I could use some advice. Boo (8 month-old chocolate male) has been barking more and more lately--and it is driving me crazy! He barks when he wants me to play with him, if I'm not getting ready to go out fast enough, when I'm getting his food ready, and the worst--at 5:30 in the morning when he wants me to get up and pay attention to him. I have tried a shaker can (doesn't faze him), a water gun (thinks its a game and tries to bite the water), rewarding him for being quiet (just barks for more treats), etc. I have tried ignoring him, but I live in an apartment building, and it's not fair to my neighbors to hear all this barking.

I have ordered a citronella collar, but I have some concerns. Obviously I would like him to bark if something is wrong, so I don't want to discourage all barking. How do I teach him when it is appropriate to bark? And has anyone had any success with the citronella collar? I have heard mixed reviews. Any other tips to teach him not to bark would be appreciated!!

He is such a good dog--this is really my only complaint--but it's becoming a big problem.

Boo's Mom...I am no expert, but her is my :2cents:
We adopted Jack (4yr old yellow) about two months ago. Owner didn't want him, back he went to breeder, then he came to his new forever home. Bark, bark , bark...he is a barker! It was driving us nuts as well. He'd bark at 507am every day to get us out of bed, out of his crate. Long story short...I finally had enough and consulted the breeder and she suggested a bark collar. We didn't use the citronella (which ppl like better) we did use the one that gives him a shock! I know, I know, but you know what, it worked. The collar we got had 7 settings on it...and I did a test on my hand (4 was alot) so I set it on 2 and Jack had it on in his crate. Without boring you, after just one week he has gotten so much better.

If he barks to get out of crate, it is usually only once. If he barks while on the front porch, in the yard or in the house, I let him go a few times, then say "no bark" and also praise him. His behavior is much better. Once in a blue moon he'll go on a rampage (cause Gusty is egging him on to bark) and I have to say "no bark" and then I show him the collar. He settles down. I also do some sitting, down, stay and even ask him to bark when we are in a training mode. I didn't want to confuse him, but think I did a good job with him.

Hope this gives you some encouragement! Good luck.

boo's mom, i do sympathize. my last foster did the same thing,request barking.me,me,me,i want i want ,give me,give me.
i did manage to get it under control however.i also live in an apartment and understand the need for this behaviour to stop,pronto.
here's what i did and it worked.first of all i had to understand why the dog was barking.in short because it worked.dog barked i gave in because i wanted it to stop before neighbours complained.i realised that i was reinforcing that behaviour(the barking) so i stopprd rewarding it.went cold turkey.no more door opening services,attention,releasing from crate.instead the dog got what it didn't want, time on her own.any barking and she got a time-out.i would put her in the bathroom or crate and leave the room.no yelling or pleading to stop,that in fact made it worse.she wanted attention?she wouldn't get it by barking. i'm a firm believer in not rewarding any behaviour you don't like.
if you change the rules you get frustration from the dog at first.don't give in to the dog.you're dog like mine has a history of being rewarded for barking.
i would suggest rewarding the dog at every given chance when it is quiet.example when it is lying down next to you,chewing on a toy(make sure to have plenty of chew toys).dogs that have kong toys filled with cheese,turkey, stuffed in their mouths can't bark at the same time. did i mention excercise?lots of that as well.2hrs daily jogging,safe off leash play,access to other dogs.a tird dog is a happy contented dog.i also tried my dog out stimulating her brain.you guessed it,training.teach her tricks.my foster was so pre-occupied spinning,sitting pretty,crawling,hi-fiving there wasn't time for barking.stick by your guns.temper tantrums equal dog being left alone.where's the fun in that?best off luck.i for one will be rooting for you.

Womble...Ignoring their barking is great advice. We have a 5 month old that goes into these terrible barking "tantrums". She just wants attention and so we tell her quiet and she barks even more. We pet her and she stops but as soon as you stop she starts howling again. Her barking is so loud that we pet her just so our ears will stop ringing. I really think we need to start telling her how good she is when she is quiet and ignoring her when she is bad. I hope it works. I am afraid we will be deaf in a few months. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by GusJack
Boo's Mom...I am no expert, but her is my :2cents:
We adopted Jack (4yr old yellow) about two months ago. Owner didn't want him, back he went to breeder, then he came to his new forever home. Bark, bark , bark...he is a barker! It was driving us nuts as well. He'd bark at 507am every day to get us out of bed, out of his crate. Long story short...I finally had enough and consulted the breeder and she suggested a bark collar. We didn't use the citronella (which ppl like better) we did use the one that gives him a shock! I know, I know, but you know what, it worked. The collar we got had 7 settings on it...and I did a test on my hand (4 was alot) so I set it on 2 and Jack had it on in his crate. Without boring you, after just one week he has gotten so much better.

If he barks to get out of crate, it is usually only once. If he barks while on the front porch, in the yard or in the house, I let him go a few times, then say "no bark" and also praise him. His behavior is much better. Once in a blue moon he'll go on a rampage (cause Gusty is egging him on to bark) and I have to say "no bark" and then I show him the collar. He settles down. I also do some sitting, down, stay and even ask him to bark when we are in a training mode. I didn't want to confuse him, but think I did a good job with him.

Hope this gives you some encouragement! Good luck.

Bark colloars are the most effective way of curing barking problems. They are adjustable and can be varied to each dogs needs. I just recently purchase the TriTronics collar for my Yellow lab. He is 1 year and is a barker all the way. All the collar does it train the dog that when they bark they are going to get stimulated! period. The shock is less than a 9 volt battery to your tounge.

Originally posted by LndShrk
Bark colloars are the most effective way of curing barking problems. They are adjustable and can be varied to each dogs needs. I just recently purchase the TriTronics collar for my Yellow lab. He is 1 year and is a barker all the way. All the collar does it train the dog that when they bark they are going to get stimulated! period. The shock is less than a 9 volt battery to your tounge.


LndShrk..and here I thought my husband and I were the only ones who did the 9 volt to the tongue test!

Lavinia..sorry but ignoring Jack didn't help us....

Ignoring didn't help me either, LOL...but the bark collar did! :)

The significant number of non-hunting Lab owners that are VERY much opposed to e-collars ... but have no problem whatsoever with their dawgs wearing bark collars. And, I'm not referring to anyone in particular, just a general observation.

Can someone help an 'ole fella understand that logic?
:rolleyes:

I have no problem with E-collars...to each is own. :)

I'm afraid that the ignoring thing isn't going to work with Emma either. I don't want to be mean. Are the bark collars safe? Are the ones that shock or spray better? By the way....what is an e-collar?

Bark collars can either shock or spray citronella in the dogs face...or probably other various things as well. I personally have one that shocks and don't leave it on any dog in particular w/out supervision and not for long periods of time...in that case it can be dangerous. One of my dogs used to be a habitual barker-I'd put the collar on him and remove it after a brief time of no barking...if he started back up, I'd put the collar back on him and repeat the process.

Lavinia,

Safe? Yes they are when used properly. You must use them correctly for them to be effective. I would highly reccomend the TriTronics Bark limiter. It has many levels of stimulation and comes with a nice instructional video. They also have a great support line you can use. This is the one that I used for my pup and it has worked very well.


An E-Collar is an electric collar to allow you to reinforce commands that your dog knows and blatenly ignores when not on a lead. It allows you to apply stimulation to the dog to inforce the command you have given. They are very usefull when used properly as well...