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Obsessive barking... spraying with vinegar???

20K views 63 replies 17 participants last post by  wyoung2153 
#1 ·
Curious on y'alls thoughts.. Titan is so intent on barking at people who come into the house. He's not aggressive, just doesn't stop when you say so.. he knows the word "enough" very well but for some reason when he is in bark mode ONLY in the house.. will he pay no mind. I say enough and gors feom alert bark to excited bark and he continues. I say go to bed and he goes to bed yipping excitedly the whole way, lays down and excitedly barks and barks. He will sit there yipping for about 15 minutes. He is only allowed out of his bed when he's quiet. Once he is released, he just sniffs the guests and goes about his business.. Anyways.. nothing I have tried has broken this habit.. We've done the ignore until he's quiet.. and still do. We have done OB with him when someone comes to the door and he still barks crazily at the door/guests in between actions. I've leashed him and attempted correction.. that doesn't work.. I'm at a loss on how to fix this. I don't want him not to alert me but I want to be able to say "enough" and him be quiet.

Well we went to our one on one trainer yesterday for various small issues and she was fantastic.. before you dig into her and chastise her for suggesting this next method, just know she has been highly recommended to me by MANY dog trainers including my SAR team lead. She comes with an insane amount of titles and certs and it all really speaks for itself. Anyways she was wonderful and gave us some great homework and ideas for fixing some issues. The ONLY thing she suggested that turned me sideways was using vinegar on Titan when he barks. Not diluted vinegar.. but straight distilled white vinegar. She said because he is so intense and nothing will break him.. he needs something to pull him out of the moment.. she said it may irritate him but it's not going to do any damage at all. we conveniently had someone n pop in unannounced to which he responded like I knew he would barking like crazy.. again excitement not aggressive.. she sprayed him with it and he stopped. So it's effective.. but I'm just not sure how I feel about using vinegar.. There are very mixed reviews on the subject when I researched.. so that's why I came to you guys just to gather thoughts.. maybe someone has an experience with barking and can direct me too.. what are the thoughts?

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#2 ·
Before you ask if it works, or is a good idea, or if others do it - go put a bit of vinegar in your eye. I just did, lol. It didn't sting at first but then it did feel funny. I rinsed my eye with water, and it still feels a little awful. Lol, the things we'll do for our dogs, huh?
 
#3 ·
Haha I honestly would have done that if I decided I was going to spray him with it.. lol. I have never heard of using it so I was curious if maybe it was just my ignorance lol.. I may still try it just to see but it'll be this evening when I take my contacts out, lol. Thank you for testing the theory out! Ha!

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#4 ·
Maybe it's just the shock of spraying something. Try plain water and see if it works.


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#5 ·
It is effective for some dogs, you just have to be careful not to spray it into the dog's eyes. It's the same concept as the citronella-spraying bark collars, which do seem to work for some dogs.

There's also a tool called the "barker breaker" that emits a high-frequency tone inaudible to humans, but annoying to dogs. It works for some dogs. There are also collars that use this technology.

There's another product called "Stop That!" which is a little bottle of compressed air with the addition of doggie pheromones. When the dog barks, you spray a burst at him. The blast of compressed air works to startle him out of bark mode, and then the pheromones work to calm him down. I tried it in my grooming shop, it did seem to work, but the bottle didn't last very long. I got maybe a couple dozen blasts out of it before it died. Now I just use the regular pheromone spray when I have a chronic barker. It's not an instant fix, but it does seem to calm down most dogs eventually.
 
#6 ·
Lol, no problem :) My verdict is, it will work because it isn't a pleasant sensation. But I think it would be mean because I don't know what my eye would feel like if I didn't rinse it out, if dogs' eyes are the same as ours. You could probably whack him with a 2x4 just as easily, to get the point across, and not blind him. JK!!!! LOL!!!
 
#9 ·
I'll try diluted.. and unfortunately just plain water won't work. Titan LOVES playing with water.. even out of the squirt bottle. He didn't want to play with it when the trainer did it because he knew it wasn't water and it shocked him.. though maybe the shock should be enough to pull him out. Hmmm.. try just plain first?

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#11 ·
Have you put the bark on command then the quiet? Clicker training is also good for barking. You click/treat when he shuts up even for a second. Might help.....
 
