Shotgun anyone?

[JimmySpangle]

Blimey our dog is driving us nuts!

 

It is an 8 year old short haired Chihuahua and we have had it since 3 months old. It has been fine really, but recently the bl@@dy thing barks and barks and barks.

 

It has its bed near the back door in the kitchen/diner. It hears a leaf drop in New York or Adelaide and starts barking. It barks and barks and barks. Eventually, after an hour of this, my wife gets up and lets the bl@@dy thing out. It sprints down the garden, barks at the moon a few times and then sprints back in.

 

15 minutes later and the cycle starts over again.

 

So. We looked into the various solutions. Putting him in the front room was a possibility, but he wants to jump up on our leather sofas to sleep, and that is NOT happening! We covered them with chairs, books etc but he gets up anyway. So, the hallway. Nope. he wants to run upstairs and annoy us. I have a policy, no animals in the bedrooms. Full stop. No Ahhhhhs from you either, it is an animal and it isn't sleeping on my face!

 

So, the only two places left are outside, which is obviously not on, or back where we started.

 

Alternative was discouraging the bl@@dy barking. I looked at 3 possibilities. A collar that gives a shock - er, no thanks. A collar that sprays some hideous chemical, er no thanks. Or a stand alone ultrasonic bark noise thing.

 

So, I bought the ultrasonic bark thing. It hears his bark and emmits a 2 second high pitched sound that irritates. That'll do it. WRONG! He barks his nuts off barking at it. It is entertaining, oh yes. He barks, it bleeps back which he barks at and it bleeps back, so he barks.......

 

So, 12 guage it is then!

 

Ok, seriously. Anyone got any other ideas?

[kiptower]

after having the breed for over 25 years. one thing I have always found , because they are a pack dog, they get bored , on its own is a problem, I have seen your problem many times , and a good start is get a second 1 , rescue if you can depending where you live there are Chihuahua Rescue Groups, also the Kennel Club have details which they will give you

 

A group that i would suggest is > British Chihuahua Club

 

if you want any more info PM me

 

my 2 on the left

[JimmySpangle]

Oh, I do appreciate it - but the thought of another one makes we want to reach for the noose!

[kiptower]

you would be surprised how 2 together entertain each other , my 2 play like kittens and 1 is 10 with a heart problem and the other , which is his nephew is 8 , they are great with kids and will do anything for attention of people, door entry rings and they are out on the doorstep waiting,

 

1 on its own does get hyper and often the barking is , attention seeking or the dog trying to rule anything that it see's or hears

 

if you can watch the Dog Wisperer a lot can be gained from what he does , and he is Mexican , where the woowie's come from

 

also a lot on the site I posted

 

Just think what it was when we had 5 and took them out, the breeder we got ours from as rescues had 11, and walked the lot on her own

[Sweeney Todd]

Of course, if buying a second doesn't resolve things, you can always look at getting a third or fourth to see if that improves the situation...

[JimmySpangle]

Thanks. That makes me feel so much better now. :D

 

[kiptower]

sweeney how do you think we landed up with 5 at one time :D

[JimmySpangle]

The funny side is that the dog wags its tail and barks at the very device designed to discourage barking.

[kiptower]

its simply trying to show its the boss, he thinks its what he should be doing for you , protecting you etc

 

simple thing dried beans in a sealed can rattle it close to him when he barks , because it will shock him it will have an effect , BUT never make a fuss of him when you do it just look him straight in the eye's and say NO loud a few times, BUT no fuss etc just ignore his responses , after a short while you wont need the tin , just speak the word NO in a sharp voice, when he starts to take notice of you saying NO then get the wife etc to do the same

[JimmySpangle]

Oh, we have been there and done that. He was fine as I say. It is just over the last coupole of months that he worships the great moon god of waggies by barking all the blasted time.

 

His lordship is currently sleeping it off in front of the fire. Tempting to just make the fire a little larger with the addition of one furry sausage!

[kiptower]

wont let the wife see you reply, she worships her wowies, i think she would be pulling the trapdoor lever on you :rolleyes:

[JimmySpangle]

Nahhhh. We love him to bits. He is a real character and is a lovely dog. It is just this barking that is doing us in.

[Undercover-Elsa]

Hi Jimmy,

All good advice so far! The miniature breds do tend to get the first and last word in, to make up for their size, bless em.

A few other strategies you could try, if you haven't already:

A cuddly (dog safe) toy around his size, to cuddle up to

An igloo type bed, making him feel more enclosed and secure.

Try adjusting his feeding times..if you normally feed him just before bedtime, feed him earlier, or vice versa

Tire him out mentally and physically before bedtime. Not just a good walk but games and fun training you can do from the settee while you watch TV eg hide his favourite toy and encourage him to find it, chase a ball etc..then, importantly, allow him to wind down then put him to bed kindly but firmly before you go to bed, then you're still around to correct him if he's noisy.

Finally, and you're going to think I'm mad saying this, one of the best ways to stop a dog barking is..

to teach him to bark!

That way, you are calling the shots, and the natural result of teaching the "speak on command" is that it includes "Stop on command".

At the moment, he doesn't understand what you want him to do. In his mind, he's barked and it brings you downstairs, then you bark too. He needs to understand that it's OK to bark sometimes, but not others, and how to understand your signals, as pack leader.

 

Start while he's already barking by saying your chosen word eg "Speak!!" together with a hand signal (I use a "quacking" action with my hand-now I don't need to say a word) Fun and excitement. Praise him.

