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Post by beaglel1fe on Nov 8, 2014 12:52:38 GMT
My Beagle has recently developed barking.
She barks when she wants to go outside. She barks when something's under the sofa. She barks when it's near her dinner time. She barks if she runs out of water and you don't notice. She barks when she's shut in her crate/in the garden.
It's really annoying. What should I do?
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Post by caz2golden on Nov 8, 2014 14:39:01 GMT
You can try and teach her to bark and then teach her a command to not bark. Barking to go out - perhaps getting in habit of letting her out to toilet more regularly will help, i.e you let her out before she asks - barking to come in again, perhaps dont leave her out so long and call her in before she asks to come in. You could watch her when she is outside and when she starts moving to back door open it before she gets there and asks. Mine would bark to come in if I shut them outside. I leave my door ajar and then they just push to come back in when they want! Mine ask to go out but have not had to revert to vocalizing that requirement, if they go to back door then I let them out. Barking for water - Perhaps you need to check her water bowl a few more times a day, or give a larger bowl of water so that its less likely to run out. You can also get water fountains etc which will provide constant supply of water. Barking when things under sofa - can you block off the gap to stop things being able to get under the sofa As for crate - perhaps some training to teach her being in crate is good thing. i.e put her in after a really really good walk so that she is tired, use for short periods and as soon as she starts to figgit let her out before she asks. HTH, however you probably already do all of the above
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Post by beaglel1fe on Nov 8, 2014 14:56:36 GMT
Thanks
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Post by alfiemummy on Nov 8, 2014 16:31:14 GMT
I feel your pain, my dog also loves to bark at everything! Seems like we have tried everything and nothing worked. If you figure it out please tell me your secret!
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Post by zahada on Nov 8, 2014 18:28:32 GMT
What's changed recently? How suddenly has the barking started?,
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Post by zahada on Nov 8, 2014 18:29:18 GMT
I feel your pain, my dog also loves to bark at everything! Seems like we have tried everything and nothing worked. If you figure it out please tell me your secret! What have you tried?
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Post by zahada on Nov 8, 2014 18:30:09 GMT
How old is Poppy?
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Post by milliepup04 on Nov 8, 2014 19:20:10 GMT
She's clearly trying to communicate with you. Barking when she wants to go out, has ran out of water and it hungry is telling you that she needs to go out, would like water and would like food. To prevent this, maybe take her out more often before she gets to the barking stage, check that her water bowl isn't empty more frequently and possibly change her feeding times so she isn't hungry. When she's in her crate/garden, give her something that will keep her occupied, such as a Kong or and old sock filled with treats.
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Post by BorderTerrier on Nov 8, 2014 20:02:04 GMT
She's clearly trying to communicate with you. Barking when she wants to go out, has ran out of water and it hungry is telling you that she needs to go out, would like water and would like food. To prevent this, maybe take her out more often before she gets to the barking stage, check that her water bowl isn't empty more frequently and possibly change her feeding times so she isn't hungry. When she's in her crate/garden, give her something that will keep her occupied, such as a Kong or and old sock filled with treats. Good advice here However I would advise something slightly different to that in bold - changing feeding times because of a bad behaviour won't solve the barking problem - it will only hide it and put it aside. Not letting it happen. Not giving the dog a chance the practice bad behaviour could definitely work at the start, whilst your teaching a 'stop barking' command, however once this is learnt, you can put it into practice at mealtimes. You choose when to feed Poppy, she doesn't choose for you. Wait until your regular feeding time and if Poppy begins to bark, use your new command. If this fails, keep practicing frequently and consistently, and ignore the barking in the meantime until she stops. When she stops, wait for 30 seconds of consistent silence and then feed. This way she'll learn that if she is quiet she is fed, and when she is barking she remains hungry and waiting.Making sure her water bowl is full regularly is very important anyway, and dogs don't have regular 'drinking times' like they do feeding. When does she usually run out of water, beaglel1fe ? Every how many minutes/hours? Try filling the bowl up fresh in the morning and re-filling before the usual time she runs out. This isn't a behaviour thing as much as a health and well-being thing too. Dogs should have access to constant fresh, clean water. I agree that Kongs stuffed with tasty food are great at keeping dogs occupied. She may be barking in the garden to play. Play with her, and keep her busy so she doesn't have anything to bark about. Is there anything she may be barking at in your garden? A neighbour's cat, etc? Do you have any small furries kept in the garden? If so, direct her attention away from these things whilst working on her command to 'stop barking'. When it comes to taking her out, I find barking at the door for the toilet is a good skill in a dog. I have trained Earl to show me obviously that he needs to go out for the toilet. Barking once or twice is fine, but if its consistent barking, stop her when it gets to far with the 'stop barking' command. In the meantime, wait until she has shown you she wants out, maybe barking once or twice, then immediately let her out. This way she will only be barking in small amounts and she'll realise this is all it takes to go out. If you're not reacting to her natural need to relieve herself, this natural need will obviously get the better of her to keep asking you - this is a well toilet trained dog, hehe. Good luck
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Post by alfiemummy on Nov 8, 2014 20:25:59 GMT
I feel your pain, my dog also loves to bark at everything! Seems like we have tried everything and nothing worked. If you figure it out please tell me your secret! What have you tried? Teaching him to bark and then teaching quiet, he is very enthusiastic at the learning to bark part but gets overexcited and won't be quiet again. Also distraction techniques which did work a bit. He is a bit hit and miss as sometimes it works a treat, it depends what he's barking at! If it's something like the doorbell it is a nightmare to stop him. He does know what the command means but whether or not he listens is another matter!
