Stopping pup barking HELP

[Clair McGuire]

just on for some advice, as google doesn’t help much.
My 6 month old labradoodle is barking at every little noise, from the neighbours cupboard shutting against our walls or them shouting, to someone going past the garden fence. She randomly jumps up and starts barking if she hears anything, my daughter can be playing in her room and drops a toy and off Bella goes with the barking. Asking her to stop hasn’t worked, trying to give her a treat to stop doesn’t work, she just continues to bark. Keeping her away from the windows doesn’t work. During the night if she hears anything outside it will set her off and then the whole house is up. I’m at the point I may need to intervene with a device but feel this is a bit cruel.

So any help or advice would be greatest appreciated.

 

[Ari_RR]

As for device - my concern would be that some if not most such devices punish the dog for barking. If barking is her current reaction to a lot of events going on around - then she will be constantly punished. I don’t know what it will do to barking, but living in a world where you get zapped every time a neighbor shuts the drawer or someone walks by will hardly lead to a happy confident dog. Even if it leads to a silent one.

As for the real issue - very frustrating, I am sure, plus lack of sleep, and neighbors may eventually get fed up too which won’t help... I wish I could be of any real help, but am sure there are ways to deal with this, someone will suggest.

 

[Clair McGuire]

these are the exact reasons I wouldn’t want a device, and I find them cruel, so really would rather some sort or strategy for it than doing this. I feel for Bella as she’s not just barking for the sake of it; it’s at things, so unsure if she’s just a wee anxious pup

 

[JudyN]

You could try an Adaptil plug-in calmer or spray to see if that helps her relax more. I've also heard that if you teach a dog to bark on a command, it's then easier to teach them a command to stop barking - you'd train this in a situation where she doesn't feel the need to bark so stopping barking isn't impossible for her, and then hopefully, when she's really good at this, it would work when there is something to bark about.

Have you seen Kikopup's videos on YouTube? This is part 1 in training not to bark:

I've not tried it or even watched it myself, but Kikopup videos are generally excellent.

 

[Michele83]

I'm not sure if this would work for your dog, but what worked with my puppy to stop her barking was to leave the room (and leave her on her own) as soon as she barks and only come back in when she stops. But this requires the right set up i.e. only one person with her, and being able to leave her in a situation alone for a couple of minutes. Mine soon learned that bark = I leave which isn't what she wanted. I had to dedicate proper time to repeat the process over and over in one sitting so that it was learned, so I was up and down like a jack in the box, but she did pick it up quite quickly over a few sessions.

 

[MungoPungo]

Hi Claire, I really sympathise. I’ve just brought home a cocker spaniel puppy and I can see already she is REALLY prone to vocalising. So , because I watched a Kikopup YouTube video it gave me the idea of trying to teach her that quiet is good. So, at meal times, I’m putting her in her crate, and going out the room and when she is quiet I will open door and go back and praise and give her a bit of her food. And I keep doing that repeatedly, trying to lengthen the time and also trying to make noises that might make her bark (eg doorbell) sometimes. I try to be unpredictable. Secret is to build up duration very gradually and if he/she starts failing, go back to an earlier point (eg quiet for just a nano second even)

It seems to be working as she seems a lot quieter now. I’m also randomly giving her a treat or paying her attention if she is quiet and TOTALLY ignoring any vocalisation, as if I’m deaf to it. Heard to do, alright for me as I live in the sticks with no neighbours.
Maybe get someone to make noises she will hear and then set up some training sessions where you treat her for a split second of quietness. Hard to do I know. It’s all I can think of. There might be a young person who you could ask a favour of (for a small bit of pocket money) who will act as your training assistant, ringing doorbells and making noises Bella mightvreact to.

Best of luck