Then, go on to doing it when he's not barking, until he does bark. Praise him.

(This is sounding like a hymn, I'm sure you get the drift .

Then...once he'll do it when YOU tell him, while he's barking praise him then say your chosen word eg "Quiet!" or "Enough!" or, like the excellent Dog Whisperer mention above, "Shhhtzzzz!"

Use a different hand signal eg holding it up like a traffic stop signal. Keep it calm, firm and quiet..(the higher your voice the more excitement it conveys and the less the dog listens)

Praise him as soon as he stops. Calm, loving praise.Titbit if it helps.

Repeat and reinforce.

Once he's got the hang of it he'll feel SO clever and important,but not dominant over YOU, and hopefully you'll sleep better

 

Have fun!

Elsa xx

Edited November 29, 2009 by Undercover-Elsa

[kiptower]

great advice Elsa

 

never feed before bedtime etc

 

ours get fed @ 7pm ( just as Emmerdale starts, wife loves soaps ) within a few weeks they got to know the music that starts when Prg starts, they always now go to the kitchen as Emmerale starts,

 

funny sometimes wife might watch an episode she missed on her PC , on the ITV player, soom as it starts they both trot out the kitchen looking up for their dinner,

 

ther are a few Chihuahua meet up groups in london , not sure if there are other round the country, google it, normaly once a month, they are good for the dogs to come into contact with others of the breed

[Undercover-Elsa]

Very good idea Kiptower,

You could ask the local vets Jimmy for any local groups, breed or training.

A single dog of any breed will always become over humanised without socialisation. I have shepherds but used to have a couple of Papillons which are quite similar in size and temperament to chi's. Bossed the Shepherds about! LOL.

Seems strange to suddenly start this at 8 yrs old though. (Not too old to train though).

Makes you wonder if maybe he's hearing something you can't, maybe a new dog or bitch on the block, a prowling cat,foxes, rats etc. Wonder if leaving the radio on low might help?

[JimmySpangle]

Train????

 

Even Ceasar the dog whisperer couln't train this rat.

 

I have found the solution though. It seems that the vet is able to remove vocal chords with a blunt chainsaw, so off we jolly well go.

[kiptower]

"chainsaw"

 

wife said she will pop round to see you , got a pair of large nutcrackers in her hand and they aint for the dog

[JimmySpangle]

I used to be a warewolf.... but I'ma alright Nooooooooooooooooooow:D

[jackieandwayne]

If this is the same time every night, and started when the weather turned colder, I bet you've got a bit of wild life scouting round your garden. Like a fox, badger or hedgehogs. When you let him out he's seeing it off, probably just the scent of whatever it is - if he runs to the same place, its a regular track.

 

If I'm right, little fella sees this as an intruder, he barks, you come running and let him out and he chases it off. Everytime, and now he's learnt this is his job! If you can bear it, don't let him out, don't respond to the barking. Best of all is if you can be around when whatever it is starts up, and don't react at all to it. If you have an effective "no" command, use it to stop the barking. I tell my boy "thank you for telling me now that's enough".

 

Barking at doors etc is really hard to deal with - it took me about 100 times chasing my border collie back up the stairs with a huge teatray before he understood. And 50 of those were sheer defiance from him!

 

Seriously, you need to check out what is making him react, because if it is a fox or badger, the little one could get hurt if he actually managed to attack it.

[JimmySpangle]

 

Seriously, you need to check out what is making him react, because if it is a fox or badger, the little one could get hurt if he actually managed to attack it.

 

Really? Where can I buy some badgers and foxes?:D

 

I would stress here that I do not go running everytime he barks. I cannot run, I am disabled. But that aside, I would ignore it all night. My wife gives in after an hour or so.

 

So, last night she committed the ultimate sin of letting him in the front room 'for some peace and quiet'. He scratched the heck out of my new leather sofa and can count himself lucky I don't actually have a shotgun - he would definitely be gone if I did!

 

I looked up the word 'Chihuahua' in the dictionary and it came up with this:

 

Chihuahua

 

(Chee-wow-wah) Poisned dwarf little rat that pretends to be a dog. Nasty, agressive and bitter to the end . Will bark at anything and everything. Makes great stews, caseroles, pies and very thin chops, but officially they cannot cook at all of course. Breed makes a great companion for anyone who actually likes yapping little shi...... is that the time already - shoot the b@stard shoot the b@stard, shot-shoot-shoot the b@stard.

[kiptower]

mrs Kip just read your post , and asked me for the big mole grips , muttering something about , dont worry about the nuts crackers , I give him call them RATS :D

[JimmySpangle]

Yes, my wife mentioned a delicacy for Christmas for me. Apparently I will be getting a nice meal comprising:

 

A Gonnie. Not sure what that is but it has a large helping of sliced crows tum, with pulled dang lees. All served with a nice maka thighs water.

 

Sounds lovely. What's that dear? A Mallet? Yes I think so, do you need it?

 

I think she has something in her sights. Can't wait........

 

Meanwhile.... I am onto my favourite chatline: 0901 sendmeabadger dot com.

[heliosuk]

Get a cat. Have learnt they keep them in order and look after themselves...............and when they start mis behaving...........get a bunny.

 

If all else fails buy a shot gun.

[JimmySpangle]

 

If all else fails buy a shot gun.

 

Now there's an idea!

[jackieandwayne]

You love him really!