Barking dogs?

Question

How can I get my 3 dogs to stop barking when I'm not home? They will hear other dogs in the neighborhood bark, and it gets them going. The problem is that if I'm not home, there is no way to get them to be quiet. How can I train them not to bark if I'm not there to stop it. I've thought about using a bark collar, but would prefer other means if possible. Any advice is welcome. Thanks!

Sorry, I forgot to mention that they are inside. We only let them out for long periods when we are home. Thanks!

Answer 1

Barking while you are away
Make sure you have done the basic things: See that your dog has food and water, and a comfortable place to relax where he can't see people or other pets. If necessary, bring him indoors.

More often than not, the problem barker has never learned to be alone. He is accustomed to lavish attention without having to earn it. He thinks he is the center of the world and upon finding himself abandoned he is distraught and he barks, what did you expect?

Be a good role model.
Believe it or not, the words you say mean nothing to a dog. What matters the way you say those words and the message delivered by your body language. When you overdo it by repeatedly reassuring your dog that everything is ok and you'll be back soon, you are making things worse. Excitedly greeting the dog on your return reinforces the idea that staying alone for the day really is a big deal.

Stop praising and petting your dog for doing nothing.
This won't be easy, but you've got to do it and the entire family must cooperate. For now at least, the only time you should even touch your dog is when he has responded correctly to a command. Teach him to sit. When he sits, a simple "good dog" and a pat on the head are praise enough. Slowly work up to longer sit times until your dog can be relied to sit and stay in all situations. Bonus: Your guests will appreciate this. Remember how Fido jumpes up on Aunt Emily? Many dog owners believe that since they enjoy this type of greeting, other people do too. This is seldom true.

Practice being out of touch.
Because you aren't petting and stroking and fondling him all the time, your dog should be learning now that it's ok to be "out of touch" for short periods. Get some good chew toys. Nylabones and Kongs are excellent. Let your dog become distracted with a chew toy, then calmly and quietly leave the room, closing the door behind you. Within a few minutes, preferably before your dog has become distraught about your absence, come back in and resume what you were doing. Move calmly, say nothing. When your dog rushes over to greet you, ignore him completely. Don't say anything. Don't even look at him. Your separation was completely unimportant to you, so it should be completely unimportant to your dog.

Stop saying goodbye.
You are ready now to leave your dog alone for the day. Start your morning schedule ten minutes early. Feed your dog and try to get him settled in with a chew toy. Get completely ready to walk out the door and then sit down with the newspaper. Ignore your dog completely. After several minutes of calm separation, quietly walk out the door and go to work. Do not say good bye, do not even look at your dog. You are leaving for the day. This is not a big deal. Your return home must be equally calm. Ignore your dog. No petting, no excited greeting. Change clothes or whatever. After he has settled down, acknowledge your dog by telling him to sit. Only then does he get a pat on the head and a simple "good dog". You were gone for the day. Remember, this is not a big deal.

Give your dog something to do while you are gone.
Dogs left alone during the day are in a terribly unnatural situation, isolated with nothing to do. Instead of barking and tearing up the house, your dog can keep himself busy by earning his food.

Kong chew toys are hollow and open at the ends, leaving room for food or dog treats. Try putting a dog biscuit in there at first. Later you can pack with canned food and freeze, so it takes a long time for your dog to get the food out. To keep your dog busy while you're gone, buy several Kongs and hide in various places. For this to work well, your dog must be hungry.

If your dog is picky about what he eats and it's kind of hard to find his ribs, your dog is overweight, and getting too much food.

Instead of using Kongs, you can also find adjustable feeding balls which work with dry food. To get food, your dog must roll the ball around so food falls out through the holes. When adjusted properly, getting a full meal takes a long time. You might also try leaving the television on for entertainment while you are gone.

Answer 2

I also had a dog that barked alot when I was gone. It turned into a problem because I lived in an apartment, and didn't know she was barking cause I wasn't home! After much deliberation, I ended up using the dreaded bark collar. I had my reservations about it as well, but after using it for a while(maybe two weeks to a month), she didn't need it anymore. Every now and then she needed a refresher day, but it turned out to not be a permanent problem. Many other methods of curbing barking require you to be present to correct the behavior. That's all fine and dandy when you're home, but it's no guarantee when you're not.

Answer 3

While they're inside, barking collars are pretty much the only thing that would work. Barking Collars aren't cruel unless used cruel! In other words:

If you use it as a training tool, it can be very helpful and useful.
but
If you use it as an abuse tool, don't get one.

I have a *strong feeling* you're not about to use it as an abuse tool, lol

Answer 4

Shock collar? Maybe turn on the tv or radio while you are gone so they hear that rather then the neighbor dogs. I just recently reported my neighbor for their large dogs barking ALL THE TIME even after we warned them that we would take action if they don't take control. We have sleeping babies so we coulden't tolerate it.

Answer 5

Can you keep them indoors while you are away? This should reduce barking since the outside noises won't be quite as audible inside.

Answer 6

Use the bark collar, they'll only bark once or twice til they get the idea. Try it on yourself first, see if it hurts you.