How can I get my dog to stop barking and settle down?

Question

My dog is a Sheltie and is usually very hyper except for at night. My mom takes her on walks and I always play with her but it's never enough. We also have a fenced in yard that she goes out into and when she sees a car she barks a lot unless she's busy doing "buisness" she goes mentally insane if someone leaves too. We can barly get out of the door because of her! Help please, but also we have tried barking collars and they don't help we do not want to hire someone to help with her.

Answer 1

Here is a Sheltie page on barking> http://www.dogpatch.org/sheltie/barking.html

About midway down on this page> http://www.sheltie.com/roundtable.htm#Q9
Barking solutions> http://www.canadawestieclub.ca/trainbeh/barking.html
Sheltie Bark forum> http://experts.about.com/q/Shetland-Sheepdogs-2530/Barking-Shelti.htm
Sheltie /barking> http://www.illinoissheltierescue.com/debark.html

I sure hope you can find helop in one of these sheltie sites! at the very least, you will find that you are not alone!

Answer 2

First of all, those barking collars are inhumane and cruel, so never use one again.You are doing the right thing by giving her excercise, but i must ask how long are you walking her for? It might not be enough. Try walking her for at least an hour, or take her to a dog park so she can waste her energy playing with other dogs. Also, give her something to keep her occupied when nobody is home or she is out in the yard, i buy my dog a lot of rawhides and that keeps her busy.Also try squirting her with water using a squirt bottle and immediately say "no barking" in a stern voice when she is barking too much. NEVER hit her or scream at her, this will only frighten and confuse her. When she gets quiet after you squirt her praise her verbally and say something like "good quiet" and maybe give her a treat. Repeat as often as necessary until she learns that obssesive barking is not acceptible.

Answer 3

Praise her when she is quiet. Randomly, a few times day, say "good (use the dog's name), no barking".
Get a soda can and put 12 pennies in it. Tape it closed. When she starts barking, shake the can. Don't say anything. When she's quiet, praise her as I said above. If she ignores the shaking (most dogs startle at the noise and quit barking temporarily), toss the can so that is lands as near to her head as you can without hitting her. Don't pelt her with it no matter how annoying she is. She should be quiet just long enough for you to praise her for it.
Practice Practice Practice. You have to be consistent. If you let her bark uncontrolled sometimes, she won't get it.
If someone comes to the door or into the yard, she should bark, that's her job. Say "that'll do" then shake the can and praise quiet. Eventually the command "that'll do" should stop her from barking uncontrolled. Use "enough" if you like that better.
By yelling, spanking or otherwise paying attention to her when she is loud, you are rewarding the behavior. She doesn't care that the attention is negative. Just that she is getting some.
Be advised, Shelties are noisy. It's just a natural thing for them.
Be patient. It does work.

Answer 4

I'm not sure what to suggest other than pet classes. If you're serious about getting your dog to calm down and trust you, I think they're honestly your best bet and will be cheapest in the end. I worked at Petsmart a loong time ago and they had behaviour classes for even the most rotten dogs. The trainer helps you show your dog that YOU'RE boss and helps you give certain signals that will teach your dog to respond appropriately. Most rowdy dogs just need to feel a bit less confident.

Whatever you do, don't buy that spray collar that sprays citrus chemical in the dog's face when it barks. It is EVIL! I know they're on sale at the store but seriously, it's pretty much like spraying your dog in the face with mace. A lady I worked with tried it herself just to see how powerful it was, and she could barely breathe or open her eyes. By the time your dog recovers from the stinging and the pain, he no longer even remembers why he was sprayed.

Good luck with your doggy.

Answer 5

You need to retrain her...Start out with the basics and them start working on her barking all the time...Why not try a large spray bottle of water...Always have the bottle on hand if you want this to work...Everytime she barks in the house or out side,Spray her in the face with the sprayer...And in a rough voice,Tell her she is a bad girl and no...You have to do this everytime she barks and always tell her she is a bad girl and no...And in getting out the door do the same until you have her under control...You might want to put something she really likes on the floor when you are leaving the houseGo to petsmart and buy one of those hard rubber dog things(i forget the name) and stuff it with her favorite food and that will get her busy for a couple of hours...Just try it,You have nothing to lose but a barking dog and a dog that trys to beat you to your front door...

Clowmy

Answer 6

lmao, you know what? WE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM!!! My brother and his wife dumped their SHELTIE on us, and that's all he ever does. Runs around in circles, barks when he hears the littlest noises(when it's usually nothing). It's driving me up a f***ing wall, lol. We've got another dog now too, Miniature Aussie, and they both get pretty wild sometimes while they're playing. We've been smacking a rolled up newspaper in our hand(not on the dogs) to get them to chill out. Works with the new dog, but the Sheltie kinda ignores it yet...hope he'll catch onto it, cause I'm going insane :op

Answer 7

Our trainer said that when the dog barks, you should distract her with a treat or toy. Wave the treat right in front of her nose, and use it to lead the puppy to you, then give her some command (like 'sit') to keep her occupied. Praise her and give her the treat when she stops barking.

Answer 8

My dog did the same thing, what i did was get a spray bottle and filled it with water. Everytime she started freak barking, Id squirt her till she stopped. After awhile, shell get the idea

Answer 9

When you leave, keep the radio or the tv on. If she barks at a car, give her a small smack on the nose and she dosent, tellher good girl and give her a treat.

Answer 10

How old is she? Puppies can be very energetic and hyper.