Barking, Barking!
Silence Please!

Why the Barking? I am generally a very easy going person and I must say a very tolerant one. But there are somethings that really annoy me, a continuously barking dog and a continuously talking human!

I have a son that starts talking the minute we are in the car together. He continues until we get out; if its a very long trip I have to tell him to "Shut Up" already!

He is a teenager, and I don't want the communication channel to end, so I need to be very careful in how I handle it.

Chihuahua's are notorious yappers and they have this high pitched toy dog bark that goes right through me. Now, one little yapper may be tolerable, but get 4 of them going and going and going (get my point), is asking a lot of my patience!

The cause needs to be determined before taking steps to eliminate it.

Chihuahua's are hyper vigilant, their alerting bark can go into overdrive easily. I had to teach them the "enough command" and I had to start with the alpha alerter first, and work my way down the pack order.

The most common reasons are boredom and loneliness.

Yes, they do it to communicate, and to alert if a stranger or scary object is nearby.

They do it during play. For attention, not from loneliness exactly, more like a "hey look at me!" type.

If it's another dog, it's a territorial thing and more than likely your dog will sound the alarm.

The Yard Dog

Loneliness and Boredom

So, are you aware that they may be annoying the neighbor?

Get ahead of the game. Don't wait for your neighbors to complain, go and ask them if they hear your dog while you are gone.

So How Do We Stop Them?

• Leave the radio or the television on, if they’re indoor dogs, or plug one in outdoors. It gives them a feeling of company.
• Give him something to keep him occupied while you’re gone. A time-consuming, entertaining toy works well.
• If possible get another dog for companionship. Two dogs will often keep each other company and entertained when alone. Don’t do this unless you are prepared to deal with having two dogs (or more)like me.
• Doggie Daycare close to where you work may be a better choice.

Well, its time to start training and stop yelling, afterall this alerting is only natural. behavior.

Just as the human who likes to talk will do so if they have a captive audience.I am still working on the constant talker, but as for the barking I learned a lot from Dr. Dennis Fetko's ebook: “Dr. Dog”.

With Dr. Dog’s FAST, EASY, FUN Behavior Solutions, you can quickly and easily train your dog to...

• Bark only to warn you and stop when you say “Quiet!” (After a week your overjoyed neighbors might even bake you brownies)...
• He'll explain why they do it and how to train your dog to alert only when you or your property could be in danger.