deltoid

We have been having issues with one of our dogs and barking which had gotten progressively worse over the last few months. My attempts at solving haven't worked. Anyone able to recommend a professional in Brisbane to help?

What are people's experiences with citronella collars? Basically one of our dogs barks around the back corner of our yard at the neighbour's dog, possums and cats. I've tried correcting the behaviour by distracting him or putting him inside when he does it but unfortunately I can't watch him all the time he is in the yard so I don't think I'm having much success. I've asked around and a few people have said they have had success with citronella collars and I assume considering they'd deliver an instant correction everytime he barks it will help with the problem. So do they work and is it a permanent thing or can I remove them off the dog in a month or so time and only start using it again if the problem returns?

Thanks for the responses. I'm trying out those techniques as well as increasing their exercise. Not sure if it is a coincidence or not but the past 2 days his barking has greatly reduced. We'll see what it's like on the weekend when I'm home more during the day.

Dog: I've got 2 Silky Terriers. The older of the two (1.5 years) barks at the back fence. Problem: Barks at the back fence quite a bit. Seems to be set off when the rear neighbour's dog or cat are near the fence (Note: The neighbour's dog never barks back so it isn't a case of my neighbour's dog instigating it). It appears that when the neighbour's dog is near the fence he does an excited bark (makes the same bark when trying to get our other dog to play with him) and does an aggressive/defensive bark when the neighbour's cat is near the fence (I think he can hear it's bell as sometimes he will be inside and will run outside barking and the cat will be near the fence). We have another dog along one of the side fences and our dog never barks at that one. He is able to see that dog a bit better through the fence. It is very rare for him to bark at the front fence at people walking past or coming to the house, it is just the rear fence that he has a problem with. What I've tried: I thought possibly he had too much energy so yesterday I took him for a 1.5 hour walk including 30 minutes at the dog park and he still barked at the fence (after having a sleep after his walk). Today I took him for a shorter walk but did 30 minutes worth of obedience training with them and he still barked at the fence. Whenever he does it for more than a few barks we go outside and call him in, most of the time he will come and we lock him inside for awhile. However, sometimes he won't come and we have to go and pick him up and bring him in. I've also tried sitting up the back while he barks and giving him treats when he stops but he usually is so worked up he doesn't care about treats. Solution: I'm hoping someone can suggest some things to try in an attempt at sorting this out before it gets worse. Otherwise if you can suggest a trainer in Brisbane that could help that would be great too.

Get yourself a security came for the backyard. $100 from mangocam.com.au I have one which I use just to make sure the dogs aren't getting into mischief when I'm at work but you can set them to be motion activated and email you photos.

I have the same puppy pee mat holder as the one in the link below and our puppies have outgrown it. http://www.madaboutpets.com.au/puppi-trainer-disposable-mat-holder-1.html It did the job for our little guys and stopped them playing with the mats and just using them for what they were intended for. I've scrubbed and sterilised the thing and it is like new. See attached picture $15 pickup from Virginia in Queensland. If can't pickup but want it, let me know and I can probably post it at your cost. It is pretty light so I can't see it costing too much to post.

We have two silkies. They are awesome little dogs. Small enough to be lap dogs but with the personality of bigger dogs. One of ours is 4.5kg the other is 3.5kg. One is a little yappy (not terrible but more than I'd like, working on it). The other one doesn't bark at all. Both have been really responsive to training and are eager to please (you can literally see the pride in their body language when they do something right). Biggest issue we've had is toilet training. I would blame that more on us as owners though, we were new to having inside dogs and probably made quite a lot of mistakes in the toilet training category. One of them is pretty good now, the other one knows what to do but I think she is just lazy. Both dogs have their own personality but they both love simply laying on the couch / your lap as well as playing rough and tumble in the backyard. I guess that is my best overview of my experience. If you have specific questions let me know.

One of our Silky Terriers (13mth old desexed male) has a couple of issues we'd like to sort out. Can someone recommend a good behaviouralist that services Brisbane's northside. Issues: * Barks at back fence when neighbours are near the fence * On walks he growls and barks when other fenced in dogs bark at him. It is strange, when i walk him every dog in the neighbourhood barks at him even when he doesn't react. But our other dog they completely ignore * he has had a go at other dogs at the dog park when they invade his personal space. Today for example a dog sniffed his butt and gave him a fright so he went for the other dog and I had to grab him. This is the most serious issue. He has never submitted to another dog. He doesn't go around trying to dominate any though but he seems to rather fight than submit which I think is part of the issue

Our dog just turned 1. As a pup we used pee mats when we weren't home until he could hold it all day. This worked well. In general he'd only use them if he had to and preferred to go outside. The problem now is that when he doesn't want to go outside (eg raining or he is just too lazy) he pees on his bedding. It isn't unintentional. He digs at it as though he is going to sleep and then pees. Often he will drag the towels off his bed and pee on them elsewhere as to not soil his bed. This has led me to believe he sees the towels as pee mats which is understandable. So we removed all towels and blankets from their bedding. But last night it was wet and he pee'd on his plastic sling bed. I dont think it resembles a pee mat. We don't get mad at him. We realise it is most likely cause by us training him to use mats. How do we fix this? In going to start taking him on a lead in the yard when it rains and treating so he gets over that but not sure what else to do.

