# How to stop excited barking



## Axel13 (Jun 23, 2014)

After getting my first ever complaint from neighbours over noise issues I really don't know what else to do. Mya my 7/8 year old shepherd barks excitedly when leaving for a walk. That means she barks for about 5 minutes everyday but other then that she is a quiet dog. 2 neighbours complained recently over her barking on her way out the door on a Saturday and Sunday morning. My dad walks her at about 8am on the weekend mornings. He has stopped now for the past few weeks and doesn't take her out until after 10am now. However we would like to find a way to get her out of the house with minimal barking.

I have had great success using treats and clicker training. She isn't half as excited when I walk her as she is when my dad walks her and so it is easier for me. He has tried treats and rewarding her when she goes silent for a second, he has also tried sitting back down every time she barks but that didn't help at all. Has anyone got any tips or methods I could use? A colleague suggested a bark collar but I don't want to use anything that will hurt her.


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## Waldi (Jun 14, 2013)

I use collar but one that I control actions. My collar has three different option, sound, vibra and shock (never used this one). So I use sound extensively when she is barking and tell,her to "stop Barking" or quiet commands. Now when I put collar I do not have to tell her, as she recognizes and changes her behavior. It worked for my dog, perhaps you can try this. Good luck.


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## kauffmds (Nov 6, 2015)

Oh boy, have I been there and done that! My Maggie would get so excited, that she sounded like I was beating her. It not only drove me nuts, it was downright embarrassing. She would do it for the first 5 minutes of the walk. Nothing worked with her. She had to be the most stubborn of all the shepherds that I ever owned. 

I finally bought a vibration collar for her. It had the option of a tone to warn her, and 3 levels of vibration. It worked like a charm. It didn't hurt her, but it distracted her; she finally learned that she would feel the vibration whenever she barked and cried inappropriately on the leash. It only took 3 times and she quit her incessant barking and crying.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Dog leaves inside of house through front door after I do and barks one more time after I say "enough"....walk is over and back in the house....rinse and repeat...probably took 5-6 times of doing this until the dog got her sensibility back ....amazing how smart a GSD can be when it wants something.

I do find it interesting how the behavior of your dog varies dependent upon who is handling the dog in this situation.....perhaps the dog feels less pressure when you are walking her vs. your father. I used to think my dog did that crap to announce to the world that the big bad bitch is cruising the hood and I'm giving all you other doggies fair warning...


SuperG


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

I used a ball/rope or tug. I started out with her hooked up and quiet at the door, we'd play a quick game of tug and off we went. We played tug randomly as we go and she stays focused and quiet. You can lengthen out the time between tug sessions to help with focus and wean her off if you want. We don't mind the "crutch" of bringing a toy along as neighborhood walks are boring and engaging in a few tug sessions adds a little fun.

Should add that timing is important. You don't want to inadvertently reward any barking.


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## Axel13 (Jun 23, 2014)

SuperG said:


> Dog leaves inside of house through front door after I do and barks one more time after I say "enough"....walk is over and back in the house....rinse and repeat...probably took 5-6 times of doing this until the dog got her sensibility back ....amazing how smart a GSD can be when it wants something.
> 
> I do find it interesting how the behavior of your dog varies dependent upon who is handling the dog in this situation.....perhaps the dog feels less pressure when you are walking her vs. your father. I used to think my dog did that crap to announce to the world that the big bad bitch is cruising the hood and I'm giving all you other doggies fair warning...
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advice. I have tried the whole putting the lead on and then taking it back of when she barks or bringing her back into the house when she barks and then trying again. After doing that for an hour twice a day everyday for 6 days in a row her barking started to get even more out of of control as the days went on. 

She sees my dad as the main caregiver as he was the one to feed her and walk her the most when she was young. Luckily I have found that a high value reward keeps the barking under control. She will only bark until I close the front door and then she is focused on getting her treat.


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## Axel13 (Jun 23, 2014)

Nigel said:


> I used a ball/rope or tug. I started out with her hooked up and quiet at the door, we'd play a quick game of tug and off we went. We played tug randomly as we go and she stays focused and quiet. You can lengthen out the time between tug sessions to help with focus and wean her off if you want. We don't mind the "crutch" of bringing a toy along as neighborhood walks are boring and engaging in a few tug sessions adds a little fun.
> 
> Should add that timing is important. You don't want to inadvertently reward any barking.


Mya doesn't like tug toys unfortunately. She will play tug with the other dogs occasionally but at 8 years old her play drive has slowed down considerably. I have found a few high value treats that keep her occupied on the way out the door but I still can't do morning walks because even the 30 seconds of barking she does now would have the neighbours complaining again!


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