Barking, Barking, Barking!!!!!!

When Sassy is outside and she sees anything move (person, vehicle, dog, rabbit...we have a lot of wild rabbits where we live... etc.) she goes crazy and starts running down the fence (so hard that there is a streak where she runs that has no grass just plain old dirt) and barks her head off. I have tried to get her to stop by... yelling "no" (she knows what "no" is), offering treats (she LOVES treats) and also I have tried to catch her but none of these thing have worked.

Also when she is inside ans she sees anything (person walking, someone in a car, an animal, a bird etc.) she will start barking. While she is inside it is not as bad but my dad works night shifts @ the hospital so she wakes him up everytime she barks (he is very grumpy when he wakes up).

The whole family is getting tired of her nonstop yakety-yak barking! My dad even threatened to put her in the dog pound if she doesn't stop (about a month ago both of my parents swore they would never send her to the dog pound and if they do.... Lets just say they won't).

Any Ideas?!?!?! All Will Be Much Apreciated!!!!!!!:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

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Originally posted by Sassy_luvr


The whole family is getting tired of her nonstop yakety-yak barking! My dad even threatened to put her in the dog pound if she doesn't stop

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:( Please don't put her in the pound! Didn't your dad want to give her away before too? When you get a dog you have a comitment, you know dogs bark, so why did you get one if you dont like the barking?

First of all, barking is natural for dogs and you can probably never get her barking to totally stop.

Barking can be caused if dogs are lonely. Are you giving her the appropriate amount of attention? How long is she staying outside for?

Dog typically don't know if barking is a positive or negative thing. I'm sure some times you let her bark and other times she doens't get away with it! Use the command "Stop barking" (or something along those lines) whenever you want her quiet. When you say "Stop barking" waggle a treat by her. After she is quiet for a few seconds praise her for it and give her the treat. Next time she barks do the same thing except wait longer before you praise her and give her the treat.

I hope this works for you.

Goodluck

Jake started to do that a few weeks ago. I found out he smelled ferrett outside.
Also, we got new neighbors about 2 months ago. Well, both Jake and Zoe were not used to the car starting or people walking in the yard at 5:30 am. They would go NUTS! Now they are use to it and it has passed. Just thought I would share.

I still say she needs a LOT of good exercise every day and training. You have not taken her to Obedience classes, have you? You and your family seem like you don't know how to begin to train Sassy... I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, I've tried rewording it but that's how I feel. A lot of people have this problem, thats why Obedience works! Obedience classes does not just train your dog, it trains YOU to train your dog. You can only get so much verbal advice on these boards, you also need to get physical and demonstrational advice from a lincensed dog trainer. It seems like there are soooo many issues here, and your parents do not want to help at all.

On top of signing up for Obedience classes, you should keep her on a long-line in the backyard if she refuses to listen. When she starts to pull towards the fence, tell her "Quiet" or "Leave It" and pull the lead towards you. Reward her when she starts to leave the fence with only a verbal command. I honestly don't think its fair for your parents to put her full training and behavior on a 12 year-olds shoulders. THEY NEED to pay for Obedience classes... if they're willing to pay hundreds for the actual dog, they *should* have no problem paying $100 for classes that will help everyone.

And, I also agree with the previous posters... she sounds extremely bored and under-stimulated. Give her lots of walks every day (at least 1 or 2), exercise her in the backyard twice a day until she is tired, teach her new tricks, give her stuffed Kongs and treat balls, etc. You can't just leave her in the house or backyard and expect her to lay around and be happy. She is a young, HIGH energy dog!! One of the misconceptions people have about Golden Retriever (and Labs) is that they are lazy, trustworthy, gentle dogs their entire lives. They're actually a sporting breed, very very high energy and intellegent and they NEED outlets to put all of that energy into.

Anita is also barking everytime, but she has lots o exercise and attention!!
The problem is that she's always too alert of what's happening around her, so she thinks that every person that walks in the street is a sign of danger. She only wants to protect us.
I think there's no way to change that, she has always done this, and I'm starting to like her barking!

I agree. Sassy NEEDS exercise and obedience classes.

Whenever she barks at something moving outside the fence, you don't say "No" and let her continue barking. What purpose does that have? So, another BETTER option is to take an empty soda can and fill it with a couple pennies. Tape the opening shut, and toss the can towards Sassy whenever she barks. Once she stops barking and you've diverted her attention, call her name and praise and treat her. Goldens thrive on praise and human affection. However, people have the misconception that Goldens and Labs are born with the inept knowledge of Sit, Stay, Down, Come, and perfect manners. I still think re-homing Sassy is a perfectly acceptable option...:(

Thank you for all your wonderful replies! I will try them and pray that they will work.

Giselle,
As for the coke can with pennies I would try that but sassy is so mischievious (sp.) she would grab the can and run. One time she stole a 5 pound weight and started running with it!LOLOL


P.S. In a couple of weeks we are going to take sassy to a licensed trainer for obedience school.

In my opinion, the best thing you can do is work on her recall. Using very tempting treats such as chopped up hotdogs, call her constantly and treat her with a treat as well as praising her excitedly every time she comes. If she loves to chase a ball, you can toss her a ball too when she comes as reward (my golden Tommy particularly loves that reward!). Once she starts associating wonderful things with coming and gets eager to come when called, you can simply call her as soon as she starts barking and she should stop and run to you, thus getting incredible reward. This will serve to focus her attention on you more and will diminish her boredom and barking.

I personally wouldn't agree with a startle technique like the penny can or spraying water simply because in my personal experience, I have found it ends up making the dog jumpy and more nervous. I think it risks giving a negative association to the thing she is barking at. I say this partly because we used to clap or make a startling noise when Tasha was younger and we caught her getting into something like the trash. Now, when a stick breaks or a popping noise happens, she goes slinking off looking guilty or frightened. I regret very much that we ever did that method instead of simply calling her away and rewarding her for coming.

Good luck.