sound humane for me... it shocks them a little when they bark, right? wouldn't chis be so small that the shock would affect them more?

i'm planning on putting him in a training class but i'm staying at my parents' house until march or april and there is nowhere around here that offers training classes, so i have to wait until we move back to prince edward island :(

[tenna]

This is a pinch/prong collar.

They can be effective on the right dog, but should be implemented as more of a "last resort" after more positive methods have been tried. And I really wouldn't use one on a small breed with such a fragile neck.

"Bark" collars are not humane.

Are you sure there are no training classes in your area? Have you done google searches, checked your yellowpages, and checked HereI suggest going onto Yahoo and looking for area-related mailing list (there might even be a dog specific area mailing list, like I am a member of "Northwest Dog Activities"). Go on there and ask if anyone knows of any good, positive, trainers in your area

[tenna]

Though I have no problems with pinch collars being used on the right dogs, I wouldn't recommend one for a Chihuahua since they have such small and fragile necks and can be prone to collapsing tracheas. It's not a good idea and there are other ways to get them to quit barking without being forceful and putting their necks at risk.

[midnight_d]

I either clap loudly enough to startle Mason, and if that doesn't shut him up and hold his muzzle closed and say "no!" or "NO BARK!"

[kelkie]

i've tried both, it doesn't work. sometimes if i try to hold chewie's muzzle closed he gets aggressive :\

[verona]

absolutely no corporal punishment, ie no choke chains, no shock collars. your dog is following instinct to protect you, all you want to do it get it into check.

If your dog is on your lap put him on the floor when he starts to be bark, if you've taught him the down command set him into a down, otherwise hold him (gently) on his back) and growl "EEEEEENOUGH"

He may continue to grumble for a while so hold him until he stops and then praise like crazy.

[silverblaidd]

No. Do not hold your dog down and growl at him. Do not.

Mod Moment

[rozae]

ENOUGH! I will not tolerate potentially harmful advice being given to people here.

[xymenah]

Using deep voices seems to work on most animals for many behavours. It works on my cats when they are doing something i think might be dangerous and a no doesnt work. It gets them to back off and kinda makes them remember who is in charge. Hope you get it figured out. GOod Luck.

[kelkie]

thanks, i tried that last night and it worked a little better - chewie was confused about the deep voice and kinda cocked his head at me, so the barking stopped. i'll continue using it to see if there's any improvement!

[kelkie]

not yet - he's not quite old enough to be neutered yet (his vet said at least 6 months). does neutering usually improve behaviors like his or make them worse?