A question for all of you dog whisperers

mstang67chic

Going Green
:cool_dog:
Since we put Taz down a few weeks ago, the only dog we have now is Cloe. We kind of "acquired" her a couple of years ago when her former owners moved and left her. They weren't the most appropriate dog owners (or parents for that matter) and she really had some issues when we got her. We've pretty much worked through them with patience, love, example and gentle correction. My problem now though is her lack of vocalization. This could just be her or it could be she was beaten for when she barked, I don't know. Her "signal" to go out is to come to you, sit and stare. When she wants back in the house......SOMETIMES she will scratch at the back door. Most times though, I forget she's out there and she'll just lay on the porch until I remember. I never really had problems with letting her and Taz in before because Taz was very vocal. If he wanted out, he would tell you and the same with wanting back in. There would be times when Taz was ready to come in and Cloe wasn't quite done yet but with the "reminder" from Taz, I would just wait on Cloe and then let her in.

This dog will only bark if someone is here. Unless of course, myself or Daddy (husband) comes home and then she screams with delight. So how do you teach a dog to bark? Or at least train her to give us some signal that she wants to come in so I don't forget about her. I've never had this problem before and have no idea what to do about it. LOL
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
WHY would you want her to bark if she doesn't?

None of mine bark to go out - they just come and stare.

I would have a handyman put a door bell under the back door mat - that way when she hits the porch her weight will push the plunger and she can be the worlds ONLY doorbell ringing pup to come in. :tongue:
 

Abbey

Spork Queen
That's a tough one to overcome, especially if she has been hurt for barking.

My best advice is to keep a special treat readily available. When she does make any sound, reward her. It could be a wimper, a yawn, whatever. She needs to learn she won't be hurt if she barks.

Even if her vocal chords were removed, they can still make sort of hissing noises.

Abbey
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
Star...I know...how stupid of me to WANT my dog to bark! LOL But like I said, the only time she does is if someone is here. Or...I guess she will bark if someone or thing goes past the back fence. I just feel bad when I forget about her and she's out there for awhile.

Abbey...I'm not positive about the barking-beating thing but it's a definate suspicion. They used to live next door to us and even now, if you take her for a walk, she will NOT go past that house. Her house training was horrid when we got her and there were all kinds of issues. She saw them once after we had her for awhile. She growled and wouldn't let them near her. She got a dose of how life SHOULD be for her and wants no part of them.

I may try the treat thing and see how that goes. The doorbell, while a good idea........would probably freak her out! LOL
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
Mustang -

Cloe NEEDS to walk past that house -

She needs to overcome her fear of that house FIRST before anything else. She needs to know that she is NOT living next to a house that can hurt her. She needs to know that she is SAFE IN ALL WAYS WITH YOU AND husband.

THAT would be my first approach with her - and to get her to come IN that lawn is going to be work and cooperation with the people that live there now. You are also going to have to clear your mind about what you think happened. Be a blank and just as calm as you can be when you walk by the house. Reward her LAVISHLY with praise and happy thoughts as you walk by.

Perhaps once she is over her fear of that house a few other things in her PTST brain can be worked on. Whatever happend in that house? Cloe needs to know that the danger is GONE for good.
 
K

Kjs

Guest
LOL. My chloe doesn't bark either. You can be sound asleep and you get this strange feeling, open your eyes and she is two inches from your face staring at you!

My little dog doesn't bark either when she needs to go out. She runs for the door when you open it.

But they BOTH bark when a stranger is in the yard.

Chloe is very smart. If I want her to bark I just tell her to speak...and she barks. She has such beautiful eyes, when you talk you just know she understands. Then there is the other dog. When you look into her eyes you see nothing behind them !!!!
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
I second the doorbell idea. Would it freak her out just to hear it? Or do you mean that it would be unexpected under the mat?

You can teach her to ring a bell much more easily than you can teach her to bark.

I had borzoi that rarely barked and the breeder suggested I tie a cow bell to the door and ea time we went out, I'd tap their noses on it and say, "Good out!"
Every time we went out and they did their biz, I'd give them a treat, which I had in my pocket.
Sometimes they rang to bell to play with-a squirrel they saw out the window (or in the case of a borzoi, kill it) but it was well worth not having them go on the floor.

It took about a mo. and they're not the fastest learners (most hounds don't speak English so to speak:) ) ... collies and goldens and poodles are way faster. Our collies learned within a wk.
 

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
Star's recommendation to work on her issues is a great one, I second that. OTherwise, keep treats handy and when she makes any noise, NO MATTER WHAT, lavish her with praise, and a treat. Throw in a code word, too, while she's doing it. Maybe "bark" or something. The hope being eventually she will learn noise is good, "bark" goes with noise, and then when you let her in, you can ask her to "bark" before she comes in.

This will take time, tho.
 
