My Dad Is Selling My Dog Next Week!

[seth]

Ok, I went to my aunts house for 5 days and came back and decided to get rid of my dog. We got a barking complaint from the neighbors. So my dad plans on selling him now. I told him I'm gonna buy my dog a bark collar but he still wont budge. What should i do? I am truly in crisis I dont want him to go. I have had him seince i was 4. Any ideas to save him?

 

[Chac]

Ok, I went to my aunts house for 5 days and came back and decided to get rid of my dog. We got a barking complaint from the neighbors. So my dad plans on selling him now. I told him I'm gonna buy my dog a bark collar but he still wont budge. What should i do? I am truly in crisis I dont want him to go. I have had him seince i was 4. Any ideas to save him?

Dog Training School should sort out the barking problem

 

[splashluff]

Could you give us more info? How old is he? How much training has he recieved? How much time does he spend outside? What kind of yard do you have? What triggers his barking? Is he neutered? Is he chained ever? How much exercise & attention does he recieve daily? What have you been doing to stop him when he barks?

Generally, I disagree with bark collars because excessive barking is usually caused by underlying issues. However, if it means keeping your pup, a bark collar or possibly surgical de-barking should be considered. If he barks incessently with you, chances are he will bark in his next home which could result in him being passed around to a bunch of homes. Which would suck.

I've known people who have had great success with penny cans (throw a sealed can with pennies inside when the dog barks, startling him and discouraging him from barking), spray bottles, citronella spray collars, more exercise & less time outside, etc, etc.

 

[Synirr]

...or possibly surgical de-barking should be considered.

I'm shocked anyone would recommend that
As much as I love my dog, (or possibly because I love her,) I'd almost rather have her rehomed than have her debarked if it came to that. Debarking is one of those surgeries of convenience, on par with declawing and tail docking/ear cropping, and should only be used as a last resort after you have tried all other methods possible. Only a very, very small minority of dogs have such a strong psychological urge to obsessively bark that it can't be controlled in some other, more humane fashion.

Try to convince your dad to let you enroll your dog in obedience training, and start taking your dog for loooong walks during the day if you can. Most dogs love to walk with you. Even if they have a yard to play in, that doesn't fulfill their instinct to move forward to same way that walking does, and walking with him will serve to tire him out so much that he won't have all that pent up energy at the end of the day that he focuses on barking for lack of something better to do. You could also play games with him to tire him out. Convince your dad to let you try this routine for a couple of days and see if it works

 

[splashluff]

Honestly, I know many GREAT dog owners who love their dogs that have had to resort to de-barking. I would never de-bark unless the dog not only barked incessently and nothing helped, but also if neighbors were calling animal control. In this situation, the dog is being complained about by neighbors, and the OP's Dad is going to sell the dog! I definitely feel it's a last resort, but for some dogs it is necessary if everything else fails... I don't feel it relates to docking/cropping because that is purely aesthetic, while this is a matter of keeping their dog or giving it away.

I guess I should've mentioned... see a behaviorist and explore EVERY training method before considering bark collars or debarking.

 

[seth]

Ok, we think we have found solution. The dog is living in my room and i have to walk him 2 times a day and let him run around in the back yard every 2 hours. And both my brothers are pitching in. We just have to get final approval from dad. Ill tell how it goes. Oh ya we bought this ultrasonic thing that whenever he barks it sends out this ray that hurts his ears. I know its mean but it is our only choice.

 

[Synirr]

Awesome seth, I bet your dad will approve of the plan
Good luck!

Honestly, I know many GREAT dog owners who love their dogs that have had to resort to de-barking. I would never de-bark unless the dog not only barked incessently and nothing helped, but also if neighbors were calling animal control.

I dunno... I don't want to get into an argument about it, but I think it sometimes takes a lot of time and effort to change an unwanted behaviour, and people often take the easy route and just debark instead. That's what I meant when I said it's a procedure of convenience, it means you don't have to put forth the effort of seeing a dog behavioural specialist and taking your dog to training courses etc if need be. Obviously not everyone is willing to go to such extreme measures for their animals, but they should be, if you ask me. Debarking does nothing to help the animal, since it will continue to go through the motions of barking, and obsessive barking is often the result of an underlying problem, either environmental or psychological, that needs to be addressed. Debarking just gets rid of the symptoms, not the problem.

I don't feel it relates to docking/cropping because that is purely aesthetic, while this is a matter of keeping their dog or giving it away.

Do you approve of declawing, then? Lots of cats end up in shelters every year for destroying their owner's precious furniture.

 

[KathyM]

I agree with Synirr - debarking is a very OTT suggestion for this problem, especially when we have no idea as to how much work has been put into stopping this problem. Training classes and better stimulation should solve the problem if they haven't been used already (and if they have, rehabilitative therapy from a GOOD behaviourist), and if the owners can't provide that to an obviously under-stimulated dog, then rehoming is a far better solution for this dog in the long run.

Edited to add: keeping this dog confined to the bedroom for the majority of his life is not going to solve his issues, but make them worse. Please speak to your dad about training classes/behaviourists (be careful to find positive only trainers/behaviourists). An anti-bark collar of any kind doesn't solve the issue, it just punishes your dog for a behaviour that is basically telling you your dog needs help, not punishment. Your dog doesn't realise his behaviour is unacceptable, so why punish him for not knowing? I'm glad at least it's not an electric collar, but even spray collars should only be used with professional help, not by the general public with no training on their use.

