Re: Barking at Sleep Time

In Reply to: Barking at Sleep Time
Category:   Barking
Posted by:  Robyn Greaves
Posted on:  September 29, 2002 at 16:03:11

: I will start of with a big "Thank you" to the moderators of this board. Your advice is invaluable.

: Now...on to the question...we have 2 JRTs: an 8 year old female and an 8 month old male. The male barks at night while we are trying to sleep. You see, the neighbor leaves his dogs out all night and they bark incessantly, and our male decides that there must be something worth barking for and wakes us up. We have already complained to the dog warden about the neighbor's dogs. He's just one of those people...enough said.

: When our male does wake us up, what is the best way to let him know that his barking is unacceptable? Thanks in advance for your help.

Response:

Hi Robyn,

Bless your little guy's heart -- I imagine he wouldn't make a peep at night if not for your neighbors' dogs! And I certainly understand if your inclination has been to go to him and tell him "it's okay" when he barks in reaction to what he hears... :-)

However, teaching a terrier to stop barking requires that you first get it's attention. This means that your pup should be close enough to you so that you can quickly and easily turn his focus away from the "outside influences." Once you have his attention, tell him to BE QUIET! or STOP BARKING! and the milli-second he obeys, praise him.

I assure you that with proper, consistent training, your pup will still bark when he should but stop when you ask him to... :-)