Oh, yes, barking is a self-rewarding behavior.

But I still don't understand the focus of that fenceline. Do you have any ideas about why that's the choice of barking venue?

I have probably spent about 10 hours all together over the last 2 weeks examining that fence line. I even dug down a little bit to see if there was something buried there that was setting her off. I even poured vinegar around that area to put her off a bit, but she just started barking out in the middle of yard.

My best guess, there is a dense are of trees on that side of the fence, and as the wind hits, it makes lots of noise. I live in oklahoma now, where it appears to be very windy all the time.

However, she was completely fine after our 5.6 quake the other night, didn't even affect her she came, heeled followed me out to the front yard and laid there until I decided it was ok to go back inside. (off lead too, with tons of neighbors cars and the annoying neighbors with all their wild pit bulls that live on the other side of the street, I was very happy)

This barking issue on the other hand has me stumped. I really think she is just enjoys running around and barking for a bit.

I have the same problem with my dog barking but it is in the car in the kennel... Nothing can stop him. He respects and doesn't test the bark collar ever at home, but in the car he barks right through it. He does bark on command, and he also quiets on command, but if I am not present, all bets are off. I can also add a muzzle into the equation and he still doesn't give in. I have no advice for you, sorry, I hope your situation doesn't end up like mine!

I have a barker...she just truly loves the sound of her own voice. She makes a lot of noise. It is especially bad outside, when she has lots to stimulate her (in terms of noise and smells, since we also have a privacy fence).

I personally do not leave my dogs outside unattended, nor do any of the rest of my family. If she barks, she is immediately told to quiet.

I have used a bark collar, but she will bark through a stim sometimes.

Keeping her in the house or supervised - This takes care of the problem for us.

 Quote: Karissa Tepp

I have the same problem with my dog barking but it is in the car in the kennel... Nothing can stop him. He respects and doesn't test the bark collar ever at home, but in the car he barks right through it. He does bark on command, and he also quiets on command, but if I am not present, all bets are off. I can also add a muzzle into the equation and he still doesn't give in. I have no advice for you, sorry, I hope your situation doesn't end up like mine!

Luckily, If I am present no matter what the situation Heidi is very good about ceasing to bark the instant the command is given. We spent a very long time working on that.

 Quote: Melissa Hoyer

I have a barker...she just truly loves the sound of her own voice. She makes a lot of noise. It is especially bad outside, when she has lots to stimulate her (in terms of noise and smells, since we also have a privacy fence).

I personally do not leave my dogs outside unattended, nor do any of the rest of my family. If she barks, she is immediately told to quiet.

I have used a bark collar, but she will bark through a stim sometimes.

Keeping her in the house or supervised - This takes care of the problem for us.

while this is the solution I have been resorting to, Heidi is not very happy, considering I am gone for most of the day, and she would rather be outside.


The question is, given what I have said, is it ok to increase the stimulation on her collar to the next level?

Without knowing what is triggering the barking this one is a stumper.
As for the bark collar I've seen more then one dog that just bark right through it.
The dog stops as soon as you give the command. have you stayed outside with the dog till it started up again or do you just wait inside till it barks and then tell it to stop?
BTW, vinegar is an excellent herbicide. You've probably killed any grass that was there.

My thoughts on a bark collar, which may not be popular here, and really are not in line with my general training practices (positive, marker training).

My dog wears one when he's in his crate. It needed to be on 7 originally, when I began using it nearly a year ago. (Also a dogtra)

I thought about lowering the level recently, since I never hear him test the collar, and my idea was to get it down to a level one. My good friend, a trusted dog trainer, asked me WHY?

If the dog knows it's wrong to bark, and he decides to bark, why shouldn't he get a big ol' correction for it? Since I'm not there to correct, I'm letting dogtra do it for me. I want it to mean something to my stubborn Dutchie. I don't want him to bark. He knows it. He knows it's going to HURT if, and when he decides to bark.

To me, it seems by turning the level up one click every 30 minutes you are only desensitizing her to the stimulus (shock) of the collar. Making it not mean ANYTHING to her. Does that make sense? I'm far less talented at explaining exactly what I'm thinking then my friend was when he explained it to me.... maybe I'll see if I can get him to write up his thoughts.

Moved up to level 5 this morning, she would squeal really loud, but the barking stopped after 10 minutes, and she has been dead silent for the last hour. Still running around and playing though.

She is just stubborn I've decided

 Quote: Bob Scott

Without knowing what is triggering the barking this one is a stumper.
As for the bark collar I've seen more then one dog that just bark right through it.
The dog stops as soon as you give the command. have you stayed outside with the dog till it started up again or do you just wait inside till it barks and then tell it to stop?
BTW, vinegar is an excellent herbicide. You've probably killed any grass that was there.

she won't bark at all when I'm around unless told to

and there was no grass there already I had dug around the fence line to see if there was something underneath that was setting her off