 

[seth]

We just had our first night tonight and it worked out good. So far he has been outside 2 times today and im gonna walk him after lunch. Also last night i taught my 7 year old dog sit and lay down. I am working on shake, lol.

 

[Jessica13]

So glad its worked out with your dog!

My lab was an awful barker. As a puppy he would bark constantly ALL night! Neither of our other labs did it but he was terrible. Luckily we never got any complaints, but that was only because we live in the country!! He has finally mostly stopped barking. He will still bark loudly when someone comes to the house but thats good. I stopped him but having him in my bedroom He only used to bark at night, but didn;t if he slept in my room, so i let him stay in there for a few months and now he even sleeps out in the kennels with no noise - Only when its not cold though, he's a precious little baby Also training not to bark (various techniques for this, find a class!) helped lots!

Im really shocked someone would suggest de-barking any dog!!! IIts illegal over here (rightly so!) but to me thats even more disgusting and barbaric than de clawing a cat!!! Dogs bark, if you cant put up with some barking you shouldn't have one!! Some things vets will do in the States, and elsewhere, are truely disgusting...

 

[splashluff]

I didn't say "go de-bark your dog, right NOW!" I only said it should be used as a last resort, along with shock collars. A lady on my Flyball team has a Papillon that was rescued from a puppy mill, he psychologically needs to bark at everything... it is not healthy. He was going to be siezed by animal control if she did not de-bark him, after seeing several behaviorists and trying everything else. If you have a dog that barks obsessively and is destined to be handed off to different homes, is ending up in a shelter better than getting a humane surgery? It is not natural & should not be used for convenience, but in the world we live in with many people living in apartments or just a few feet away from their neighbors, many people and animal control are NOT friendly towards dogs who bark habitually. If the behavior cannot be curbed, it is sometimes a necessary evil. I would never, ever debark my dogs, I am very dedicated to them and I'd do anything for them. But for some people, it can be a viable option.

About de-clawing cats, I don't own cats and I'm not going to get into that. Your cat cannot be siezed by animal control for tearing up a couch, meaning it wouldn't be absolutely necessary to de-claw. So, just based on that I disagree with it. There are also special nail covers for cats to prevent cats clawing where they aren't supposed to.

 

[Synirr]

A lady on my Flyball team has a Papillon that was rescued from a puppy mill, he psychologically needs to bark at everything... it is not healthy.

Absolutely, but the dog still "barks" after debarking, and it's still not healthy, it's just that the neighbors don't complain anymore. If you've spent months trying to fix the problem and haven't made any progress, and have tried explaining the situation to your neighbors, and have done everything possible including rehab therapy etc, that's the only time it should be considered. Even after debarking I think therapy should still be pursued unless you've already been working on it for at least a year with no signs of success, because like you said, it's not healthy.

 

[Neal]

Good luck seth, just start crying if your dad doesn't listen to you, and say if the dog goes, so do you. It might seem like what a spoilt brat would do, but this is your dog that you've owned and loved since you were 4, I know I wouldn't let any of my dogs go. You could also try stones in a bottle, similar to the can, and whenever he misbehaves, shake the bottle. I'm not saying you or anyone hits your dog, but if he misbehaves, don't hit him, shout at him, hitting him will make him feel like he's getting attention which he probably wants, but if you shout at him all the time (I doubt you do), he won't take any notice of you. Just teach him something like 'No' instead of saying different things all the time like 'Shutup', 'Quiet' 'Oi!' (Yes, I do it with my dog saying everything). Taking him for walks will probably stop him barking too, and also you say it's when you were on holiday, he must of been missing you...

Neal

 

[JackDemp528]

Exactly, Synirr is so right. De-barking is inhumane and cruel, and even after it, the dog still "barks" but now the sound is a million times worse than barking itself. Why can't people just work with the dogs for a forever solution instead of hurting the animal, or making it go through a painful surgery just for the convenience of "Well now I don't have to waste my time walking the dog, so it gets tired and won't bark." Dogs in puppy mills get de-barked, but rather than going to the vet to get it done, they shove a rod down their throat to rupture their vocal cords. How horribly cruel. We get in so many dogs at the shelter who have gone through this surgery, and it's a waste, the dog still makes noises, that sound worse than barking, to me. People need to learn that having an animal means taking time to work with them, not just looking for the easy way out. I spend over 3 hours a day walking my dogs, and spending time with them. And they are no problem at all, and I have 5 of them. No one complains about their barking either.

So I would just keep up the good work, spend time with your boy, and let him know that he doesn't need to bark at everything. Just keep him on walks, play with him, and the more training the better. The more a dog learns and the more you teach him the happier he will be.

And about the declawing, there are so many other solutions to that. You can get more scratch posts in the house, you can also clip your cat's nails, which is what we do at the shelter, or just get nail caps, they're all safe, and humane ways to solve the scratching problem.

Good luck with your dog.

 

[samyboy]

rooled up newspaper across the back side, it will never hurt them unless your forceably trying to but the noise makes them jumo and they soon learn not todo whatever it is they do wrong

our dog never ever barks unless i playfully get him to chase the cat