Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

He is not bad at all in the house. Outside he barks at everything, cars, bikes, people, cats, other dogs barking, birds, frogs and a few I have no idea of. I have been working with the dog when in the yard to get him to not bark so much using the come on command or distracting him with play. It is a very slow process though. Is there anything I can do to speed it up some? Also, I have been doing a lot of work on my house and would leave the dog outside as I work, he constantly barks while I am doing the work on the other side of the house. Whould it be better to leave him in the house when I am working or let him bark rather then letting him get the adreneline rush? He also, likes to bark when playing, should that be discouraged? One last question, what is a shaker? I read it in another post someone using a shaker to distract the dog?

Hope to hear back soon and thank you in advance..

>>Hello,
>>
>>He is not bad at all in the house. Outside he barks at everything, cars, bikes, people, cats, other dogs barking, birds, frogs and a few I have no idea of. I have been working with the dog when in the yard to get him to not bark so much using the come on command or distracting him with play. It is a very slow process though. Is there anything I can do to speed it up some? Also, I have been doing a lot of work on my house and would leave the dog outside as I work, he constantly barks while I am doing the work on the other side of the house. Whould it be better to leave him in the house when I am working or let him bark rather then letting him get the adreneline rush? He also, likes to bark when playing, should that be discouraged? One last question, what is a shaker? I read it in another post someone using a shaker to distract the dog?
>>
>>Hope to hear back soon and thank you in advance..

>>>>>>>>>>

Leaving him inside would be better, yes. And avoid giving any reward while he is barking, either food, play, petting, praise, anything. It's important to help him learn to get what he wants quietly.

I don't like the shaker method, which frightens the dog with a disturbing noise to scare him into being quiet. I feel that it increases the risk of fears developing later in life to things like thunderstorms and fireworks. I consider this is a very bad tradeoff.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

A shake can is a soda can with EXACTLY 24 pennies in it. When the dog barks, you toss it at the dogs feet, not to harm or hurt the dog, but to make a loud noise to distract it. Not everyone agrees with this method and some dogs only get more excited from the loud noise.

Jessie, why 24?

lol too tell you the truth, I'm not absolutely possitive. That's just what I heard. Supposedly, 24 will make just the right noise to distract them. But honestly, I think you would probably get the same effect with an amount around there. But who knows, maybe it's true and 24 is the only amount that works. Anyone who already uses a shake can have any opinions?

You would think it would depend more on the personality of the dog.. For example a more sound sensitive dog would probably be better off with a lot more pennies.. That way there's less space for them to move around the can and they won't make such a huge noise.. Whereas a stubborn dog with selective hearing might need one with less pennies so that there's a much louder rattling..

Heh.. Never actually used it myself but it's sort of surprising how much science can actually go into something as simple as a pop can and some pennies

That makes sense. It is amazing that it can make a difference, but at the same time, doesn't really surprise me.