These 2 Whoodles of mine above are Maya and Leah. They are sisters and completely different personalities. Maya (chestnut color) is more laid back but also stubborn. If she does not feel like taking a command, she simply won’t and quite literally turns her nose up at us sometimes. She is a ‘diva’!
Leah (black color) is ‘Ms. Anxiety’. Sometimes she is afraid of her own shadow and when it comes to the neighbor dog, she clashes with him. Leah and the neighbor dog lose their minds barking and lunging at each other through the fence. It has been a constant battle with us and our neighbors. It’s a good thing we all get along!
At one point last fall I decided I would begin training Leah starting with the basics. I searched for articles about how to train your dog to stop barking and decided to start at ‘sit and come’. She turned 2 in March so it was OK to start with basic training. The problem? No one in my house would conform to it. They spoil these 2 and allow them to get away with anything. My training failed before I could really begin. Professional training? That would be a waste of money because no one else here is consistent. So, Leah would go crazy and bark and we thought were doing the right thing going outside and yelling at them to stop barking and come in.
Over a year later and we are still feel like the lunatic neighbors screaming at our dogs multiple times a day. We have even communicated with the neighbor such as when we remodeled the downstairs and needed them to be out all day so she can time her dog’s outside breaks and vice versa. Pathetic! It was time to find a solution and I did my research and put a few things together and we have made huge steps in their barking!
Here is what we have learned about how to train your dog to stop barking and that works! First, here is a video below I took of Maya and Leah responding to our BarxBuddy Ultrasonic Training Device…
Identify triggers! For our dogs it is when they go out together. Maya and the neighbor dog are just fine the two of them. It is when Leah is out there that commotion starts. We also know that other dogs trigger Leah when she is confined. At a park, she loves them! Find your dog’s triggers and if you cannot eliminate them, be aware and prepared.
Don’t Bark with them! We learned ourselves through many training advice articles that for most dogs, if they are upset and barking and you yell or shout at them they get confused. They literally think you may be joining in with them and participating at this chaos.
Use tools like BarxBuddy! When your voice appears to not help or confuse them, consider a training device. We use (and love) the BarxBuddy Ultrasonic Training Device. I will tell you more about it in this post. If this type of device does not phase your dog, perhaps other tools like invisible fencing or a barrier. These tools can be so useful as you learn how to train your dog to stop barking.
Be consistent! This is obvious but I cannot leave it out. If you use a tool have it nearby and ready to go. Check batteries often if your training tool requires one. Teach everyone in the home the ‘no bark’ plan for your dog. Have training treats handy.
Treats! If your dog’s are motivated by treats this can work great for the beginning of training. Make sure they are small and not too fatty. Make sure you are rewarding them AFTER they get quiet for a few seconds. If you reward right after the bark then they could think that treat was for the barking. Reward their quiet and calm.
I mentioned that we are using the BarxBuddy Ultrasonic Training Device with Leah’s barking. I was given a training collar last year that did vibration and sound but the collar was very irritating to her and I needed her to keep on her reflective collars and tags so it was too much. I love that there is no collar or yard adjustments needed for using this device. The flashlight on the device is handy also.
Our BarxBuddy is immediately effective but does not completely startle her. I would not have used it on her as a young puppy. It is recommended for ages 6 months and older so it doesn’t act like a scare tactic. With Leah at 2 years old it is surely a training tool that gets her to stop barking due to the distraction of the sound so she can hear and respond to my commands. To us that was so hard to accomplish by shouting all the time. Quick, painless and effective so for Leah, it is our favorite training tool.
If you think this ultrasonic training device can be useful for your dog’s barking, you can find it at the BarxBuddy website along with more tips and useful resources about how to train your dog to stop barking.
