How can I stop my dog from random barking?

Question

My 3-year-old Golden Retreiver, Rio, has a very annoying barking howl thing he does. He usually does it when we put him in the garage at night and when he's laying around outside. My neighbors have commented on it (wondering if he's alright) and they find it annoying. I don't think it's because he's separated from us because on occasion he'll do it when he's in the house with us (and he will stop when we say his name). The worst time was when a local female was in heat and he wanted to be with her (We had the him neutred but only the one that dropped was removed and the vet said the other would be absorbed. That didn't happen so he's been fixed twice). Anywhy, what's the best inexpensive method to use?

Answer 1

First of all, your vet is insane to say that they could only neuter one testicle and the other would be absorbed. That is completely unfounded, and as a veterinarian myself, I will say that it is medically impossible for that to happen. Any vet who performs spays and neuters can neuter a male even before his testes have dropped.

Now to your question: I would reccomment a bark training collar. There are several different types. One kind, when your dog barks, the collar will give him a light shock, and he will very quickly associate his barking with the shocks, and not bark anymore. This method is safe and will not harm your dog. Another kind of collar sprays a liquid in the dogs face/mouth area, and the liquid can either be of a foul smell or taste. Either way, this method teaches them to associate the foul odor or taste with the barking. This method usually takes a bit longer than the shock collar, simply because dogs respond to physical correction much quicker and more effiently. Another collar option is a collar that makes a high pitched sound that your dog hears when he barks, and he will eventually realize that the barking is related to the uncomfortable noise. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

For a dog to bark is quite natural and we should not seek to eliminate all barking. However, barking can be a nuisance to yourself and to your neighbours, although it is a problem which can be overcome.

Excessive barking is often related to an insecure dog who is attention seeking, so firstly we must ask ourselves – “Is there anything I can do to put my dog at ease, and give it the attention it needs?” This is a subject on which many books have been written, and animal behaviourists thrive. The best advice is to use common sense, check that your dog is not over-dominant, and train it with love.
Perhaps our natural reaction to recurrent barking is to shout at the dog until it stops. This is something that most of us have done, and whilst it can bring short term results it seldom solves the problem and can even aggravate it by teaching the dog that loud is good!

What i found myself that dogs bark when they do not get attention. Think this from their point of view too. We beinghumans have many friends to spend time n talk while for the dog the owner is EVERYTHING. He is dogs only friend. So just try spending 45-60 min a day playing and see the results.

Your dog may bark at visitors, when the doorbell rings, the newspaper drops through the letterbox etc. The first thing to do here is to train all the family in a united approach which may be to say “thank you” at the first bark and then command the dog to sit. In other words you are saying “Your job is done, now let me take over.” You should not let your dog become the dominant partner in your relationship.

Dogs often bark when playing outside within a secure garden, and any passerby or loud noise is the trigger for such unwanted barking. These are the times when you are not present, and which can be a cause of neighbour unrest which may even lead to a complaint to the local authorities.

Answer 3

You have a social animal and when you put him in the garage at night the dog does this out of loneliness and hurt for its the Nature of the dog to be with the Pack and the family is the dog's pack.Only time a dog is Not with his pack is when he is shunned-your dog may be thinking that and does the barking/howl (dog cry) to express his loneliness and hurt. Give him something with your smell on it if he absolutely cannot be in the house. Perhaps he needs more attention during the day-set some playtime aside each day with your dog.Since dogs have no clock and do not telkl time as we-even a 1/2hr a day but a hr and more would be better for the dog is happy over any attention given to him and since he's a Retriever needs play and runtime with his family(does not mean all members of family but You the one he feels close to)for Retrievers are Working Dogs-it is their genes to be active.He may also do in the house when hes with you because he'll get a memory jolt of when hes alone(dogs have memory) I.m sure you are loving to your dog and may not be able to spend the time this breed needs or unless you raised from a puppy if you adopted or took in as a stray may also have bad memories (as my dog who was abused before we gave him a home) and does it when the memories surface. If he's laying in the garage try going to your local health food store to find Calming Herb etc for dogs that you can give at night or start on a regular medicinal schedule to reduce his anxiety-if he's moving around a lot in the garage-like pacing-you may want to invest in a Crate and use it at night-should be large enough for him to lie down in on his side -not cramped for that would add to his anxiety-cost approx 100. but if it helps will be worth it-it helped my dog but we leave the door open(do not lock dog in for long periods for again will make him very anxious) and he goes in and out but the closeness of the crate-we put a light blanket over the backtop of the cage and the back part of the cage so it looks like a doghouse seems to make him less anxious,he'll often be lying in the crate quite content and comfortable. Wish you luck in finding a solution to make your dog more happy

Answer 4

Go to Cesar Milan (the Dog Whisperer), Be sure the dog is not in pain though. It's not real common for a golden to have a howling bark. They could be something wrong. Either way the dog whisperer has sme great simple advice that will help quickly.

http://dogpsychologycenter.com/dogwhisperer/

Answer 5

I have a female dog that usually bark and howl when she wants to get our attention. She stops when say her name but does it again until I go to her and see what she wants. Sometimes she just wants to be assured( a pat in the head) sometimes she wants to play at other times wants food.

Answer 6

Honestly I don't buy your reasoning. Dogs are pack animals, they do not like to be alone. You may be telling yourself that to make yourself feel better, but I think your dog is lonely. Dogs are not toys or inanimate objects. They have social patterns/needs, Imagine someone locking you in the garage while the rest of the FAMILY/PACK lives together inside the den. Don't mean to sound hard a$$ but I have seen so many animals suffer at the hands of people.

Answer 7

There's an old Chinese saying that one dog barks at something, and then 100 dogs bark at nothing. Put a muzzle on him. I've never seen a muzzled dog bark (or bite :-)

Answer 8

Moonkiss is right as my wife slapped one on me one time and it shut me up. I couldn't figure out how to unlatch it,and when I said something it shocked the sh-- out of me. She laughed so hard she peeed on herself. I was mad up till this point and then I started to laugh and got the sh-- shocked out of me again. So these collars DEFINITLY WORK!!!

Answer 9

Get a bark collar. they make lots .

Answer 10

Use a humane shock collar.