I hope Lynne doesnt call on mine jk, Shrek has gotten much much better but when we first moved in he was afraid of his own shadow and barked at everything!

I would definately try and approach them and see what their thoughts are on it first. Obviously they do not take the time to work with their dog but a bark collar could be very beneficial. Make sure to arm yourself with tons of information before you go, your best plan of attack in this matter is knowledge. Hopefully they are not the type that think any correction is "harmful to my dog" and will be open minded to the collar and more exercise .

Thank you so much for your replies. We get along pretty well with the couple next door. They don't have children and neither do we, (my dogs are my children). I believe they are of the mindset of "as long as we take care of and feed our dogs well that's all they need". They feed high end dog food and have spent thousands at the vet for a rescue so it's not that they don't care for their dogs...they just don't have a clue on how to train them. I never see them run through any exercises with them like, fetch or obedience. But we do hear lots of yelling. Yelling because the dogs don't listen. I'm beginning to wonder who are the smarter beings next door?

I'm waiting to see how the are going to react to the letter I e-mailed them last night. They could take it well and be embarrassed by the whole thing or not so well, and get angry. If they ask for help I will mention the bark collar.

Thanks again!

I would throw treats over the fence everytime you go out to train.

Most of the time when dogs bark it is boredom, frustration or fear - there is definitely a mixture of all three here, I think. So teach the dog you mean good things.

At first, don't talk to the dog at all, just walk over (leave your dog in a sit away from the fence) toss some treats over and see if he will take them. Don't talk and try to make friends - just givbe him the treats and walk away.

At first, he might eat them then start barking again - but soon he will realize that when you are outside with your dog it means he gets treats too - then you become the awesome Lady with the Treats!

Then you can start taking quick breaks from your training to toss some treats over everytime the dog is quiet.

I know it's not the awesomest thing to have to train someone else's problem - but it has now become a problem for you. So if you take the "lead" so to speak and desensitize the dog to you, then he is no longer a problem for you.

Oh, and make sure you have yummy treats.

Asking first, of course. And specifying what they are and how small.


(If someone threw something over a fence to my dog I'd probably be on the phone with 911 before it landed.)


Good thinking, though!

Actually, I think training someone elses dog (with permission) is an awesome thing. It's fun and usually very quickly done as the dog hasn't had any 'real' interaction at all.
The last time I did it it took all of three hours over the course of a week with no compulsion at all, only verbal praise. And that was for recall.

I probably would have approached the neighbor with, 'would you like some help with this problem?'.
It's only barking for attention after all.

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

Wow, totally forgot to add the asking part. :O

As you already have a relationship with the neighbor and they don't seem to enjoy the barking either (try to bring the dog in) it will probably be an awesome idea to them!

 Quote: Carolyn Padron

? You know the ones that look like a birdhouse and have a range of 50ft? BTW my dog never barks at them!

I had to laugh, not at you, but when you suggested the birdhouse. Guess what? I have one and it works great on two of my three dogs.. But one of them thought it was a fun game to bark at the birdhouse and he knows it makes a weird sound to correct the barking. He kept barking directly at the bird house and wait for it to correct his barking, then continue.

It annoys the heck out of my sister.

Well, I got an answer back from the neighbors. He said that he apologizes and values our friendship. He has purchased a "Static Correction" collar from Petsmart and is going to start using it and try to teach the dog not to bark at us. He also mentioned that since he is a firefighter and is away from home a lot that this dog barking is the first defense his wife has as a warning if someone trespasses on their property.
I totally understand the part of early warning, that's one reason I got a GSD, but what doesn't make sense is why they are letting it bark at me??! I would never let my dog stand at the fence all day and bark at them!

Are there any training articles in the Leerburg library that cover this subject? I would like to send it to him to help him along. Although I don't think he gets it.

BTW...his dog doesn't doesn't mind me that much. It's my dog he can't stand.

Lindsay, that would be my luck...my neighbors dog would bark at the bark deterrant!