Do you let your dog bark?

 My dogs aren't what I would consider huge barkers. Well, let me take that back. Dakota rarely if ever barks for the sake of barking. She does the husky "talk" to me which is annoying but funny at the same time. If I go "shhhhhh" she will quiet down - most of the time. She doesn't bark outside at all. She never barks at people or other dogs. She "talks" to them though with a wooooowoooo!

Neiko barks at other dogs when he is on the chase and can't catch the dog. Or he'll bark at Lily to get her to play. That's it though. He never barks out the window or at other people. He's not what I would consider a barky dog at all.

Lily - she's my barker. She barks out of fear and when her guardian instincts kick in. So, she'll bark at people if they approach the house or car. She barks at people that she's afraid of when we're out and about. And she barks when she's playing and gets really excited.

I don't let them bark outside in my yard. I don't want to annoy the neighbors so if they start barking, I call them inside. I'm teaching Lily an "ok, thank you" command for when she goes in to Ms. Guard Dog mode.

Sparky so far barks at the kids when they get to wild, I love it! He's telling them to stop it! LOL And the only other time is if he is out on his lead, which is usually to go potty, he barks when he is done. Oh and he barks, cries, whines, and yelps in his "house" when he wants to get out and tear up the kids toys LOL! But I let him bark, I think its his way of talking to us! LOL

I never ahd a problem teaching a dog not to bark until I got Mal. Now I want to know, really, how you actually PREVENT a dog who is dead set on barking from doing so, because the beahvior is SO self-reinforcing.

Training helps, yeah, but there is not a 'let' about it. Ugh. 

Cait (contemplating duct tapethis morning ;p) 

Pwca

I never ahd a problem teaching a dog not to bark until I got Mal. Now I want to know, really, how you actually PREVENT a dog who is dead set on barking from doing so, because the beahvior is SO self-reinforcing.

 

Training helps, yeah, but there is not a 'let' about it. Ugh. 

 

Cait (contemplating duct tapethis morning ;p) 

LOL! I discourage Sasha from barking, but the only way to prevent her from barking is to limit access to things she wants to bark at. She has a God-given duty (in her mind) to alert any and all that she's watching, so don't even think about being a problem. *roll eyes* The upside is that no one will ever sneak into my house in the middle of the night. 

I have Beagles...they have voices LOL. LOUD one's...they bark when it's supper time. The other time of day they bark a bit, is when the neighbors let out their dogs and then they ALL run the fence and bark together, neighbor dogs included.

Aside from those times which are very specific...they do not bark. I have trained them both via remote e collar not to bark after I say QUIET! They don't wear the collar now, and haven't for a looong time. They aren't in house barkers, that's not ever been an issue and I think that might drive me insane. My Mom's dog is an indoor barker and she is LOUD...*headache*

Cleo does not bark, the breed is not known for it. Of my pack Nonnie is the designated "something weird is happening" barker...she is allowed a few barks...then I investigate and tell em quiet.

My neighborhood I would say...is a barky one. Lots of folks have dogs...and tho MOST do not allow night barking every now and again a dog will bark all night, which is extremely irritating...it's hardly ever close by...we live on a hill and sound carries...as occasional is I suppose better than what others have to put up with!

 Thankfully Kirby isn't much of a barker.  He will let out the occasional bark or two if he sees something off and he wants to alert the family, but other than that he is usually pretty good.  The only barking problem I have had to work on is when he is on leash and sees other dogs.  He has a mixture of fear reactivity and frustration when on leash around other dogs.  He has gone far and now doesn't bark when we are just passing dogs on the street, but if he is around another dog he doesn't know, on leash for an extended period he has a tendency to revert to barking.

 Outside of that he does know a quiet command though how well he will listen to it can vary depending what is stimulating his barking in the first place. I also taught him speak for fun.
 

