How much barking is acceptable?

[HerculesMomma]

Herc likes to bark and growl at anything in the yard that he considers out of the ordinary. I've already acclimated him to my one neighbor and wife since they're outside a lot. We did introductions on leash in the front of the house on numerious occassions and these neighbors were willing particpants (the guy is a big dog lover). They've pet him through the fence, after many on leash introductions, while I was outside supervising as well. Now when the neighbor pulls into the driveway, Hercules cries for him to come and pet him Much better than barking

However, big work trucks he's not used to seeing parked on the street he'll bark at. Neighbors he's not used to seeing outside since it's been getting warm, he'll bark at, people out walking he can see pass by the fence, he barks at. And these aren't little woo woo's, these are mean dog barks but he's not frothing at the mouth either.

Where do you draw the line? I mean I want my dog to warn me if something is "out of the norm" when it comes to barking, but I surely don't want him barking at the neighbors. I've taken to going out there and telling him to knock it off when it comes to the neighbors. Which he really doesn't listen very well until I make a move to go and physically get him or tell him to come. I always stop him if he barks in the morning or late at night no matter what. But now he's seen the one set of neighbors outside on numerous occassions and will still bark at them initially. These neighbors are kitty corner behind me. I won't even go into the display he put on when the other next door neighboors girlfriend was outside killing weeds. Talk about scaring the crap out of someone with how he carried on and I couldn't get him to stop without removing him from the situation.

So do I hope with time he'll see these things as normal (he's only been here for 3 months and the fence has only been here for a month)? Or do I have to stop him from barking at everything? How much of this behavior would it take before I really get my neighbors ticked off?

[jakesfostermom]

Sue - my male and female rottie have only been here for a few months as well, and we have similar issues. Mine are fine until the neighbor dogs (small and yappy) start barking at us...every day for months now this has gone on....anyway - mine have finally realized that their return barking is not appreciated and will not be allowed by me....but the way to this end wasn't necessarily conventional...when we go out, I turn my water hose on, with the sprayer attached.....if they so much as posture toward the yappers, I give them a short burst. Nubs go down and they move away from the fence. I accompany this with a "leave it now" and go about my business...this took about a week....and they still have moments they just can't stand it, but for the most part if I say "leave it" and reach for the hose, they will move away and not bark....I rarely have to even turn the water on anymore....good luck with finding what works with Hercules - I know how frustrating it is to have a loud barking dog on your side and scared neighbors on the other.....

[LavenderRott]

Mine are allowed one bark. Then it is in the house. I hate listening to the neighbor's border collie pup and I am sure none of my neighbors appreciate the beagle! Hey, if a beagle can figure it out, I am sure that you will find a way to teach Hercules.

[German Vanegas]

Originally Posted by HerculesMomma

However, big work trucks he's not used to seeing parked on the street he'll bark at. Neighbors he's not used to seeing outside since it's been getting warm, he'll bark at, people out walking he can see pass by the fence, he barks at. And these aren't little woo woo's, these are mean dog barks but he's not frothing at the mouth either.

You have an excellent watchdog. An alarm security dog that is alert of his surroundigs and warns his family pack about people and unusual things coming close to the dog's territory (the family's property). My kind of rottweiler

[Luvs]

Akasha likes to bark at people going by on the street. If she is outside when she starts to bark, I tell her one time to stop, if she continues she immediately comes into the house. I actually usually try to bring her in when I see someone down the road headed our way, it just makes things much easier, but then we don't have a fenced yard and they are on a cable out the back door with me standing right there watching and waiting for them to finish. I don't mind her letting me know someone is out there, but I HATE constant barking. I don't want a dog that annoys my neighbors as well as myself I would rather just bring her in and remove her from the situation. She has gotten better about only barking once or twice and then stopping. Unless of course it is a moose or something out of the ordinary, then it takes a little bit longer to get her to stop and come in the house.

