How to control barking in a multi-dog household?

I haven't posted on here in a while so to update those that don't remember me I have a Mini Schnauzer and 2 Affenpinschers and I'm getting a bit fed up of the noise.

Cues for barking are the obvious things like the doorbell and people coming into the house. If I let them in the front room they sit on the windowsill and bark at cats, squirrels, dogs and people walking up to the house.

In the back room (where we spend the majority of the day) they can see into the garden so not so bad, but any bird having the temerity to venture into the garden is also barked at, while the occasional cat/squirrel/fox will send them into a frenzy. I was just chatting to my neighbour on the doorstep and they were barking their heads off.

My youngest will also be set off by hearing next door enter or leave (he can't see them) and visitors entering a room, using the stairs or going to the loo in the night, he's quite happy as long as they are stationary!

They will also set one another off and the group barking thing just elevates the excitement levels. If I'm in the room and tell them to shush, Pepper, my Schnauzer, will, but the boys are oblivious and Pepper will start up again as soon as I leave the room.

We did try one of those Petsafe ultrasonic things but it seemed to have no effect
http://www.petsafe.net/intl/uk/produ...c-bark-control

Anything I can do?

J.

It's difficult because they probably all feed off of one another. Have you tried to teach Speak and Quiet on cue? That way you might be able to control the barking (could train them to self regulate, like three barks then you stop (quiet, treat), or at least get them to stop when you ask.

Or a quick and easy solution might be to cover the bottom half of your windows with stick on frosted film or one way mirror film? If they are so visually motivated.

Whenever you have a group of dogs the noise levels are always a lot more.

Perhaps block access to the windowsill so they can't jump up onto it and bark.

If our dogs are out the back and they see rabbits playing or whatever that sets them off, I call them in. Perhaps blinds would be an idea so the dogs can't always see out of the back.

When we have visitors our dogs all bark and I call them rather than tell them to quiet and they are sent to their beds for a biscuit. This ends the alert barking and then they settle.

I tend to ask our dogs to do something rather than telling them to stop barking. So come and lie down for example, or go on your bed works better than SHUTUP!

Thanks guys, some good idea's there.

Moon'sMum, I'm a bit wary of the speak/shush thing as so many people I know have managed the first but not the second!

Maisiesmum, I like the idea of telling them to do something, I can see how that might work.

I tried screening off the bottom half of the french doors but it didn't really work because they all sit up on a futon chair thing so they can still see the fence and consequently any cat, fox or bird on it. And I really don't want to have to block the whole thing!

OK, so I'll work on the training but that will only help if I'm in the room, anything I can do to stop the barking when I'm not? For instance when they are in the back room and I'm chatting at the front door?

J.

I found that since ive been giving Millie regular exercise (got a bit lazy over the cold snap))

she calmed right down
I also found that allowing her to follow me around the house and not make a fuss about it also helped calm her barking and hardly nottice her doing it now.

Can you not put them in a crate or in a baby gate when you answer the door???

Do you provide them with things to do like chews, kongs ect? Part of the barking is usually down to lack of stimulation.

Have to say I disagree with this, even if they are in the middle of eating or having bones they will still bark if they hear someone at the door, and anyway they can't be chewing for the whole day on the off chance that someone will knock at some point!

I know the main issue is having more than 1 dog, when we just had Pepper the barking was easily managed.

J.

If somebody comes to the door and the dogs continue to bark, I usually just excuse myself for a second to go tell the dogs to get on their beds. Usually if I tell Lady to go on her bed she will stop barking and then the others follow suit when I say enough.

If one of the dogs tends to start more than the others I would concentrate on instructing the noisiest first.

We have the same problem, Bruce being the guard dog of the house is the only one to sit on the window seat, which doubles as a storage unit too, the girls all sleep until he starts. I have tried the Petsafe Ultrasonic and it had no effect either, now I have trained Bruce to ''go to Kitchen'' on command, he will settle there as our kitchen window is high enough that he can not see out, and our back door has no glass in the bottom. Its a hard one I sympathize with you. Thankfully once Bruce goes to the kitchen he stays quiet and the girls stop barking too

I think it's fairly obvious in OP's situation that the barking is caused by external triggers - door noises, doorbell, animals in the garden etc. rather than boredom barking.


I second the window film suggestion, I had it in the old house to stop my two barking at people walking dogs past (public footpath ran down the private lane out the front) and I've used it here on the french doors to block the view into the garden (neighbour has loads of bird feeders so attracts all the local wildlife into our gardens)
It does let a lot of light in and you can get varying opacities and designs. I just went for plain stuff but there's lots of decorative ones out there too!


It's cut down the noise from my two a lot but we were reluctant to put it on the front windows of the new house - we have venetian blinds fitted now and have found that by keeping furniture away from the window, we can keep the blinds at an angle where they let light in but limit the dogs' view to outside.
Just got to tackle the reaction to noise now - Casper does do guarding wuffs at the sound of next door's door too, doorbells (thankfully neither neighbour have one though - but doorbells on TV/the radio will set him off!), cars beeping their horn outside, etc., but I've noticed he's reacting less as time goes by (but in our situation, we've just moved here - if this has been a constant in yours then giving it time may not be the answer). I'm thinking of maybe downloading some sound files of the noises that trigger him off and just desensitizing him to them slowly (perhaps getting a day off work so I can do it knowing the neighbours are out and not getting disturbed by his barking!). For now I just give a "That's enough" command and call him over and fuss him for being quiet - the dumb blonde dog is easily distracted

Whilst stopping the visual can help and no doubt it does. Have you thought about teaching them a Speak and Quiet?

I've found Benjie is the only one who really barks so I taught it him on cue, then taught the quiet. So in theory you teach all your dogs to bark on cue and then be quiet on cue separately until they're really good - and then practice it with 2 then add your 3rd, then they should be quiet when told when they're together?

Obviously you'd have to go through the training it everywhere and it may take time but along with the window film things it should work..

HTH

BTW where are the updated pictures of them?