Control Barking!

Im going mad with Harvey's constant barking at things e.g the door, other dogs, neighbours passing the house.I dont mind him barking its just sometimes he goes really crazy and its hard to get him to stop, he sounds aggressive and people are wary but he's really not, he's very territorial only barks in or near the house never anywhere else. I know he wont completely stop barking that would be unatural but does anyone have any ideas how i could control so that maybe he barks a few times and then i get him to stop or something of the likes, any ideas???

Hi Tori There are different types of barking for example boredom/ fear/ request/ warning/ excitement/protection, in this instance it sounds like the last two.
Barking is a natural way for dogs to communicate and it is not really something we should try to stop altogether, we can work with it though until we achieve an acceptable level of barking.

One technique to use is distraction, this works very well with Terriers (and Schnauzers or dogs who love squeaky toys) and involves squeaking a hidden toy to get the dogs attention. Buy a squeaky toy and keep it just for distraction purposes. Let the dog play with the toy, squeak and hide it until the dog is familiar with it then put it away. When the dog barks at something outside keep the toy hidden from view and squeak it, the dog should be distracted from barking and go to search for it and after searching he will have forgotten about barking . It is best to put the toy away when using it for distraction rather than to let the dog find it because you don't want to reward the barking with a toy. Play with the toy occasionally so the dog continues to recognise it

You can also teach your dogs to bark and hush on command. To start with you need a prompt, a situation which causes the dog to bark naturally for instance when someone knocks at the door or rings the bell.

Take some favourite/high value treats like chicken pieces and stand inside the door with the dog...
..arrange for someone like a family member to stand on the other side of the door and to ring the door bell immediately after they hear you say the word 'bark' , when the dog barks praise him in a pleased voice,
..now show him a treat while he is barking and he should stop barking in order to take the treat (he can't bark and eat at the same time) . The moment he stops barking say the word 'hush' and let him sniff the treat for five seconds so there is a clear pause then give him give him the treat and say good dog in a pleased voice.

Repeat the game until the dog gets the idea. You can then fine tune it to allow a certain number of barks before you say 'hush',this will allow the dog to do his job of alerting you to the fact strangers are around . When he has got the idea gradually stop the treat and just give praise.

Great advice Meg.
I will try the 2nd training on the girls.
They bark at every little thing some days more than others and it can get a bit anoying.

I know what you mean Tori about them looking aggressive.

Asti is extremely territorial at home as well I must try that with the squeaky toy as well, never thought of that one. I leave the radio or tv on all day for her (a medium volume) to drown out noises outside. You soon notice the difference if you don't have any sound on, she's barking at every little thing Even though I am at home with her most of the time.

Wow some great advice there, thank you so much , i must try these tomorrow see how it goes. It is excitment and protection that he barks for because when he sees someone he knows he goes mad or another dog he wants to play with(his tail wagging the whole time) and on the other hand it is a different bark he uses when strangers approach the house but we shall work on playing it down a bit.