#14 ·
Intgeresting enough.. when I looked at responses a couple days ago, I really only had like 2 or 3.. my phone apparently didn't show some of them.. weird. anyways...

Have you put the bark on command then the quiet? Clicker training is also good for barking. You click/treat when he shuts up even for a second. Might help.....
When I put him on bark command and then say "shhhh" he quiets.. gets treat. (we don't do that often) This has NO effect what so ever when he's in crazy bark mode. Maybe I should start making him go crazy barking for his toy.. which I can get him to do.. and say "enough?"

Have you tried two squirt bottles with just water from different angles and strengths at different temperatures?
This I have not tried. It would be hard.. only because it's just me and my boyfriend and when we train this he would probably be the one ringing the doorbell. Unless you were meaning I do both.. then I might say, I lack the coordination for that, lol.

If Titan really does know what "Enough" means, and he's ignoring the command, then he needs to be corrected when he blows you off. He can't just keep yipping without consequences or that commands will eventually mean nothing to him.

My guy was like that too, and I never let him out of the crate until he was quiet. He'd greet the guests and then I'd settle him down at my side with a knucklebone - he likes them better than visitors, lol. But if he decided that he'd rather carry on, then he'd be put back in his crate and we'd start all over. He definitely likes sitting at my side chewing a bone better than being crated, lol.

Does this sound like it might work? I never gave my pup a hard correction for yapping away, because he learned that disobedience meant recrating. I used the same method to keep him from nuisance barking outside and even pestery barking indoors - I just need to ask him if he needs to go to his bed now and he'll pipe down.
He is blatantly ignoring the enough.. well I wouldn't say completely. He does change the tone of his bark when I say the command. It goes from "MOM SOMEONE IS HERE TO KILL YOU!!!!" to "MOM I'M SO EXCITED SOMEONE IS HERE TO PLAY!!!" I can tell the distinct change in his tone and bark.

I will also admit that I haven't known exactly what to do because of conflicting information.. Someone says ignore him completely!!! Then when he's quiet he can come out... Which I have done.. then another says to correct the bark.. and I have done that and it seems to not matter. I also have low traffic and can get my BF to go out the back door and knock on the front but I'm afraid eventually Titan learns the game and does it perfectly. I don't have a ton of friends that can come over just to play knock knock for my dog (more so friends that would be willing) and I just moved so I can't ask the neighbors, lol.

I also am afraid me correcting this will cause him to think he CAN'T alert.. I want the alert just not the continuation..
 
#13 ·
If Titan really does know what "Enough" means, and he's ignoring the command, then he needs to be corrected when he blows you off. He can't just keep yipping without consequences or that commands will eventually mean nothing to him.

My guy was like that too, and I never let him out of the crate until he was quiet. He'd greet the guests and then I'd settle him down at my side with a knucklebone - he likes them better than visitors, lol. But if he decided that he'd rather carry on, then he'd be put back in his crate and we'd start all over. He definitely likes sitting at my side chewing a bone better than being crated, lol.

Does this sound like it might work? I never gave my pup a hard correction for yapping away, because he learned that disobedience meant recrating. I used the same method to keep him from nuisance barking outside and even pestery barking indoors - I just need to ask him if he needs to go to his bed now and he'll pipe down.
 
#15 ·
I actually let some salespeople come it to make their pitch, just so my puppy would learn to be quiet in his crate, lol! Yup, I don't get enough visitors either and I wanted this experience for him when he was still very young. Every experience helps, that's for sure.

It's a lesson in patience. Dog gets let out of crate when quiet, and the first peep out of him gets him back in until he's quiet again. This might be only across the room on the first go, or maybe only 3 steps, lol. But the dog learns that being quiet gets him what he wants. That's pretty much it. I wouldn't use the doorbell for this, because it's the physical presence of another person that he needs to deal with.
 
#16 ·
I wouldn't use the doorbell for this, because it's the physical presence of another person that he needs to deal with.
I'll definitely just have to be patient (not my gratest trait, lol, but doable). annnd yes and no on the doorbell.. yes he needs to deal with the presence of another person when I have guests, but he also needs to when someone is just at the door. He won't stop so long as someone is at the door either.
 