Keil on the other hand is not a barker at all. I don't recall ever hearing him bark at someone going by on the street. He notices them, but just watches them go by. He definately has that Rottweiler "wait and see" attitude It has been amazing watching the two of them grow up. They are so different, but yet still so alike in many ways. (did that make ANY sense?) I just woke up and my brain is still kinda fuzzy

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by HerculesMomma

Herc likes to bark and growl at anything in the yard that he considers out of the ordinary. I've already acclimated him to my one neighbor and wife since they're outside a lot. We did introductions on leash in the front of the house on numerious occassions and these neighbors were willing particpants (the guy is a big dog lover). They've pet him through the fence, after many on leash introductions, while I was outside supervising as well. Now when the neighbor pulls into the driveway, Hercules cries for him to come and pet him Much better than barking

However, big work trucks he's not used to seeing parked on the street he'll bark at. Neighbors he's not used to seeing outside since it's been getting warm, he'll bark at, people out walking he can see pass by the fence, he barks at. And these aren't little woo woo's, these are mean dog barks but he's not frothing at the mouth either.

Where do you draw the line? I mean I want my dog to warn me if something is "out of the norm" when it comes to barking, but I surely don't want him barking at the neighbors. I've taken to going out there and telling him to knock it off when it comes to the neighbors. Which he really doesn't listen very well until I make a move to go and physically get him or tell him to come. I always stop him if he barks in the morning or late at night no matter what. But now he's seen the one set of neighbors outside on numerous occassions and will still bark at them initially. These neighbors are kitty corner behind me. I won't even go into the display he put on when the other next door neighboors girlfriend was outside killing weeds. Talk about scaring the crap out of someone with how he carried on and I couldn't get him to stop without removing him from the situation.

So do I hope with time he'll see these things as normal (he's only been here for 3 months and the fence has only been here for a month)? Or do I have to stop him from barking at everything? How much of this behavior would it take before I really get my neighbors ticked off?

Where you draw the line is up to you.

Where I draw the line?

I let the dogs bark a few times, then I praise them and reward them. If the "offending" object (person, dog, car, whatever) is not a threat, I redirect them in some fashion. If I want them to put on a show, I let 'em rip for a little while.
Personally, I HATE indiscriminant, silly barking... but I do want my dogs to alarm me if something is "unusual" around the property, so if they're barking, I go look and then I call the shots from there.

I'm about ready to drop off "bark collar" pamphlets to the folks with the GSD's that live on the back porch of the house behind me. The dogs bark 24/7 and there's no sleeping a full night around here for anyone within a 2 block radius. This would be considered "too much" barking....

[Anne]

I have 2 Rottweilers and neither of them are barkers thank goodness. Barking dogs drive me crazy. I think I need one of those pamphlets for the barking GSD at the back of me.

My dogs are inside with me all the time anyway and the rules here are no barking except for legitmate warning barks. They do comply and we have a relatively quiet household.

[SABELLESMOM]

What llevel of barking are you personally comfortable at? When we lived in the country, I don't remember doing too much to prevent barking, unless it got totally rediculous. We lived in the suburbs for a while too. Barking was less of an issue for me there as well.

Now, we live in the city. Nice quiet neighborhood with fairly good size yards and gardens. While many peoples dogs bark, I don't want mine to be a nuissance. I also don't want to squelsch the real watchdog capacity either. Some dogs tend to be more barky than others and there's not anything necessarily wrong in that.

We actually were beginning to wonder if Sable even had a bark when she was a pup. So it was fairly easy to not have her nuissance barking outside. She was pretty confident, always as long as things were ordinary. Besides the Cocker was doing enough barking for her. I prefer they not bark at every falling leaf, wandering squirrel, or non essential pedestrian walking by.

With her being so quiet as a pup, it was more or less a natural for her to learn not to bark at things that don't matter. It almost seemed a natural succession. One or two reminders was all they needed, as they were never outside unless I was home. (well, the Cocker needs more than one reminder but not her)

Sable does, however, alert and raise quite a rukus when it's OUT OF THE ORDINARY, as was emphasized the night we had a prowler. SHE knew things were not right and, of course she's NOT a puppy anymore. She has "grown up" so much this past year. She developed a confidence and a balance within herself and I am very pleased.

Perhaps we enhanced the protective thing by allowing her to "herd" some wild ducks at my friends farm. She kept them in nice little clumps and kept "danger" away. It's like the "big picture in child rearing." There is so much that goes into it, it seems natural. The details are sometimes quite small, yet significant when you add them all together.

