Barking

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tabate45
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Barking

Post by tabate45 »

Hey All, I am having a heck of time with Shyann barking after dark. The colder it gets, the more she hears and the more she barks. Shyann barks at everything, Coal is very selective. He stays in the house most of time and Shy is out most of the evening. I make them come in about 8pm because I don't want to make my neighbors mad. Does anyone have a suggestion how to make her stop barking? I will not put a shocker collar on her but what about a vibration collar. I am going nuts with all the barking and howling (like a wolf). Come spring I'm putting up a wood fence between us and the neighbors!!

Thanks.....
Tracey
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Pinoy51
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Re: Barking

Post by Pinoy51 »

Hi Tracey,
Shyann tries to communicate with you and you have to find out what it is she wants to tell you.
A dog never barks to annoy someone, although it definitely seems at times like it. :roll:
There are several reason for excessive barking: anxiety, boredom or attention seeking are the most common causes for dogs being left alone.
Playfulness and aggression are normally not the cause if the dog is alone.
Plenty of exercise can help, a tired dog seldom barks.
NEVER use shock collar or yell at her it will just make it worse. Also don't reward her to stop the barking it will re-inforce it as well.
Try not to leave her alone, see if she doesn't bark, which would point to anxiety. Most likely you need to see a behavior expert with Chow experience.
It will take patience and effort to change this, but don't wait with addressing it, Shyann can't figure it out herself.
Best regards
Pinoy51
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DrewBear
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Re: Barking

Post by DrewBear »

tabate45 wrote:He stays in the house most of time and Shy is out most of the evening. I make them come in about 8pm...
Have you tried bringing her indoors earlier? Maybe do it gradually in 30 min. increments?
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tabate45
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Re: Barking

Post by tabate45 »

Thanks guys. I would never us a shock collar on a chow. That is just not done. I guess I should explain that Shy is an odd duck. She came from the same (horrible) breeder that Coal came from. We got lucky with him, he is awesome and very gently. Shy gets away with murder with him. Shy is deformed and mentally crippled. It took her 2 years to show us puppy behavior. She has a deformed tail, bad back legs that have cost us plenty, and double dew claws on her back legs. Shy trusts no one but my husband and I. She is afraid of loud noises, surround sound, and sneezing. She has never responded to the typical noises other dogs respond to, like kissy sounds, hand clapping, etc. Sometimes she responds to a whistle but not often.

Our dogs come and go as they please. She doesn't bark much during the daylight hours, and never barks in the house at things outside. She barks at me when she wants me to come down on the floor and pet her. She is not lonely, bored or under exercised. She's like a wolf. She is very smart, and very quirky. She barks horribly at night in the winter. When there are crops in the field across from us and lots of leaves on the trees in the jungle part of the yard she is fine.

I guess I was just wondering if anyone else has a barker/howler like I do? I guess it's just another one of her quirks. We are going to put up a wood fence between us and the apts. on the other side of our property where she sits and does most of her barking. I wouldn't trade her or Coal for anything.

Cheers!
Rory's Dad
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Re: Barking

Post by Rory's Dad »

Pinoy makes a good point about the barking.

If it were attention seeking barking, she would give you other signs that are pretty easy to see. My dogs also have two very distinct barks. They have a guardian bark that is definitely a warning/alarm. They also have a whiny/pitchy bark that is curiosity (squirrel, rabbit, another dog, etc). See if you can make a differentiation.

