Can little dogs be trained (chihuahua, barking, train, natural)

[tinkerbell030681]

I have a little dog and am wondering if it can be trained to not bark at every little noise it hears? Does anyone know of any good trainer or what/how I should do? We live in South East Houston. She is 1 1/2 years old but is a small chihuahua/dashaund dog. I know chihuahua are normally barkers, but I think we should be able to break it since it recently started that last 6 months. Any ideas are welcome. Positive ideas. I will not use a shock collar on her cause she is so tiny. She is under 10 lbs so I am not considering the collar at all.

Your comments will be appreciated. Thank you

[LuvABull.Denver]

I would NOT recommend a shock collar for barking. Come to think of it, I would not recommend a shock collar to most people as they not properly trained nor used, I would however use it on some people

To get your little barker under control, will take time and consistant training. Just keep in mind you have a dog with two breeds that LOVES to alert you to a leaf moving.

Some simple ideas, a water bottle and a few coins in a plastic 16oz bottle to start with. When your little one barks (and you don't want it) give her a squirt of water. (Make sure it's on stream and not mist, you don't want her to think she's at the salon being cooled.) Give her a shush, too. You can use the plastic bottle the same way, when she barks at the leaf moving, shake the bottle, the noise will catch her off guard and again you can shush her.

These are just a couple of the many good ideas you will get here...hope it helps!

[Coldjensens]

Never had one, but as far as I can see from other peoples dogs - No.

mod edit

[foxywench]

ALL dogs an be trained doesnt mattr their size or age...the question here is can YOU be trained...
in oreder to stop yoru dog form barking all the time YOU need to train yourself to pick 1 method and be Diligent consistent and ontop of it!
choose how many barks you are going to allow her ot have when someone comes to the door ect...training her to NEVER bark is completly going against nature, but trianing her to be quiet on command however is much more natural. in order to do that you need to decide when "enough" is and be ontop of ALWAYS stopping her after that same number.
my guys know, 3 barks is "enough" and by that point i know theres something that needs my attention.

once youve picked your number you need your "ending command" and plenty of treats (i liketiny peices of boiled chicken for this, but little peoces of hotdogs are equally popular in my house.

3 barks tell her "enough" or "quiet" or whatever your ending command is and IMMEIATLY pop a treat in her mouth (cant bark if shes nomming...continue associating treats with the action of being quiet and getting treats, the idea is you want her to associate the word enough with her being quiet and associate the being quiet with treats. to do that the quiet ork must first be "charged" (by associating the treat and the word and the action all together, eventually the goal is to hold back on the treat say enough let her be quiet and then treat for the quiet part....but at first the timing is imperitive you need to get the quiet command and the treat in before she has chance to bark again...

if training a quiet ommand doesnt work, a spray bottle with water and a little bit of vinegar or a can ful of pennies ( a rattle/noise maker) is the next step...give the quiet command and if theres no quiet following a shake of thecan or a quick shot of the bottle shoudl "startle" her enough to then treat the quiet aspect

she can get this BUT you need to be super persistent with her.

[TamRE]

My parents used a squirt gun for their dog, but it didn't work. Then they switched to a can with pennies in it where they would shake it. That didn't work. So then they decided to work on the behavior that was triggering the dog barking. Here is a web link that might give you some ideas: Barking: How to Get Your Dog to Quiet Down : The Humane Society of the United States

[tinkerbell030681]

Thank you for that article. I am going to try a few of there suggestions. I appreciate it. Yes, I know I am the one that has to do the work to train the dog for the other poster but I needed ideas since my other dog that I had for 15 years never barked at the door or anything walking by outside. LOL. I don't mind the work just needed to know what to do and how to do it correctly. Much appreciated!!!

JMO

Originally Posted by TamRE

My parents used a squirt gun for their dog, but it didn't work. Then they switched to a can with pennies in it where they would shake it. That didn't work. So then they decided to work on the behavior that was triggering the dog barking. Here is a web link that might give you some ideas: Barking: How to Get Your Dog to Quiet Down : The Humane Society of the United States