Dog owner advice needed: how to train a noisy dog?

[KennyR]

I know they're all noisy, but mine (or rather my family's) has a difference. The moment it's left alone in the living room, it starts barking and doesn't stop until someone goes to sit with it. It's in a cage when alone to prevent it damaging furniture or chewing live cables, but it's in the house and not out in the cold. And it doesn't mind the cage at all - as long as someone is in the room.

It is especially annoying in the mornings where my lazy jobless self would like to sleep to anything later than 9am. As soon as the family leave, it starts that awful annoying high-pitched constant bark and generally continues until either I buckle and go downstairs (with an inevitable angry kick at the cage) or my family come home a couple of hours later. I can't block out the sound, I've tried earplugs and sleeping with the pillow on my head, its no good. When I get a job and will lose sleep on my days off I would really start to hate that dog. I can't take it upstairs, either, he's a chewer and I just don't trust it with computer cables and my things.

I know a lot of dog owners visit AO, so my question is, how do I train this dog to not keep barking when left alone for just an hour or two? Shouting doesn't work, leaving it toys and bones and food doesn't work - it just ignores them and barks until someone is there, then starts happily chewing them. Is there a solution to this?

[Cyberus]

Coming running whenever the dawg barks will just mean that he'll do it all the more when he wants attention. In the same way that a young child will (I've seen my goddaughter do it), a dog will quickly discover how to get attention, and sometimes it is best just to ignore it, no matter how difficult, to avoid being at the mercy of the animal (or young'un for that matter)

I don't have this problem with my dog, as he is very quiet (I gather that his breed is usually almost silent), however he does suffer from loneliness - his usual solution is to come and leap on my bed when he's lonely, not good - he is a BIG dog. The one true solution to assuageing loneliness (aside from getting another dog) is long walks I've found. Then he's so bloody tired he couldn't care less who else is around.

I know this answer isn't very helpful - perhaps a dog behaviourist is the answer?
By the way, how old is the dog? If its a pup, it may just be a matter of time before he calms down...

[Damion]

@KennyR

Step 1 -- Manufacture a crude, life-size human dummy out of sticks

Step 2 -- Place it next to the cage

Step 3 -- Place next to the dummy a tape/cd player, quietly looping "good puppy"
every 5mins or so

Step 4 -- Finally enjoy a good night's sleep!!

:-P

[Cyberus]

-D- wrote:
@KennyR

Step 1 -- Manufacture a crude, life-size human dummy out of sticks

Step 2 -- Place it next to the cage

Step 3 -- Place next to the dummy a tape/cd player, quietly looping "good puppy"
every 5mins or so

Step 4 -- Finally enjoy a good night's sleep!!

:-P

That's a good point actually - have you tried leaving the radio on?

[Speelgoedmannetje]

uh oh, and everytime the canine makes noise, 'good doggie' 'good DOGGIEEEEEEE!'

bark

BARK!

barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark
barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark
barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark
barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark

[KennyR]

@cyberus

Ignoring him like you say is probably the best advice, but it's not something I can do. I've tried. The longer it goes on the more I lose my grip on my temper (and my sanity). It just really drives me up the wall, especially when I'm trying to sleep. Lucky for him I'm sleeping out of preference rather than necessity - for now.

And yes, he is a pup - less than a year old, I think, but I think he should be adult enough by to sit for a few hours in a room by himself...

I have also tried leaving the radio or TV on. It doesn't make the slightest bit of difference. He just barks over it.

@-D-

:lol:

Actually that might work. He's not the smartest of creatures it seems. ;-)

[that_punk_guy]

KennyR wrote:
It is especially annoying in the mornings where my lazy jobless self would like to sleep to anything later than 9am. As soon as the family leave, it starts that awful annoying high-pitched constant bark...

Interesting.

I know from what you've said previously that you're not exactly enamored with the family dog, and no doubt as a result (s)he feels no bond with you.

Here's the thing. If I leave Dale alone in the house, he howls until I return or he gets bored (that's after about 45 minutes.) But he will rest in the kitchen for hours on end perfectly content when I'm at home, even if I'm upstairs. Because you're emotionally absent from the dog's life, once everyone else is out of the house, (s)he's essentially alone. Maybe you need to make friends with the pup. :-)

[Tigger]

1) The dummy may work, you might be surprised.

