I adopted a 4-year old terrier mix, male, neutered, from a rescue organization two weeks ago. He's funny, 10 lbs, very cute and affectionate.

During the recent week, however, he's started to bark alot at ordinary noise (during the first week he had kennel cough and could barely bark at all). I'm talking about noises like neighbors opening and closing their doors, talking in the hall, or walking around (we live in a condo so it is easy to hear that stuff). I thought opening up the windows and the front door would get him acclimated to his new surroundings and city noises, but it agitates his territorial nature. I still do it when the weather's not too cold, though.

When we are outside on his walks, he does fine with his surroundings. He doesn't bark unless he sees someone coming toward us. From what his records state he was an inside dog before his original owner gave him up, so I'm hoping that in time he will get used to the noises and people and understand that they are not intruders.

He is not responding to the "distract him when he barks and praise the ensuing quiet" technique. I don't want to get inhumane but I'm worried that the neighbors are going to be fed up pretty soon.

The thread about how to handle an attacking dog was a good one, so I thought to ask for tips on how to handle this. Thanks!

Even though some may consider it "inhumane", sometimes you have to take things a little farther. You have a terrier, and they are VERY territorial. One of my two dogs is a terrier mix. I had a similar problem. You can purchase a "bark free" collar which will give them a mild jolt when they bark, and you can adjust the intensity. Also, for my bigger dog, I had a problem with her eating her fecese. I used a training collar that has a tone and shock. I would give her a warning tone. If she persisted, she got a mild shock. I tried it on myself first. Not pleasant, but nothing that would cause any damage. It only took a couple of the warning beeps combined with the shock to get the message through. After that, all it took was the beep and she would sniff her droppings and walk away. Now she doesn't even go near it.

Sorry if this meathod offends anyone, but sometimes the "give them a talking to and time out" method doesn't work.

[censored]'s were barkers. Doorbell rang, they'd go wild. Somebody walking on the greenbelt behind our house, they'd go wild. Invested in bark-collar. Self-activated when they barked. IIRC, had five or so settings, from "tickle" to "electric chair" (I exaggerate slightly). Started on low setting, and, in steps, went up to something that got their attention. Didn't take long to work on both.

Occasional relapses, but I swear they know what I mean when I threaten to get the bark-collar out. They get quiet real fast.

And for your peace of mind... I don't think they're any worse for wear. My wife is the most dog-sensitive person you'd ever want to meet, and even she's a believer. Waiting for her to use it on me so that, after 25 years of marriage, I do the right thing with the toilet seat. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

And BTW, doing the adoption thing is very commendable, especially an older dog.

I think your dog is testing the boundaries of his territory. He's new to the area, so to speak, and not sure who's in charge and what he can get away with. He doesn't know what is safe, because he hasn't been around the condo long. He can't tell the difference between a neighbor and a burglar and your best friend. You have to tell hiim, in doggie language, how to behave. I highly recommend the book "Don't Shoot the Dog" by Karen Pryor. How to speak dog and be understood.

For what it's worth, I dislike the anti-bark collars. There are situations where barking is a good idea, such as then there is a burglar or when the living room ceiling caves in. A dog trained with a bark collar may not give the alarm in time. When my dogs bark appropriately, I praise them for it. I tell them what good little guard dogs they are, how brave, and cute, and fuzzy . . . <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

My personal ideas are to try::

1. Dominance Downs. This is where you flip the dog onto his back and place your hand over his throat. In the wild, pack leaders do this to pack members to enforce their leadership. By telling your dog that you are the pack leader, you make it *your* territory, not his. My dog trainers recomended doing this during play sessions. It teaches them to trust you ("see how I could crush your throat but I'm not doing it?") and then continuing to play afterwards helps them bond with you. If one of the dogs gets out of line, I do it then as well, but I add the element of growling really loud.