[sandyz]

I really dont think you want him to stop barking at everything, but I think you will know that its getting to be a little too annoying when some crazy nutty neighbor comes out and starts blowing a boat horn

BTW, the neightbors here have now caught on that when they hear the horn, I have had enough of thier dogs barking.

[Denise L.]

Cyrus went through a phase 2 weeks ago when he barked at EVERYTHING he saw or heard outside. So much so I was awakened several times a night. That was unacceptable. After a few nights of constant "quiet!" that stopped.

He now will only bark if he sees, hears or smells something "different"

One thing he does that annoys me: When I bring him to work he will hang out by my office door and occasionally if he sees someone he knows or someone he thinks would be a fun person to know he will bark. Nubby going a mile a minute and he is as sweet as can be when the door opens. But heck! Out of a dorm of 335 kids, he may very well frighten someone doing that. He will stop on command though.

[German Vanegas]

Originally Posted by SABELLESMOM

...
Now, we live in the city. Nice quiet neighborhood with fairly good size yards and gardens. While many peoples dogs bark, I don't want mine to be a nuissance. I also don't want to squelsch the real watchdog capacity either. Some dogs tend to be more barky than others and there's not anything necessarily wrong in that...

A rottweiler barking at people coming too close to the pack's territory, or alerting about unusual things happening close by, is doing a great job as a security dog. That is a duty taken seriously by a good rottweiler. Of course, barking at anything and/or nothing is a whole different issue; it reveals poor nerves. However, in this case, "Herc" is just being an alert dog watching for his family pack. I like that type of rottweiler

[Zacky]

Zack only barks inside when he see something outside that we haven't seen or something that isn't usually there. But he will not bark at anything when he is outside.
I don't like hearing dogs bark all the time, the neighbors dog is tied up outside and is barking non-stop. This is a good distance but you can still hear him clearly.

[Patty1231]

Both of mine bark at anything approaching their property comfort zone (i.e. anything in sight/ear shot ). I do not wish to curb this because it's what they're supposed to do - however, I do not allow it to go on incessantly. I tell them both "good", "it's okay", and then tell them to "stop now". We're still working on the "stop now" part but they are getting much better with practice. I had Rocco trained pretty well last year but with the addition of Perle he's following her lead. She is quite the guard dog - she circles the perimeter of the yard each time I let her out and gives little "humrphhs" as she goes. She's 4 and I got her from the HS in December so I have no idea what her history is...she's turning out to be a GREAT dog, tho!

[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally Posted by poohbearsmom

Personally, I HATE indiscriminant, silly barking... but I do want my dogs to alarm me if something is "unusual" around the property, so if they're barking, I go look and then I call the shots from there.

this is what we do with Julius also. He will not bark at something silly but will bark usually if someone is walking by (we have an alley behind our house).

[HerculesMomma]

Thanks for your input guys it gives me somewhat of a baseline to work with. Hercules is overall a very vocal dog (likes to whine too to try and get what he wants from people ) so I'm not sure how much I could inhibit his natural tendencies overall.

With that said though, I think I'll keep working on getting him to stop barking at the neighbors. I think he's just learning the word knock it off so it will take a little time. The garden hose sounded like a good option I'm particularly concerned about him barking at these neighbors since they have two small children and I don't want these people living in fear in their own back yard. Or any neighbor for that matter. He's never allowed to bark early in the morning or at night, and if he does I'm out there with him waiting for him to do his business and get back in the house. I know as a neighbor that would really irritate me, so that much I'm knowingly considerate of.

But I think he does have natural guard dog tendencies and I don't mind that to some extent since I'm a single gal living alone. There are a few instances of barking where it's absurd (motorcyle barking) and I'll continue to have to teach him to stop with that habit. Otherwise, he will only bark at things he doesn't recognize as the norm. I hope my neighbors can bare with me until he gets used to seeing them and I get him under control.

Of course, if I say "whose there" - his guarding insticts kick in and he starts wandering the house trying to listen to what it might be and starts with his little "boofs" Rather cute really