karly101 Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 If anyone could give me some suggestions I'd very appreciative as I'm now on night 4 of no sleep! I'm currently minding my sisters 3 year old shih tzu X whilst she is in Sydney, luckily she is only away for another week - but as of next year I'll be minding him for the whole year! We both live together, and normally he does bark quite a bit at passing pedestrians, traffic etc. At night he would perhaps bark once at a possum etc. Now whilst she's been away, he's been barking for the entire night! Some background on him, my sister hasn't done any training with him (I've only recently moved back home) so he doesn't have recall, basic commands (I am slowly trying to train these things with him and have started with getting him to 'sit' and 'stay' whilst waiting for his dinner at night....been slow progress though!). Recall has been tricky as he has got away with not responding for so long. She also normally doesn't walk him, lately he's been getting at least 30 minute walk once a day. I've tried ignoring him (but neighbours have already mentioned he has been loud..), putting him outside (worsens), and locking him in my sisters room (he still barks but its double brick so he's a lot more muffled and is furtherest room away from neighbours)! Any suggestions on what I should be doing when he barks? Is a bark e collar a good option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzledx2 Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Mental along with physical exercise is quite exhausting so I would be inclined to up the training. If anyone could give me some suggestions I'd very appreciative as I'm now on night 4 of no sleep! I'm currently minding my sisters 3 year old shih tzu X whilst she is in Sydney, luckily she is only away for another week - but as of next year I'll be minding him for the whole year! We both live together, and normally he does bark quite a bit at passing pedestrians, traffic etc. At night he would perhaps bark once at a possum etc. Now whilst she's been away, he's been barking for the entire night! Some background on him, my sister hasn't done any training with him (I've only recently moved back home) so he doesn't have recall, basic commands (I am slowly trying to train these things with him and have started with getting him to 'sit' and 'stay' whilst waiting for his dinner at night....been slow progress though!). Recall has been tricky as he has got away with not responding for so long. She also normally doesn't walk him, lately he's been getting at least 30 minute walk once a day. I've tried ignoring him (but neighbours have already mentioned he has been loud..), putting him outside (worsens), and locking him in my sisters room (he still barks but its double brick so he's a lot more muffled and is furtherest room away from neighbours)! Any suggestions on what I should be doing when he barks? Is a bark e collar a good option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Crate and cover outside your room. Make sure he has a bit of supper so he's not hungry. If you're going to have him for 12mths though it might be a worthwhile investment to get the Crate Games DVD and teach him that first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 (edited) Sounds like one of those stories...someone buys a cute fluffy puppy .... then treats it as a toy and not a DOG with needs.Result - a poor dog who is frustrated and who develops all sorts of bad habits because it has nothing else to occupy its mind. Good for you in doing some work with him! He sounds as if he needs more, though... to tire out his brain AND body. Lots of training ..2 walks a day.. and , as suggested, perhaps introduce him to a crate ...slowly.... If you are thinking of a collar- then consider WHY the poor dog is barking.... yes, it may stop him, but IMO he will still be frustrated/bored/ and somewhat anxious... Perhaps consider getting in a trainer to help? Where do you live? Edited December 5, 2010 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karly101 Posted December 6, 2010 Author Share Posted December 6, 2010 Sounds like one of those stories...someone buys a cute fluffy puppy .... then treats it as a toy and not a DOG with needs.Result - a poor dog who is frustrated and who develops all sorts of bad habits because it has nothing else to occupy its mind. This is the exact problem, I tried to convince her not to get a dog at the time but she went out and did it anyway. All she wants a dog for is to sleep on her bed at night...now she's going away for work and says no places allow dogs so I am stuck minding him. Hadn't thought about crate training him, will definitely up the walks and training as well - he does have a huge amount of energy! Will check out the DVD is there anywhere to buy in Australia? I am in Camberwell, my friend trains in Knox so am thinking of joining the obedience club there and getting some sort of formal training, I'm open to other training suggestions though! He has been a challenge because he's been allowed to be so naughty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussienot Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Australian seller of Crate Games Crate Games from Air Dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsablue Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Hi karli 101, You said that your sister bought the dog so it could sleep on her bed at night. Maybe it won't bark if you allow it on your bed at night? But you probably don't want the dog on your bed. It could be the reason for the barking however. luvsablue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karly101 Posted December 6, 2010 Author Share Posted December 6, 2010 Hi karli 101,You said that your sister bought the dog so it could sleep on her bed at night. Maybe it won't bark if you allow it on your bed at night? But you probably don't want the dog on your bed. It could be the reason for the barking however. luvsablue I thought maybe that might be the issue so from the second night I did allow him in my room (as he is usually sleeping on my bed from 10pm at night) but he refused to settle and kept barking either on the bed or at the door. Last night I allowed him on my bed till the point he started barking (from 3am last night) where I removed him into my sisters room again. Tonight I will give him a really long walk before bed (he had an hour one this morning as well) and hopefully we can both get some sleep tonight! I've spoken to my sister and suggested the crate idea so we are going to start that when she gets home. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Does he even know the command for quiet? If he understands the idea of quiet, then if he's on the bed or in a crate in the bedroom & starts making a fuss, you can tell him to "be quiet" and he'll know what you want (or know why he's being evicted from the room if he doesn't quiet). I'd teach it during the day in another context. You could do it quite easily with a clicker & some food treats. It might be more training than you were hoping to do with him, but I figure expanding a dog's vocabulary is always a good thing. I'd also tire him out totally during the day with physical and mental exercise, so he actually wants to sleep at bed time. The clicker training could help with that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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