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How do I stop Barking?
I have two Pomeranians and they are terrible about barking. I know they are known for being barkers but good grief there has to be some way to control it. Buddy starts it and then Doc joins in. They are the same age(2years and 10months). I have tried the pennies in a pop can. Worked for awhile now they ignore it. I bought one of those things that they can only hear. Same thing worked for awhile now then ignore it. I use "Quiet" as the command but........... Help! Does anyone have any ideas?
Answers
Yes! As many of you know, I am a serious Victoria Stillwell fan. She has a TV show on Animal Planet called Its Me or the Dog and is an amazing dog trainer who trains by using positive reinforcement methods rather then dominating ones. You can read up on her here.
She suggests that to stop barkers, you must first train them to bark on command! Use lots of treats and praise.
Make sure your Poms are getting enough exercise - looong walks are important for tiring out young, rambunctious pups.
Finally, the pennies in a can and other tricks stop working for a few reasons. a) the dogs begin to associate the human with the noise (make sure you hide your noisemaker!) b)they just get used to it.
Mix it up. You have to really distract them. Are they barking at each other or out the window? If its at each other, a good 45 minute walk should do the trick.
If its something they specifically bark at, like something happening out the window, remove the temptation. Block off that room, maybe even use gates or Scat Mats to discourage them from hanging out in their 'barking area.'
Finally, the most important thing of all is consistence. One walk won't help, but daily walks will. Hire a neighborhood kid to do it if you are too tired or your schedule doesn't allow it.
Let us know how its going!