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Post by scallywag on Nov 8, 2014 20:30:12 GMT
Teaching him to bark and then teaching quiet, he is very enthusiastic at the learning to bark part but gets overexcited and won't be quiet again. Also distraction techniques which did work a bit. He is a bit hit and miss as sometimes it works a treat, it depends what he's barking at! If it's something like the doorbell it is a nightmare to stop him. He does know what the command means but whether or not he listens is another matter! You are not alone alfiemummy, Its a case of Mind over matter here, Beau gets so excited theres no stopping him, hes too loud to hear your command
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Post by alfiemummy on Nov 8, 2014 20:31:34 GMT
I think the only situation I would have an issue with would be the barking in the garden or in crate. Things such as barking for a water refill or to be let out I would consider to be acceptable as they are doing it for a reason - so I will just do it and say 'silly me!' for forgetting his needs They have to bark sometimes after all, we can't expect them to be quiet all the time. When Alfie was young he used to give us the run around and was always barking at the back door because he wanted to go in the garden and play, he would have us up every 5 minutes because he knew we would let him out in case he needed the loo! We cheated and got a dog door in the end so afraid I can't help there lol He also gets excited when it's near dinner time but not too bad for barking, he is particularly bad at the moment since the clocks went back so I have brought it a little earlier. I won't do it if he pesters me and I will make him sit on my lap and wait until I'm ready otherwise he just goes all silly and starts running around trying to get my attention! If he barks at things stuck under the sofa I have always just been a sucker and got them out for him
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Post by migsy on Nov 8, 2014 21:26:03 GMT
Well I think you have a very clever dog! She's telling you she needs to go outside,you would be cross if she did a wee indoors. She knows it's her dinner time, why don't you? Her water bowl needs filling,would you rather her go thirsty? She's fed up of being in her crate, it's quite understandable. She wants to come indoors, she probably feels she has been outside long enough,let her in. I had a very obedient Border Collie who didn't bark to be let indoors etc,one day the heavens opened and I had forgotten he was in the garden.I felt terrible when I opened the door to find him waiting patiently, soaking wet through. I think it's very funny she is keeping you on your toes beagle, a very bright dog indeed.
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Post by bextull on Nov 8, 2014 22:16:09 GMT
She is a beagle, she is bred to bark. Annoying as it is I think her reasons for barking are justified as others have said.
My suggestion would be to teach her to bark and then teach her to be quiet.
Keep her stimulated too. A bored beagle is a loud beagle. Try scentwork, interactive toys etc. Never reward for barking. If she is barking at the door don't open it, wait for her to be quiet, then open it. Same with food and so on.
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Post by beaglel1fe on Nov 9, 2014 14:41:40 GMT
Beagles are a naturally noisy breed!!!!!!!! If Poppy barks for something we delay it a little so she doesn't expect us to come running to let her in/out/give her water etc. It's hard with the clocks changing so we built that up gradually. She loves to keep us on our toes though! She reminds us about every little thing (relying it's to do with her lol), like after the clocks changed she was like, "Hello? Have you forgotten something? I think you have!"
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