#17 ·
I'm not the world's most patient person either, lol. But this is actually an advantage, because it makes us try to be as clear as possible the first time :)

When someone comes over, is Titan loose? I'm always yelling, "Hang on a minute!" before I open the door, so I can crate my pup. Fortunately I have glass in my door, so I'm not opening it up to just anyone. If it's a stranger then that's different, and I get a bark-fest too. But for me, I want that.

What does work for me, in that scenario, is to distract my pup with his frisbee. I keep it right by the door, and he's already trained to wait until I release him before rushing outside. So a new person will take second place to the thrill of a game, whereas they'd take first place over the monotony of a restful state. If that makes any sense, lol.
 
#18 ·
I'm not the world's most patient person either, lol. But this is actually an advantage, because it makes us try to be as clear as possible the first time :)

When someone comes over, is Titan loose? I'm always yelling, "Hang on a minute!" before I open the door, so I can crate my pup. Fortunately I have glass in my door, so I'm not opening it up to just anyone. If it's a stranger then that's different, and I get a bark-fest too. But for me, I want that.

What does work for me, in that scenario, is to distract my pup with his frisbee. I keep it right by the door, and he's already trained to wait until I release him before rushing outside. So a new person will take second place to the thrill of a game, whereas they'd take first place over the monotony of a restful state. If that makes any sense, lol.
That is actually a brilliant idea that I never thought of.. Titan is INSANELY ball driven.. I don't know why I never thought about having one by the door for those situations.

I too want him to bark for the strangers. I have no issues with that. The issue I have been having is just not being about to silence him while that person is at the door. I may try the toy thing though..

So for guests, you crate until quiet, and for strangers you have the toy?
 
#20 ·
I guess I will just have to be more consistent with it. Our problem arises when Friends come over and keep looking at him and saying things too him.. then that gets him excited.. also, the BF isn't too great at jsut ignoring him. He gets SO annoyed when he gets like that, and gets angry and yells at him. (I have addressed this)

Also, for strangers, do you generally take the frisbee to the front yard with the stranger there? I'm unsure how Titan would do with that. I'm thinking having it and playing in the doorway.. unless I want him to continue barking, only because of thsoe situations, you mentioned. Sometimes it's nice for the person to know you have a large "out of control" dog.
 
#21 ·
When your pup blows you off...what do you do? You send him to his bed and wait for him to be quiet, or do you correct due to the continued behavior?
 
#22 ·
The inconsistency will kill the whole thing. I know it's sooo hard to get people to do what you tell them to! You really have to be super bossy with them - make them promise not to look at your dog or they'll have to stay outside, lmao. Seriously though, it's a huge training setback because you need to have Titan understand how this works: it has to be unmistakable and straightforward. Otherwise, he'll never learn the rules. Yelling is just a waste of time too. As I'm sure you've mentioned, lol.

IDK how you're set up at your place. I have a nice front yard that I take my pup out and play frisbee with him several times a day, so he's charged right up when I say the word "frisbee" let alone touch the thing, lol. Do you play out front with Titan? I think he'd need to associate the ball with a good game forthcoming, not just tease him with the toy.
 
#24 ·
I play in front and Back. Front yard is usually stick time and back yard ball time. If I so much as motion toward the back door he's amped up. And the friends are easier to be bossy with.. I have to live with the BF lol. But I'll figure out a way to get through to him.

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#23 ·
Typically when the door bell rings I let him bark as the alert and say "enough" when I want him quiet. I then say go to bed. When he continues I say enough again and eventually ignore him. I suppose I should pick one.. he doesn't get to come out of his bed until he's quiet.. that part is an always.

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#26 ·
Typically when the door bell rings I let him bark as the alert and say "enough" when I want him quiet. I then say go to bed. When he continues I say enough again and eventually ignore him. I suppose I should pick one.. he doesn't get to come out of his bed until he's quiet.. that part is an always.

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So.......you've taught your dog that when you have a guest, he's to bark and alert you. And you've taught him that in this case, "enough" means that I am now warning you that you are about to go to bed. Then you give the 'go to bed command', which he follows. He remains on his bed till he decides to be quiet.

