Barking

[gsdftw]

Well since about 2 weeks ago my 14 week old has hardly let out a peep, but all of a sudden this has changed and the problem is getting worse. He currently sleeps outside under cover near our bedroom. Either he can hear or see stuff i cant but i swear he just barks for no reason, but there is times where there is a tiny sound (gate rattling, car door closing) and he will let loose. I know that gsd are a guarding breed, but family members of mine who have had them their dogs were more 'watchers' and only barked on someone entering the yard, and this is how i want my gsd to get. he is only 14 weeks old, is this normal? will it get better or worse? is there anything i can do to stop it? are the ecollars i see advertised to much on a puppy? It wouldnt be so bad if they were cute puppy barks but he barks like he is 3 times the size he is

My dog trainer i go to said to say a firm no! and hold his mouth together for a couple seconds (not hard) so he gets the idea, but im hardly ever right next to him to give a correction, i am always 5- 10 seconds away from getting to him

[Speedy2662]

I don't recommend the dog trainer's way. You're just giving him attention and he'll just get confused with the mouth. My idea would be probably just to ignore him, because if you go over to him everytime he barks he'll think something is happening, etc. Btw, I am not a proffesional dog owner so whatever I say may be totally stupid. Someone correct me if I'm wrong Good luck!