N

Nomad

Guest
Mstang: What kind of dog do you have? We have a little female dauchshund and we have never abused her. However, she does something similar, always has, and folks on the internet tell me this breed tend to do this. When she wants to go out...she stands by the sliding glass door and stares. I have had MANY other dogs and they bark, scratch, jump, go nutso, etc. When I see this...I'll say..."Do you want to go outside?" And she'll get excited and scratch a little. That's it!
It FREAKS ME OUT. She is prone to accidents because if we are busy and she has had a lot of water and no one sees "madame" sitting there quietly by the door daydreaming (lol!) it might not get noticed.
She loves going outside...especially to the front door for a walk on the leash. We tend to walk her in the backyard. If I go get the leash, and esp. if I move toward the front door, there is much more animation. However, she knows that we more often use the backyard...so this is where she stares when she needs to do her business. No barking...no noise...just a visual cue...which is easy to miss.
by the way..my husband had a Cocker Spanel who would he wanted something...G-d forbid you were sleeping. He would grab his bowl in his mouth and hit you in the head with it. Now there is a dog that knew how to get a person's attention! ;)
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
LOL Bet that dog's water dish never went dry after the first couple of times!

Cloe is quite the mix. Mainly pit, chow and shar-pei although I'm sure there's more than that.

I think the doorbell would freak her out although it is possible that she could have sensory issues too.

As for her going past the neighbors house...honestly, I haven't tried it in a while. I may have to do that tonight and see what happens. Lately, we were either busy with Taz when he was failing or we just took her for car rides. We have a large back yard so she has plenty of room to run and walk but she does love to go on walks or for rides.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
My Katy doesn't bark either when she needs to go out. She goes to the front door and sits there looking over her shoulder at me, hoping that I get the hint and take her out. She may need to pee, or she may just want to roll in the grass or sniff the air or see if any birds are flying by. We don't have a fence - mine only go out on a leash so I don't have to worry about when they want to come back in. I have heard about people who hang little bells by their door and actually train the dog to ring the bells when they need to go out. Maybe you could hang bells outside the door and train her to ring them when she wants in! I've never tried it with mine, but lots of people have done it and it works.

I agree with trying to undo some of her fears if you can, but it's very difficult. She probably was punished for barking so she just learned not to. I've had that problem with my little mixed breed, Freebie. I'm sure she was abused by who ever had her first, then she was dumped off in the country where I lived, in the coldest part of the winter. By the time she found me she was almost starved, close to freezing, and terrified of everything. She was still just a puppy, probably not over six months old. I've tried and tried with her, but her reactions to what happened to her as a puppy have just become a part of her personality. She will always be very fearful of anyone she doesn't know (especially men), she will always be terrified of storms and loud noises, and she will always be very protective of her food. It's just ingrained in her and I don't think there's any way to undo the damage now, no matter how hard I've tried.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Betsy never tells me when she needs to go out or wants to come in. She's always waited for Molly. lol

If she really has to go bad she'll come and stare or put her paws on my lap and nudge me with her nose. But never a bark. And she loves to bark. :D She just never learned to for potty.

Neither of mine bark to come in. Why should they? They have the whole back yard to play in. :rofl:

And yeah, sometimes I forget them. And Molly will snub me a bit. Betsy doesn't care. She's just gonna get her lovies no matter what. lol
 

meowbunny

New Member
Another vote for the bell. It really does work well once they get used to it.

I've had barkers and non-barkers. My neighbors are much happier with the non-barkers. Regardless, I always trained my dogs to ring the bell to go in or out. I prefer they barked to let me know something important was happening.

As to her being outside and your forgetting about her, it wouldn't be the end of the world. If you think you might forget about her for hours, get a licker for one of your faucets (just make sure that it is shaded so she doesn't burn her tongue on it) and there's a place she can lay in the shade.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
Try it with a jet black dog that doesn't bark. Mandy barks so infrequently we wonder whose voice that is when she does it. At night if she goes out she will sit on the porch 15 feet away outside the sliding glass door and you can't see a thing.

I like the idea of a mat with a bell. Here's a link to one available online. You might check at the local pet store to see what they say. I might after Bubba the Dalmatian isn't with us anymore. He is very easy to see on a dark night!

http://www.seihin-world.com/s/2006/05/16_0321.php
 

WhymeMom?

No real answers to life..
Don't think I would train her to bark.......how about putting a kitchen timer near the door and when she goes out setting it for 15 minutes? It may be easier for you to train yourself than the dog......I have a huge dog and he rarely barks to go out......he will just stand by the door.......he goes out and immediately does his business then will come right back in......if I get distracted he paws at the door to come in.......needless to say I move quickly at that point.......he weighs 165 lbs...........
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
I might have to do that WMM. I don't think training her to bark will be easy and I don't think the bell mat will go over well. LOL I posted on another thread about it!

165 lbs????? What kind of dog do you HAVE???
 
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