My guess is she also hears things that you arent recognizing. Mine hear a car door or a motor noise that they know is not ours. They hear people a block away and think they are too close. Our 1 year old female will still bark occasionally at footsteps on the 2nd floor when she is downstairs. My male has learned to ignore those things.
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Pinoy51
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Re: Barking

Post by Pinoy51 »

Hi Tracey,
reading your second post, it is anxiety which is making her bark. Indeed it seems to be best to make her more comfortable with her surroundings then anything else.
My new rescue Sally is starting to show territorial barking now, when people show up in front of the house.
I will adress that by re-assurance and showing her that people in the street are no danger.
Simba and Nala learned that by now, they only bark, whimper, whine :D with some kind of reason.
A beetle on it's back not being able to get away being one of them :D
My observation, it helps to demonstrate the environment and introduce them to the areas perceived as dangerous and of course the persons or situations. The more often they're exposed with you around and nothing happens the less they will see it as a threat when they are exposed to the same scenario on their own.
I consider my guys as reasonable barkers by now :lol:
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Pinoy51
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kingalls
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Re: Barking

Post by kingalls »

Nahkohe is a barker and it's rather predictable when he will do his barking. Besides the yard invaders like rats, possums, and squirrels (a very distinct bark) - he barks to assert himself. I have observed him trot out on the deck and do his "manly" head roll and bark at nothing. The kitchen sink is right in front of the greenhouse window so he will position himself next to it because he knows I will most likely be there (washing dishes, etc.) and he does his "I need attention" barking. After a while, I think you will be able to distinguish the different barks to react accordingly.
As for collars, I have to admit that in the first year of his life, I did use a Citronella collar. Because he was developing a habit of barking after midnight, I couldn't let it escalate to a situation of being sited by Animal Control. Halfway through it, there was no citronella in it but when I put the collar on him at night he understood it was no barking time.
Karen, Kohana, Takoda, and our Chow Angels Nahkohe and Shiloh
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JasonandNat
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Re: Barking

Post by JasonandNat »

As mentioned, just pay attention. Now get a cardboard box, slam it down, don't say anything, then go look. It'll all get resolved in no time. You. Are. Being. Guarded. Enjoy the luxury.
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Mia
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Re: Barking

Post by Mia »

Mia is a barker.

I have learned that she considers it her job to be the guardian of the family. And, I want to reward that. Of course, I don't want crazy barking because the tree three blocks away started to shed some leaves, lol. (I'm being sarcastic here, but only because it sometimes seems like she's barking at nothing or something as inconsequential as that!)

Here's how I solved it...most of the time.

Since I believe Mia is trying to tell me that something unusual is happening outside, when she barks, I acknowledge it and thank her for letting me know. It seems to work. She seems to feel comforted by the fact that she has let know what is bothering her and I have let her know back that I hear and understand her.

Sounds silly, I know. But, after I have acknowledged her letting me know by barking, she seems happy to leave it al that and stop barking. The only time she doesn't stop is when someone is at the door. And, that is good. I don't want her to squelch her natural reactions. But, I do want to eliminate as much unnecessary barking as I can.

Just an idea...but it has helped Mia and I a lot.
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Rory's Dad
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Re: Barking

Post by Rory's Dad »

Along the same lines, my female reacts to sneezes. If i sneeze 50 feet away from her she comes running to see what happened. Literally, i have to reassure her that i am OK. Coughs don't bring the same reaction, not does my daughter's attempts at fake sneezes. Hard to figure what her thinking is, but its just something that concerns her.
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Pinoy51
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Re: Barking

Post by Pinoy51 »

agree with both,
Nala is the "sneeze" checker and Simba is the security guard. Acknowledging his effort (barking) is enough for him to stop. Even better, over time I was able to "explain" to him that certain situations (arriving of cars in front of the house e.g.) don't require his attention. If we're together, he is grunting in those situation and a simple nodding or even looking at him is sufficient.
Only Sally our newbie has still the tendency to bark at something only see or smelled by her.
Even the other Chows seem to be surprised sometimes :lol:
But it is getting lesser in amplitude and frequency every week. Patience and being a pack leader makes the difference.
Best regards
Pinoy51
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JammyJoy
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Re: Barking

Post by JammyJoy »

It is important to understand that dogs bark for various reasons.
tabate45
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Re: Barking

Post by tabate45 »