Male Silky Terrier. 1yr old Previous he'd bark at noises inside. We clamped down on this by kicking him out of whatever room he was in whenever he barked with a stern "OUT". It worked a treat, he now rarely barks inside and when he does it is usually a single bark or a very quiet bark under his breath. Problem now is whenever he goes outside he barks at sounds. Haven't had the same result using "OUT". Most probably because by the time we get to him he has stopped barking and come over to greet us. He is able to get back inside so he isn't barking to be let in. Any ideas on how to give a swift correction when he isnt within close range?

I did consult a trainer. They told me to try the Gentle Leader harness

Previously walking our youngest dog was a stressful, painful & slow experience. She's the type of dog which pulls so hard on the lead that her front feet never touch the ground. I did everything right, I practiced loose lead walking in the house, then the backyard. I never followed if she pulled. I rewarded her when she did the right thing and stood my ground when she did the wrong. She would just get so excited she'd loose her mind. Then we bought a Gentle Leader harness. The first walk with it was a big improvement but she was no where near perfect still. Fast forward one week and she is now a perfectly behaved dog on the lead. I took her for a long walk yesterday and am still impressed how well behaved she was. Basically the harness has the D ring at the front. So if the dog pulls you stop walking or give the lead a gentle tug. This in turn pulls the dog to he side slightly. The harder they pull the more to he side it directs them. So they get no benefit out of pulling. It is pretty cheap too. So if you are at your wits end with your pulling dog give the gwntle leader ago. Just remember it is a training tool, so if you have bad habits like not stopping when the dog pulls the dog isn't going to learn anything

Thanks guys. Taking the advice on board and will give big dogs a wide berth. I guess I was being too opptunistic thinking if he met more dogs he'd feel better around them but I guess that is just setting the poor little guy up to fail.

Thanks. I've updated the first post with more background information on him. But to save you reading it... He is desexed. We have another dog at home who is also a silky terrier (female). The other dog doesn't show any signs of aggression. He is the more dominant of the two. Can't think of an exact time which would have gave him bad experiences but he has been accidentally knocked around by larger dogs before when trying to play which have given him a fright (larger black dogs). We are aware of issues multi-dog homes can have so we do lots of training with them, give them lots of puzzle toys to keep their brains occupied and we take them for walks/outings/play both together and individually. His signs of aggression occur whether he is with or without his buddy. Regarding dog parks. After a bad experience we no longer take them to the dog park unless it is empty or only has small dogs. If big dogs turn up we leave (had a big dog bail up our female once). The dog park is next to a walking track so if the dog park is occupied we just take them for a walk around the track instead so they can still see the dogs but they are at a distance. We still socialise them with a friends large dog who they have always gotten on very well with (he is a giant compared to them) so it isn't all big dogs, just select ones. Possibly part of it was that when he has met friend's larger dogs we've always had the dogs off lead so he wouldn't have felt like he had no where to go due to being stuck on a lead. Now that you suggest the getting them to sit and treat them around other dogs thing it makes sense. I've actually been doing this whenever another person approaches. I step to the side of the path, get the dogs to sit or lay down and then treat them and keep them calm until the person passes. They aren't perfect with it yet but they are quite good (previously when they saw someone they'd pull on the lead excitedly wanting to meet them). I'll start doing the same with other dogs and resist the urge to let them say hello and see how it goes. He doesn't have to love every dog he meets, I would just like to be able to take him places which has dogs and he not growl or bark at them. If I don't get anywhere I will get a behavioralist to come see him as I'd prefer to nip it in the bud before it gets worse.

Silky Terrier 10mths. Often shows aggression (barking, growling, snapping and showing teeth) when meeing larger dogs or when he feels his personal space was invaded. Seems to do it more with black and dark coloured dogs (maybe he is racist?) Examples 1. At dog park, happily playing then came over to me for a pat. Other dog ran over to me at the same time and gave him a fright and he started barking and growling, other dog was well behaved though and backed away (we were near the fence so he might have felt cornered). Basically my best way to describe it is that it is like he is on edge/stressed and always has to be alert to defend something (not sure if it is us or himself). But he seems to have a hair trigger. 2. At markets, saw another dog on lead. Both dogs were behaving so took him over to say hi, both did the butt sniffing thing and got the leads tangled. While untangling he went off. 3. At home, inside, neighborhood dogs start barking so he goes nuts growling and barking. In the first two scenarios I picked him up and turned my back to the other dog so he can't see it. I don't treat or coddle him. Just pick him up to avoid any escalation. This has happen more often than the two examples, in all cases I've picked him up and turned my back to the other dog. In the last scenario I call him over and give him a treat or scratch when he is quiet and stop as soon as he growls or looks at the front door. If it helps to understand the issue, here is some background...We have two dogs. Both Silky Terriers (boy and girl). Both are desexed. He is the older and alpha of the pair. We do training with them every day (not always long sessions but quick short sessions here and there, I usually do a longer structured session at least once or twice a week). Both are very well behaved and other than his aggression issues and her toilet training not being 100% there yet (however she has made leaps and bounds after following advice from DOL recently) they are great little dogs. Any help would be appreciated I just worry with him being a little dog that one day he will do it to the wrong dog and get himself into trouble. I don't want to have to avoid all dogs as I like being able to take the dogs places with us.