Barking issues

[jtsum13]

So my little guy is extremely vocal and loves to bark. I don't really have an issue with him barking when someone is at the door or he hears something outside, but it has become an issue that he barks all through training and at home when he is "bored". At home he is great while we play, but then he gets bored and will go sit in the kitchen and just bark no matter how hard I try to get him to come out and keep playing with me. During our training classes he will do great when we are working, but as soon as we get into the group and sit down to discuss the next evolution, he won't stop barking. This isn't necessarily an issue with him getting trained since he knows all the commands and skills pretty well, but we are looking to move to the advanced class and get his CGC. The dog trainer told us with the advanced class, he won't pass the final test if he barks so we are trying everything to get it under control.

We tried one of those noise remotes to use when he barks, but that didn't affect him at all. The next suggestion from the trainer was to try training him to speak and hush and see if that helps. I've been working on speak all weekend and he's been slowly getting it, but I wasn't sure if anyone else here had experienced similar situations with their labs being super vocal. He's the happiest little guy with two emotions of happy/sad and two speeds of play/sleep.

Any advice or tips?

[rochie427]

Our Rosie is a barker but only in certain situations. If she sees another dog walking by the house or if she is out on our deck and sees a squirrel she'll start barking like crazy. Other times I have no idea what she is barking at. I've tried one of those remotes as well and doesn't always work with her. What I have been doing is telling her "NO" "ENOUGH". It doesn't always work and if it doesn't I try to redirect her to something more interesting.

Our Rosie is 2 by the way.

[POPTOP]

Not the greatest with puppy advice. We've had some dogs who barked more than others, some at inappropriate times. I taught the quiet command. Archie is allowed to bark if someone is at the door but must stop when I tell him to. I thank him for alerting me but enough is enough. What's funny is he howls when the phone rings and the long it takes me to answer, the longer and louder he howls. Has some in handy when vacuuming and I did not hear the phone.

Don't let your pup train you by demanding, i.e., barking.

[Labradorks]

I'd try to figure out why the dog is barking. Frustration? Wants what you have? Doesn't understand something?

[Abulafia]

As I sit here w/ Hoku on the porch, silent next to me, and hear the neighbor dog (who is really a wonderful dog) barking approximately every few seconds (as she does all day long, unless being actively engaged), I would also strongly recommend that you try to fix this asap. We are friends with the neighbors, and they know it's a problem, but... dang. A problem barker is, in fact, quite a problem.

[zd262]

Bubba barked when he was a puppy, basically just demand barking whenever things weren't going his way. This method worked amazingly for us, though Bubba is a very "hard" dog, not sensitive at all, I wouldn't utilize this method on a soft dog. When he was barking away in either his crate or his metal pen that we used when he was a puppy, we would rattle the metal a bit and say "quiet". Once he was quiet we would then praise him and release him. It only took a couple rattles and now he doesn't bark anymore! I have to agree with Abulafia above, I HATE dogs that bark all day.

[jtsum13]

I've been trying to teach him the "speak" command and then the "hush" command when he barks and I don't want him too. He's getting the "speak" but the "hush" is not an easy one.

I'm honestly not sure if he is barking because he's bored, wants to play, is pouting, or simply that he just doesn't like sitting still in class. It's definitely something I want to fix because it's becoming an issue in class when others are trying to listen to the trainer, as well as when we are at home trying to watch TV or do something. Like I said, I don't mind the protective barks when the doorbell rings or someone is in the front yard, but I need to get him to get out of the "I just want to bark at everything" moods.

[Annette47]

Cookie and Sassy are the most vocal dogs I’ve had, but neither is an incessant barker .... except if they are confined to a crate and watching me train one of the other dogs. At home I could ignore it (which didn’t make it go away) but when I started taking them to training class it was a problem, since I couldn’t walk away from the dog I was working with to go correct the noisy one, and the barking was disruptive. I ended up using a citronella collar on them (sprays citronella at them when they bark - harmless but unpleasant to them). Worked great for Sassy .... it stopped Cookie from barking but she did experiment to see just how loudly she could whine without setting it off. Between the collars and time (realizing that being noisy doesn’t get them released) it’s no longer a problem and I haven’t had to use the collars in a long time.

[Bob Pr.]

Zach has been with me a year and he barks more often than any dog I've had. He barks when he wants something, or my attention, or for me to put his supper down faster, or when he'd like some of what I'm eating, or when there's someone knocking on the neighbor's door, etc., etc. etc.

What's working moderately well for us is to send him immediately to the bedroom and make him stay there for a bit before telling him he can come back out. That seems to be gradually decreasing his frequency of barking.

[silverfz]

Gigi is a barker, we control only some types of barking. Not sure if it is right

alert barks and dog barks when people walk by or approach house - we do not control. my wife is with kids when i work or travel and she is a watch dog and we have no issues with it. She has developed a big mean dog bark which she uses in this scenario.
The let me out of crate small bark if i do not hear the whine, again i do not say anything than shoo as the kids are sleeping.
The small bark - low tonne when she wants to go out or asking for something . the only one we shoo at her for as we have kids and people.she has learned to lower the volume to a low one now. again she knows not to do a loud bark.its funny as she has so many bark.

we walk and the new thing i have taught her if she barks loud and is scared/alert to immediately sit and watch what caused the response. i will stay next to her for a few minutes and this seem to help her response the next time she in the same scenario instead of going crazy barking alot. its one or 2 loud bark , then sit and watch. Usually next day she reponds by not doing anything. kids waiting for bus , kids with crutchs , jogger, bicyclist , farm stand guys we walk by, dogs flipping out in there own yard or house or a few/