Thanks Everyone for the suggestions. My Shyann is a bit different than others. She has very bizzare behavior. She will become skiddish for no reason, bark at the moon, pretend she can't hear you or doesn't know her name, or she'll stick to your side all day, sit in her dad's lap for long periods of time. She was neglected by her breeder because she wasn't sellable; she has a deformed tail and bad back legs. I took her anyway and was only sorry for the first 2 days when she would come nowhere near us and had to spend the nights outside alone. Once I grabbed her, she became a cuddle bear. I have had to find unique ways to communicate with her and for the most part she is perfect. Just like to bark like a fool in the winter. So a wooden fence between my house and the apts beside us, and maybe some bushes that hold their leaves on the other side and we should be good. I thought about the citronella but with Shy you don't want to make a mistake. She is no dummy and holds a grudge, and to break her trust is not an option!!

Tracey
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Ursa's daddy
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Re: Barking

Post by Ursa's daddy »

I like that idea about the cardboard box. I am fostering a dog that probably was left out on a chain. He barks to get attention. I am trying to reduce that. Malachi, my male, took some time adjusting to country life. We have owls, and he would alert bark over them, even when he was in the house. It has been 4 years, and he is beginning to get used to the country sounds.
DakotaGA
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Re: Barking

Post by DakotaGA »

I realize that the breed is different. We had a rotty that did almost the exact same thing, but it would also happen during rainy periods as well. I got beyond irritated and finally took him back to my vet, that also taught obedience. As it turns out, our rotty had one deformed leg and they had to do surgery on it and he had immature arthritis that cold and or wet weather would irritate. He suggested a microwave heating pad put under the dog bed and a mild pain killer prior to bad storms. It fixed the barking almost overnight.
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Re: Barking

Post by Sirchow »

I think you are absolutely spot on with not wanting to break her trust. Chows are all different. Izzie had the use of a citronella collar as a younger lady as she used to just stand and look at us and bark because she could. She is not a nervous chow and just wants to make her feelings heard but sometimes her feeling lasted for two hours and nothing stopped her till we hit on the citronella collar and we only had citronella in it for about three days as she proved to be allergic so just putting the collar on after that was enough to realize we meant she had to be quiet! It worked to a point though she did just learn to bark quietly enough that she didn't set it off!!!

Bramble is entirely different...like so many chows she is terrified of sneezes, I could never raise my voice or even a rolled up newspaper smacked on a leg (mine not hers) she just went to pieces and lost all confidence in me for days. Isla is even worse than Bramble. If I even check her exuberant pulling on the lead her tail goes down and she cowers sideways and looks at me as if I was given to beating her with a stick frequently. :(

I am not sure what else you can do apart from your fence. Some dogs are bothered by the dark. Lighting in the back garden or bringing her in earlier might help. Reassurance that yes its ok. The other dogs out with her for company. Do you know her different barks well enough to know what she is saying. If you are not sure it would be interesting to video her and post on here so we could see what everyone thinks. I watched a programme where dog owners were able to say 9 times out of 10 what someone else s dog was barking at without being able to see. It is a pretty universal language.

Ours all bark when my neighbor uses her conservatory and when the lady whose window overlooks our garden dares to walk near the window. I think because they can see those areas the consider them part of their territory. The neighbor with the conservatory is allowed to sit happily at her garden furniture but if she walks to the other side of our fence then all four go ballistic at her. I think she has to sneak out in the dead of night to do the weeding there lol :lol:
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Siriol, Bramble, Izzie and Isla.
tabate45
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Re: Barking

Post by tabate45 »

Sirchow, you get exactly what I'm saying. Shyann has been quite all day and right now whe is out there howling and barking like a lunatic. She can hear those people in their apartments. Can't wait til spring to get that fence. It's a jungle on that side of the yard in the summer but the fence is needed desperately. The only other time she barks is when she wants me on the floor NOW. :lol:

Tracey
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