So he is basically doing exactly what you've taught him. You need to reinforce your 'enough' command. Stay with him until he is quiet, then reward. Ignoring the behavior is reinforcing it.
 
#30 ·
Spraying with vinegar ??? Your dog might never enjoy a nice balsamic vinaigrette on his tossed salad or fish and chips with malt vinegar ......but this is the risk you run.....

SuperG
It's risky all right ;)

Ha ha, please post the link when you find it :)

If Titan is amped up for the back door then you should have no problem getting him amped up for the front too, as long as you're always consistent (there's that word again, lol) with giving him something to look forward to. I'd swap the stick for a frisbee, myself - that way you can have it right there at the door whenever you need it. I only use mine out front and it sits beside the door. Bigtime rewards out both doors for my guy, but different toys for each to keep it simple.
Funny thing is we have a designated Stick by the front door, the gardeners are instructed not to touch that stick.. When we go out the front he is either excited for the car or the stick.

I'm still only slightly confused.. sorry.. this is probably not as complicated as I'm make it.. forgive me.. So when someone random comes to my door, do what.. just open the door to go out and play??? I fear Titan would be more interested in the person at the door at that point.. because well, stranger danger.. type of thing.

(looking for article!)
 
#29 ·
Ha ha, please post the link when you find it :)

If Titan is amped up for the back door then you should have no problem getting him amped up for the front too, as long as you're always consistent (there's that word again, lol) with giving him something to look forward to. I'd swap the stick for a frisbee, myself - that way you can have it right there at the door whenever you need it. I only use mine out front and it sits beside the door. Bigtime rewards out both doors for my guy, but different toys for each to keep it simple.
 
#31 ·
This is something you have to judge, by knowing your dog and also by guessing who's out there. I know my pup and I know he'd rather play with me than greet a stranger, so I'm not concerned about letting him out with them. The key thing is that he's running to his spot to catch his toy and that's all he's thinking about. He's been trained to do that already - to stay in a certain area and get ready for the catch: he's not running all over the yard sniffing at things or looking at the neighbors, etc. He's waiting for me. You'd have to teach Titan this before just letting him rush outside, if that's something you'd consider doing.

And now I'm equally confused, lol. Stranger danger? Is Titan wary of everyone, or do you mean certain undesirables? If he's wary of everyone, then he needs to have situations set up where the stranger is a good thing too. Like maybe you'll have to order lots of pizzas in the coming weeks, lol.
 
#33 ·
And now I'm equally confused, lol. Stranger danger? Is Titan wary of everyone, or do you mean certain undesirables? If he's wary of everyone, then he needs to have situations set up where the stranger is a good thing too. Like maybe you'll have to order lots of pizzas in the coming weeks, lol.
He is not really wary of strangers outside my home. I can go anywhere with him and he's very good with people coming up and talking to me. On walks he doesn't pay mind to people. Dog park doesn't mind people at all. The ONLY place he is "wary" and I'm not so much sure I'd call it wary, but that he acts different is in our home. Very different attitude when strangers come on our property.. or so recently learned.. when a strange man is coming toward us.

I get what you mean about the ball drive. Titan and I are out in the front frequently playing fetch.. that's it.. he doesn't sniff or anything. he jsut wants that stick! Or ball.. in the back. But that's what makes the dog park nice for us.. he literally pays no mind to anyone but me because I have the ball. I haven't tried it with someone in our home.

Just with how he reacts to people at the door I am not sure how comfortable I am with that. But maybe I am completely mistaken and it could work perfectly.. I'm going to have to gage that.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Thank you, that was great! And it's so true too :)

It also reminded me that's I'm using "incompatible behavior" with my pup's barking too. For some reason, he only barks when he's standing. Ok, he makes tons of other sounds lying down (squeals, whines, yips, etc) but it's easier to reinforce "Quiet" when he's eliminated the barking and then use "Shhh" for the other sounds.

ETA: it could be your discomfort at the door that's making this an issue to begin with. Maybe?
 
#35 ·
It's definitely possible, I will have to do a couple test runs.. I will get my BF to knock on the door and see how Titan responds my commands best. Might be easier.. kinda in the same sense of training in low stimulating environments then adding things as he gets better you know? Did that maike sense? lol
 
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