How to Train Your Dog to Not Bark at Neighbors

Hello Karen, Is pup at all aggressive toward people, or simply overly excited and alert to them? If aggressive, I recommend working with a professional trainer who specializes in behavior issues like aggression and has a staff or works with a team of trainers so that various trainers can help pup learn to adjust to new people. If pup is simply overly excited, check out the articles and methods I have included below. Jumping - Leash method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-australian-shepherds-to-not-jump Barking at guests - Quiet method and Desensitize method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Desensitizing to guests video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpzvqN9JNUA Place command - to give pup a calm spot to go to until calm when guests are around. This will have to be worked up to gradually. Starting with short amounts of time and you close by, gradually adding in distractions like you walking away, dropping a toy, other family members coming home, then finally recruiting some friends to be "guests" to practice pup staying on Place around. Place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O75dyWITP1s Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello, Mack is a big handsome boy. It sounds as though you are doing everything right and keeping consistent which is good. It is unfortunate about the neighbor's dogs, the barking, and the fencing situation. I suggest that you keep working on the Heel: The Turns Method:https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel. You can actually try all of the methods. If you change it up, it may be more interesting and keep his focus better. Also, take a look here: https://wagwalking.com/training/greet-other-dogs. It is a good idea to take Mack to obedience classes, too. Then you have hands-on instruction and more socialization to cement his already good skills. This site has many good videos. See if any help and you may be able to talk to a trainer: https://robertcabral.com/. All the best!

Hello Anna, How does she do when actually meeting people? Is she also aggressive toward strangers up close, or is it just when she sees them from inside or further away on leash? If she is simply reacting to seeing them but completely fine up close with strangers when meeting, I suggest desensitizing her to seeing people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpzvqN9JNUA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXCELHDT2fs Be sure to reward seconds of good response and reward pup after they see the trigger but before they react badly to it - it will be a window of just a couple of seconds between at first, so timing is important. If pup doesn't do well with people up close either, this is an aggression issue that will need additional work. I suggest hiring a professional trainer who specializes in behavior issues and aggression to help in person or remotely at least. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Tamara, There are two routes you can take with this. The first is to work really hard on desensitizing him to the presence of the neighbors while you are out there with him. Go outside with him every time and each time the neighbors come outside, give a treat BEFORE he reacts badly - so that he associates the neighbors with something pleasant. Work on teaching an Out and Leave It command and use those commands anytime he tries to go over to the fence (it's easier to teach him to avoid the fence line closest to the neighbors altogether many times). Out - check out the section on pushy behavior also to enforce your command is he is ignoring you once he has learned Out: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-teach-a-dog-the-out-command/ Leave It method - never reward with the treat or object pup is supposed to be leaving, always reward with something else, so pup learns to forget/ignore what they are supposed to be leaving and not wait around for it: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite Another good way to practice this, is to practice the Quiet method with a recruited friend outside the part of your fence/gate near your front yard (not having to go into your neighbors yard), to desensitize pup to noises outside the fence in general. Quiet method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark A final option (in combination with desensitization/positive reinforcement methods above) is to either use a pet barrier device - which is a device that corrects pup via a stimulation collar worn whenever pup gets to close to the device. You would place the device against the fence near your neighbor to keep pup back from the fence to stop the jumping - this would not deter the barking on it's own though. OR, to use a bark collar - which could stop the barking but not the jumping. Work on the other methods I mentioned first to help with the more general training though and you could use one of these devices if needed at that point just to enforce training better when you are not present later - once pup is already trained. If you use a bark collar, do not use citronella - its actually very harsh because of how sensitive a dog's nose is and the smell lingers too long to be an effective training tool. Unscented air, vibration, or stimulation are better choices than citronella most often. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello, First, work on teaching the "Quiet" command. Check out the article linked below and the Quiet method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Second, work on correcting the barking using an interuptor, such as a Pet Convincer (which is a small canister of pressurized, unscented air). A remote training collar with adjustable levels and vibration feature can also be used but you need a good one for it to work properly and to learn how to use it on the correct level, fitted correctly, and with the right timing. Some dogs will redirect aggression and bite whoever is close by if interrupted (and sometimes just standing there) so a remote training collar is better for dogs that may do this - so that you don't have to be near the dog when correcting. When pup barks, command "Quiet" (once you have taught that command). If he obeys, reward with a treat and calm praise. If he keeps barking calmly correct while saying "Ah Ah" in a calm tone of voice (avoid sounding angry or excited...Calmness can help pup calm down too). Check out the video linked below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfiDe0GNnLQ Third, desensitize pup to the things he is barking at - people mostly. Whenever he sees a person, hears something he would normally bark at, or is generally tempted to bark, BEFORE he barks, while he is calm, and/or if he stays quiet when you command quiet, calmly tell him "Good" and reward with a treat (you can keep his daily kibble in a ziplock bag in your pocket right now for this). The goal is to reward his good behavior while also gradually helping him associate people and staying calm around people with good things. When you aren't home to enforce all this he should be confined in a room where he can't look outside or crated away from windows and the balcony - you don't want him practicing the bad behavior while you are trying to replace it with a good behavior - that will interfere with your training efforts. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden