German shorthair whining and barking issuses

[burls]

I have a male German shorthair that is constantly whining or barking. Unfortantly I live in a neighborhood in a city and have a really mean old lady who lives behind me and will without a doubt call the police on me if i dont find a way to fix the problem. I have tried verbally scoulding him for the barking, but it hasn't worked. I have never used a bark collar.....although he is collar conditioned. I really want to be careful because he is a good hunting dog. Would anyone have any suggestions or suggestions/personal ecperience with Bark collars???

[BigShooter]

Here's a post from another thread on this site:

rayter
Rank: Just A Pup


Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 9

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:26 pm Post subject:

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Here's a very nice article about no bark collars training:

http://www.nobarkcollars-4less.com/bark ... ining.html

Introducing your dog to the No Bark Collars
Before you begin training with an activated system, you should first accustom your dog to a deactivated no bark collar. By spending just two days introducing your dog to a system you can avoid other problems from developing, such as your dog cowering when you approach him with the system. Introduce your dog to the no bark control by completing the following.

Day One

* Choose a small food reward (about the size of a pencil eraser) that your dog finds very desirable and that he will accept every time.
* Place the no bark collar around your dog's neck for approximately 2 to 3 hours.
* Be sure that you have the collar fitted in the same manner that it will be during actual training. Refer to the product specific operations manual for determining proper fit of collar. After it has been on his neck a short period of time give him a food reward. Repeat this reward several times.

Day Two
Repeat day one procedure over a 5-6 hour period.

Day Three
This is the first day that your dog should receive the correction.

Training with the No Bark Collar
Before placing an activated system on your dog, carefully choose the first situation in which it is going to be used. This situation should be one in which your dog will learn easily, i.e., one with few distractions. If you do train in a situation with distractions, your dog may not associate the correction with his barking, but with something else. For example, if when your dog first barks, he is looking at a visitor to your home, he may perceive the visitor as being the cause of the correction, instead of his barking.

The initial training situation should also be one in which you can observe your dog's first few reactions to the no bark collar. Do not leave your dog alone the first few times he receives a correction.

Train your dog only in this initial situation until he has learned what the consequence to barking is. Only then should you move on to the next situation. This will help ensure that your dog understands that barking is the behavior he must avoid, no matter what his reason for barking.

What to expect from your dog while training
The first time your dog receives the correction he may react in a way that concerns you. He may yelp or yip or jump slightly. Do not be alarmed by these reactions. His first reaction to the correction will always be his most intense. Do not be alarmed by any such reaction. After the first few corrections his reaction will lessen. He will eventually just stop barking and remain calm. It is advised that you observe your dog's reactions to the correction.

You should notice an improvement in your dog's barking within the first week of training. At this point many dog owners feel that the "problem has been solved". In some cases this may be true, but in most cases the training is still not complete. Most, if not every dog, will "test" this new learning experience, i.e., they will increase their attempts to get away with barking. This testing period usually occurs during the second week of training. When it does occur you must remain consistent - do not alter your use of the no bark collar.

Once your dog is trained, you must continue to place the no bark collar on him in every situation in which he must be quiet. He may see a new dog or a squirrel through a window for the first time and he may bark. If he is not wearing the no bark collar he may get away with barking and his training may suffer a setback. If he is wearing the no bark collar, he will stop barking immediately and any setback will be prevented.
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My GSP, two of her littermates that I have followed and their dam do not & did not bark. Another male sibling was placed in a house with a lab and a weim. who both barked a lot so the other GSP is now a "barker". IMO barking is a combination of genetics and learned behavior.

The longer in a dog's life it gets by with barking the harder it is to correct. If the stimulus is another neighborhood barking dog or dogs the anti-bark training becomes exponentially more difficult and success is less likely. In addition to a no-bark collar you can try spraying the dog with water as a deterent.

[wems2371]

My mom has in the past purchased on two separate occasions, "debarked" collies from the same city breeder. I AM NOT ADVOCATING THIS AND AM NOT EDUCATED ENOUGH TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT IT ENTAILS--just passing along. Anyway, this breeder lives in the city, has a dozen or so collies--and gets all of them debarked. I don't know how invasive the surgery is, what it costs, or at what age she does it. Anyway, my mom's two dogs are normal in every way mentally and physically. They can still bark, but it comes out as a very whispery hoarse bark that has no where near the depth of a regular bark. I don't know if it helps with whining, as these 2 weren't whiners. I would definitely advocate trying to train out of your situation, but if that doesn't work-you may want to check into this. It may sound cruel to some, but then some people consider docking tails and removing dew claws cruel.........so I guess it's how you see it. Denise

[snips]

I IN NO WAY think a working dog should be surgically debarked. I have seen several dogs that were done that cannot get enough air when working in hot conditions from scar tissue caused from the surgery. I know of a couple that had to have follow up surgery just to reduce this tissue. The dogs never made performance dogs. So, just a word to the wise...I DO suggest bark collars. TriTronics Bark Eliminator

[MikeB]

Burls,

I have some questions... What age is he? Neutered or intact?

How long has this been going on?
When does your dog do this whining and barking when left alone in the back yard or in a kennel run?
Does he do this when no one is home like during the day?
Is he allowed in the house at all?
Has this only been occuring during the winter months?
How much DAILEY exercise has he had in the last 90 days.

Waiting to hear back.
MikeB

[Crystal kennels]

When you verbally scold him...you are in fact reinforcing that barking behavior. I assume he's tied up or in a kennel when he's barking? Shorthairs need lots and lots of exercise and with you living in the city most likely he's not getting enough. The bark collars work well and I would definitely get one when he's alone or sees you and starts barking. You need to find ways to get him more exercise. Get some durable kong toys and fill them with Cheese-wiz or peanut butter and toss 2 or 3 of those in his kennel so he has something to occupy him. Try the 'horse balls' with the handle that he can play with and carry around. Hope this helps.......................

Judy

www.crystalkennels.com

[bird]

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[bobman]

My rescue GSP acted just like that, I bought the

Tri tronics bark eliminator, best $100.00 I ever spent

5 levels, replaceable battery and solve the problem in one day, no affect on the hunting ability of the dog.

They actually have a calming effect on the dog, mine quit fretting in the kennel and learned to relax in the kennel

[nitrex]

You will probably never get this problem fixed! It comes from all the English Pointer breed in to him! The German breed dogs never barked or whined until the introducion of the long tails and white bodies of the EP.

Just kidding ------- Sorry everyone, it's just that it has been over a week since we have had the GSP/EP debate so I thought I should throw it out there again!

Use a bark collar.

Nitrex

[Greg Jennings]

Geeez. Put the TT Bark Limiter on him, set it on 3 to start. Increase or decrease if necessary. Quit worrying about it.

You don't want this little tickle that you do with a training e-collar. Going ahead and whacking them pretty good is the more humane route.

Greg J.

[bobman]

Geeez. Put the TT Bark Limiter on him, set it on 3 to start. Increase or decrease if necessary. Quit worrying about it.

You don't want this little tickle that you do with a training e-collar. Going ahead and whacking them pretty good is the more humane route.

Greg J.

thats exactly what I did and it worked perfectly