2. It's good to establish yourself as pack leader, but don't go overboard. Being Alpha is not the answer to every situation. I like to watch my older dog's method. When it's something like a toy, or who sits on the couch, Jack lets the other dogs be as alpha as they think they are. But when Jack decides that he wants everything in the food bowl, I swear his jaws triple in size and his teeth grow razors as he announces to the other dogs, "I am the Uber Alpha!" After dinner, he is mild mannered fluffy puppy again. Pick your battles.

3. Stay calm and quiet. Yelling, to a dog, is just like barking. "If Mom is yelling then it must be time to bark, so barking was the right thing to do in that situation, good for me," he thinks. Instead, stay quiet. Walk up to him and quietly give the command to be quiet. Then bap him on the nose, and calmly go back to wherever you were before and do whatever it was you were doing as if nothing happened. Repeat as needed. When it's quiet time, everyone is quiet.

Whatever course of conditioning you take FIRST go to you nieghbors and apologise up front for any disturbance and assure them your working toward a solution. Introduce your dog also. People appreciate communication and see the opposite as unconcern. He needs socialising for future chance and deliberate encounters. So again, introduce him. I had an upstairs nieghbor with a barking dog who ignored even friendly overtures to solve the problem. It was solved. I played a recording of an Alaska Wolf pack howling non stop one day. Trouble is another nieghbor secretly had a wolf puppy and she decided my apartment was a neat place to visit. Fortunately we socialised 'suzy' early on with pets and people ( most of whom were told she was a mallinois) It was always fun hearing her silence the local coyotes at dusk while the collected apartment cats meowed " yea, what suzy said dudes. IN YOUR FACE!"

Thanks for the tips, everyone. While I'm unsure about using the correction collars (my husband is especially against it), at least now I know of a few reliable brands by posting here.

I will try the quiet dominance technique for now, since I do believe that barking is okay at certain times (like playing). If he does not show any improvement in the next week or two, I will have to move onto other options.

Chris, I agree wholeheartedly with what you are saying. Rest assured that was the first thing I did. It does make things easier that my dog is so cute and small, which disarms the neighbors!

I had good success with a bark control collar, but it gave a squirt of citronella instead of the electric shock.

It was quite funny to see the dog nearly jump sideways when a squirt shot past his nose.

So there are other options for people who object to electric shock treatment.

Not sure how it would go inside though.

I strongly dislike anti-bark dog collars -- I would view them as a last resort. They indiscriminately stop barking, which I think is both absurd and cruel. With no offense intended to anyone here, I think these collars are a lazy response to a problem that is better handled through other means, which unfortunately happen to require more time on the part of the owner. You can generally train a dog not to bark, but this in turn requires that you spend the time learning how to train your dog. If all else fails, perhaps a citronella spraying collar is worth trying, but to automatically shock a dog for barking is inhumane -- the shock itself can provoke more barking.

Also, the debate about correction vs. reward training is an old one. Once upon a time, I thought correction training (via a tug on a choke or pinch collar accompanied by a verbal "No!") was animal cruelty. Then I found out that dogs for the blind and police dogs are generally trained this way and it is extremely effective. Once the animal links the "No!" with the correction, you can skip the correction and just say the "No!" This is now the only way I would train a dog. In the long run, nothing makes a dog more enjoyable than insuring it's well-behaved, and training is absolutely worth the time it takes. It will make you and your pup much happier together. (And your neighbors will appreciate it too.)

Ah Fitzoid, I was hoping you would post. I like the dog in your avatar.

Okay, I took my dog to the vet this morning for his parvo booster shot, and to introduce myself and my dog to him. The vet told me I should give my dog at a least a month to get used to our place and us, since he's bounced around so much from different shelters and homes. Since I work from home, it will be easier to me to train the dog in the "gentler" ways of correction (like the dominance downs, etc), before moving onto water-spraying collars and citronella, if necessary.

The vet also said that since the dog is fully-grown, a terrier, naturally protective and vocal, he might just be the way he is. But since his breed is pretty intelligent, I can train him if I work at it and give him time.

If it comes to the point of the anti-barking collars you might look into a radio training collar. They allow selective reinforcement at a distance. Some have multiple levels including tone only.