Hi everyone,

I'm having kid-problems with my manchester terrier. All of my younger brother's friends (11-12 year olds) refer to her as "demon dog" because whenever they come over she barks like there's no tomorrow. We've tried over loading her with so many commands that she doesn't have time to bark, but "down, sit, stand" can only be said so many times and this isn't really a solution. We tried a collar that sprays her with water when she barks, which she responded to by barking even more. When we correct her she stops for a few seconds and starts again. She's even louder if she's in the crate when the children are around.

The ONLY time I can keep her quiet is on leash, and I'm sure many of you will tell me to just keep her on a leash when children are over, which I do and will continue to do if there is no other solution. However, I was wondering if there was a way to transition for her needing to be on a leash to not bark...I thought at first she was just better behaved on leash but when she's on leash I don't even need to correct her, she just doesn't bark at all.

Anyway, opinions? Would this behavior problem be a good candidate for e-collar training? I don't have an e-collar but I'm thinking of getting one.

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.......I'm having kid-problems with my manchester terrier. All of my younger brother's friends (11-12 year olds) refer to her as "demon dog" because whenever they come over she barks like there's no tomorrow. We've tried over loading her with so many commands that she doesn't have time to bark, but "down, sit, stand" can only be said so many times and this isn't really a solution. We tried a collar that sprays her with water when she barks, which she responded to by barking even more. When we correct her she stops for a few seconds and starts again. She's even louder if she's in the crate when the children are around.

The ONLY time I can keep her quiet is on leash, and I'm sure many of you will tell me to just keep her on a leash when children are over, which I do and will continue to do if there is no other solution. However, I was wondering if there was a way to transition for her needing to be on a leash to not bark...I thought at first she was just better behaved on leash but when she's on leash I don't even need to correct her, she just doesn't bark at all.

Anyway, opinions? Would this behavior problem be a good candidate for e-collar training? I don't have an e-collar but I'm thinking of getting one.

From what you say, this sounds exactly like a dog who is filled with frustrated energy. I would increase the walks, short training sessions, and playing --- by a lot.

Some dogs loaded with frustrated energy chew themselves and their surroundings, and some bark constantly.

JMO. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I agree, a good daily exercise = a stable dog , in some cases you have to make an exception, you can't always(unfortunely) take your dog out for exercise right before someone comes over.
I know your dog is little but perhaps a good correction on the leash when his bark becomes a nuissance, might make him understand that barking for no good reason is not a good thing.I have never had a little dog so I am not sure what type of level of correction would be appropriate for him, I know with shepherds a good and quick correction on a prong works wonders for stubborn minds.And of course a good reward when your dog complies.

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I have never had a little dog so I am not sure what type of level of correction would be appropriate for him, I know with shepherds a good and quick correction on a prong works wonders for stubborn minds.And of course a good reward when your dog complies.

It all depends on the drive, (hardness/softness), and temperament. I know a jack R that I could give a strong pop that I would lift it off it's feet and he would act as if nothing happened, (with a prong, it was a different issue)..

With regards to the Original poster, I guess that you should try working with a drag leash on a prong.. Later, you might decide to transition to an e-collar.. The newer models are having a smallar (collar casing) and won't be heavy on the neck.. Do you have the basic Dog obedience DVD? I would start there and probably also recommend the e-collar dvd...

Regards,

I agree completely that often compulsive barking/chewing is a result of not enough exercise, but she will bark like this after hours of exercise. She's normally very quiet, it's only a problem when we have guests.

She has a pretty strong drive, and ignores most corrections - although I have not tried a prong. I wasn't sure a prong was a good idea, she's only 16 pounds.

I suspect that her barking isn't as much of a "hey, barking is fun!" thing as much as it is a "children freak me out!" thing. Is there a way for her to learn that she's safe around children? She's been fearful of children since we got her, I'm not sure why.

The drag leash is a good idea, I haven't tested whether or not I have to be holding the leash for her to stop barking (I mentioned that if she's on leash she doesn't bark, right?)

Thanks everyone

John,
We do have a King Charles Cavalier(my Son's pup) but he is 6 lb right now ,he was so sweet and soft(temperament wise) but lately he is acting like one of our Shepherds, a bit honory.I can't say I will lift him up off the ground from his collar today but I can see doing that in the future. We have never had a small dog actually I don't count him half of the time cause I forget we have him (he's always with my son).My husband and I said we would NEVER have a little dog and well we gave in.

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I can't say I will lift him up off the ground from his collar today but I can see doing that in the future.

A mini-prong should do the trick.. The key aspect in using the prong is that you can administer a correction with minimal force (ie. you won't lift your dog off the ground).

Heather - how about trying to have children throw little pieces of hot dog to your dog. (Careful, however, you don't want them rewarding your dog for barking at them.)
If you feel that it's a socialization issue with children, you should try and take him out more often around people and children. (have the kids throw him treats) (I said "throw" since I'd rather the dog not take it from a child's hand and by mistake nip the kid).

Did you try the drag leash?

Regards,

As for an update: I tried to drag leash, and that helped a little but you could tell she was still stressed out. Then we started doing "group walks" (my younger brother and a few friends came along for her walk on sundays) and she's improved dramatically. I think that before we were so worried she'd nip one of them that we tried to keep them apart and didn't allow her to get comfortable with them...the walks really helped with that.

We also enrolled in a class in the area for fun, and some of the other people bring their kids with them. That has also seemed to help because she's learning to work for us and not be distracted by the kids.

Thanks everyone.

Just my two nips ha ha, sorry joke to self one of those days,
I have 2 min pins and we all know what yappers they can be,
they also tend to be quite dominant and easily spoilt they live in, when they were young we spent a lot of time getting them used to kids, I was lucky as my son brought lots of them home,
which helped so if you don't have a 2 legged pup,get a cousin/friends kids etc to fill in, and feed,like no tomorrow, like John suggested and I agree don't reward for barking, just try time it well I know it is not easy!
Also let the kids just hang around, no touching just talking walking around, we found our one min-pin did not like to be picked up, so we don't allow people to, we tell them straight out. The other one loves kids to bits and barks out of excitement just make sure yours is definitley stress, some pups can be mouthy and bark aholics this tends to make kids a bit nervous which the dog picks up! And so the behaviour is reinforced.
Good luck hope this all works out, don't give up.