Kenya never barked once (besides a few stiffled "wfff"s) before we got Coke.  Coke barks when people come to the door, and that gets Kenya barking.  Luckily, I just say "ok quiet!" and they stop.  I do let them get a few barks in before I tell them to stop.  I like to know when someone is coming.  The other night I was home alone, in the shower, and both dogs started barking.  Generally Kenya will only bark if someone is actually at the door (and as soon as they enter she shuts up and doesn't care).  I was scared b/c DH wasn't supposed to be home for over an hour.  I got out of the shower and had a razor blade in one hand and a spray bottle of bleach in the other!  I think it was just the neighbor kids b/c no one was there.  Sometimes they get into our yard and have a jumping contest on my agility stuff without my permission.  Every once in a while, Coke barks once or twice at a squirrel or barks at one of us while we are playing, but that's about it.  They do not bark on walks or at training. 

 Bugsy doesn't bark - for months we thought he couldn't.  At about 18 mos he would on a rare occasion go Woof when he was disturbed by some huge sound when he was sound asleep.  We tried for ages, unsuccessfully, to teach speak.  He just doesn't 'get' barking.  Now at 2.5 he can -again its rare- get worked up by the kids riding/playing/screaming in the cul de sac to the point of going woof and seemingly looking around for who did that

But we have discovered that if you make a howling noise or play the trumpet or pretend to play the trumpet he will aroo and mumble.  It is absolutely hysterical.  I working on it to be a stupid pet trick because it is so funny.

He has never barked at anything away from our house and still only does a woof, mostly if he is really considering making a noise he makes a mfft sort of noise.  DH would prefer he barked I like that he's stealth 

Cheyanne only barks when there is something to bark at. If she barks a little too much she knows what "that's enough" means.

Lillie barks when Cheyanne barks. She also barks to let me know she is wanting something but all I have to do is give her a certain look or tell her quiet and she stops.

Kujo speaks on command. She also whines at me if she has to go potty. But other than that she is quiet.

Ginger oh Ginger. You cant even tell she is around. She doesnt whine,bark, or growl. She is one happy pup. 

My dogs bark at people who approach the house. We live in the country with a lane, so for them to bark, it means someone is coming to specifically see us. I don't mind them barking under these circumstances. They stop on their own once they see that we are friendly to whomever it is. 

In the daytime, if they see another dog or animal, they bark (not for long) and it doesn't bother me. At night, though, or early morning, I don't allow them to bark more than a couple times. I make them come in. I HATE to lie in bed listening to the dogs across the way barking and barking for HOURS! How do those people sleep??? Anyway, I don't let them bark inside or at night.  

Harry is a barker.  He barks when people come to the door, which is good, I guess, because it lets us know someone is there (especially good if I'm home alone), but he stops when they come in and greet him.  He also barks when he wants to play.  This is when it gets annoying.  We have a friend and his dog staying with us, and Harry and the guest dog love to play together.  Harry will bark like a nutcase if the other dog ignores him during a play session.  I would LOVE any tips people have to train him to stop barking once he starts (a "be quiet" command, I guess).  I don't mind the occassional bark, after all he's a dog, it's what they do, but I would like to get him to stop when he gets nutty about it.  Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

'let them"?? lot of people have zero ability to stop their dog from barking. One of my neighbors has a little yappy terrier, and they literally have tried everything, including a shock collar, to get the dog to stop- once he gets started, he just goes on and on and any intervention the owners try just stimulates him to keep going. The only thing that has worked to date is to catch the little monster and stick him in a dark crate in a quiet corner, he usually stops after 15 minutes or so in there.

Jewlieee

Dakota rarely if ever barks for the sake of barking. She does the husky "talk" to me which is annoying but funny at the same time. If I go "shhhhhh" she will quiet down - most of the time. She doesn't bark outside at all. She never barks at people or other dogs. She "talks" to them though with a wooooowoooo!

Once we get a house, I imagine that I'll cue her to "Quiet" if she does turn out to be a big barker in the backyard.  I definitely don't have a problem with normal barks and woo-woos, but I don't think the neighbors would be pleased with incessant barking.  Hopefully Honor won't bark a whole lot in a backyard, she doesn't really bark outside as it is!

Max isn't very "barky" so that has never been much of an issue.  He likes to stand at the window in the living room so he can see when someone is coming.  He stands  there wagging his tail, then when they come up the walk, he goes and stands at the door - still wagging his tail - but not barking, since he assumes anyone coming is coming to see him. He'll bark at a cat or a squirrel, but he'd never bark at a burglar.

Joyce