2) When pups are taken from their mother, they miss the heartbeat, so ticking clock in puppy cages is often used to wean them away from their mother.  The dog sounds a little old for this, but you might try it.

3) Give him something to do when they go out.  Chewtoy, snack, pick something, it may be barking because its bored, if this is true it may work.

4) See if you can borrow a bark supression collar from someone.  They electroshock the dogs throat if it barks, I'd send you mine, but its a long way to Scotland, and you'd need a transformer to step it down, etc.  I'd tell you to buy one, but in actuality you probably wont need it but for a few days, unless the dog is a cronic barker, he is going to learn in a few days to not bark and you'll be set.
    -Tig
 

[Cyberus]

Tigger wrote:

4) See if you can borrow a bark supression collar from someone.  They electroshock the dogs throat if it barks, I'd send you mine, but its a long way to Scotland, and you'd need a transformer to step it down, etc.  I'd tell you to buy one, but in actuality you probably wont need it but for a few days, unless the dog is a cronic barker, he is going to learn in a few days to not bark and you'll be set.
    -Tig
 

Don't give him ideas - its already evident he doesn't like dogs, he may take 'electroshock' a bit too far and electrify the poor blighter's cage! ;-)

[KennyR]

Tigger wrote:
See if you can borrow a bark supression collar from someone. They electroshock the dogs throat if it barks, I'd send you mine, but its a long way to Scotland, and you'd need a transformer to step it down, etc. I'd tell you to buy one, but in actuality you probably wont need it but for a few days, unless the dog is a cronic barker, he is going to learn in a few days to not bark and you'll be set.

Step down transformer? You make it sound like the dog is plugged into mains current. ;-) Of course I assume you mean the charger. Thanks for the offer, but I doubt my family would let me do that to the dog, no matter how satisfying it would be.

[that_punk_guy]

Tigger wrote:
electroshock the dogs throat

...Y'know, Tigger...

Battering rams are a real efficient way of opening the door to my house, but I usually try using my key first.

[Tigger]

that_punk_guy wrote:

Tigger wrote:
electroshock the dogs throat

...Y'know, Tigger...

Battering rams are a real efficient way of opening the door to my house, but I usually try using my key first.

I gave the shock collar idea as my 4th and last idea.  An actual shock collar, doesnt harm the dog, as Wayne will verify, to prove we had fixed mine, I tried it on myself.  I think I am the only one on the site with professional animal training experience, if you are one of those PETA idiots, pound sand, I have been dealing with their misguided efforts for 20 years.  
      -Tig

[cecilia]

this puppy behaves this way because it's a pup and because it hasn't been trained.

dogs are pack animals. it has to bond with it's pack, which is you and your family.

if it sees you are the Alpha Male of the pack, then use that to train it.

face it, you have to take Some time out of the day to do this training or you will live with an out of control dog.

take a firm tone - not yelling.

when the dog knows who's boss, it will listen. you just have to take that time. and the chewing is all part of that puppy behavior. he has to be trained out of that as well.

sometimes having a spray-bottle of water or (diluted) lemon juice around and spraying him whenever he tries to chew (and saying a FIRM "NO") will get him to associate your voice command with the spraying.

time and effort are the only answer.
trust me, we've had several dogs over the years. all well behaved.

[T_Bone]

Tigger wrote:
I tried it on myself.

 :lol:
My wife made me do that too! She insisted there was no way in hell she'd ever let me put one on any of our dogs unless I used it on myself so I'd know what it feels like!

Jeese, people act like you're electrocuting the thing or something, it's just a very slight tingle!

[blobrana]

With my border collie i bought just red toys for her...
So she associated just red thing to chew...

Every dog has a personality, so yours may just be noisy...
but all puppy's are like that.

To get the dog to keep quiet, perhaps you could keep quiet youself... turn off the tv/radio and when you hear a noise make a growling noise...The puppy will then listen out for strange noises...(make it into a game, er, ppl knocking at the door....growl)