Help with yappy tiny dog please?????

[carolinagirl58]

This is SO frustrating for me. I have had and trained dogs for years and never had one I couldn't do a thing with. Until this one! I have 3 dogs. One 65 pound female pit pull who is brilliant, easy to train and eager to learn. I also have an 8 pound long haired chihuahua who rarely ever gives me any trouble. And then there's the problem dog, a 3 pound long haired chihuahua named Lucy. Lucy yaps. I let the out to go pottie and she hits the ground yapping, chasing shadows, yapping at the moon and basically getting everyone else charged up. She is not a smart dog, but is so adorable she has been allowed to get away with not knowing anything for a long time. She is not leash trained so taking her out to go pottie on a leash isn't going to happen. Like I said...she is not smart. She had hypoglycemia problems (including a couple bad seizures) as a small pup and I honestly think it damaged her brain. It took 8 months to house break her and I am good at housebreaking dogs! I am getting an Anatolian Shepherd pup later this summer and don't want him to pick up her yapping so I need to break her of this ASAP! I am considering a small E-collar for her. Innotek has a very small one that will fit her but the range is quite bad. Anyone know of another E-collar that will work on a tiny dog? Or any other suggestions for me? I have to get this stopped! Thanks

 

[dkvart1]

We adopted a minature schnauzer who is a barker... our back yard abuts a preserve and he's constantly catching wind of things and barking, which then gets my 120 lb johnson american bulldog going. The only thing I've found effective when they get going is to position myself in front of the little one, standing as tall as possible, kinda puffing myself up so to speak, and issuing a firm "NO". Then I move toward him, backing him up. It's become pretty effective. NO alone does not work on this dog (after 18 months), although standing over him does, in effect claiming the space from him. I do this to the big one as well now since once he gets going he isn't inclined to stop if he feels it's a threat. Occasionally simply clapping my hands will stop him now.

You could try a clicker, when she barks inappropiately the click should get her attention, followed by a firm "NO". It may work... or a small tin can of change of rocks that makes noise.... the key is to get her attention refocused along with the command, eventually the command alone should work. The key is consistency... use it every time unwanted behavior occurs... patience is key, some little ones are just strong willed, I know ours sure is!

Good luck.

 

[Rammy]

One word = Chihuahua...............I think its a genetic fault.

Rammy

 

[zazouse]

Good luck.
My pom 'RIP' was the most obedient pet i had but the older she got the worse the yaped i finely learned to live with it rather than beat a dead horse so to speak

 

[Stacykins]

You say she isn't leash trained. Why not start there if you want to train her?

 

[schellie69]

I have a doxie/chi mix and he is yappy I have been working with him and I agree a can with coins anything to dry their attention. I have used a clicker to reinforce good behavior. Catch her not barking and click and treat, might work you could use the can to distract when she stops barking click and treat. With this behavior it takes time patience and repeating. Good luck.

 

[carolinagirl58]

Quote:
yeah....it could be. She is just so darn cute though!

dkvart1, Part of the difficulty is that when the door opens to go out to potty, she takes off running and is too far away for me to clicker train or stand over her. At night it's especially bad because she just disppears into the darkness, yapping the whole way. Telling her no has no effect. I'd love to find an E-collar that has a buzzer on it. I really don't think shocking her is necessary, but some E-collars have buzzer setting that would work. We live in the country and often this little brat runs several hundred feet up the driveway barking at shadows and/or chasing deer, birds, rabbits, or butterflies! I spent $1000

at Tractor supply Saturday so I could fence in the area right in front and to the side of the house to keep the dogs closer, especially at night. I am getting sheep and chickens at the end of the month and I can only imagine the problems she will cause with the livestock.

 

[CluckyJay]

One good kick to the head from the sheep oughta take care of that.

Edited to add--this was meant to be funny, not mean. LOL

Good luck. I just use my yappy pom-poos annoying barking to keep coons, skunks and mink away from my chickens. She's my chicken dog and I plan to breed her to another yappy little beast to have a pack of ankle biters. She's pretty good at herding the chickens too.

 

[constance]

I'm working on this with a rescued sheltie I ended up with. I like the distraction idea followed by the reward for being quiet. It sounds like the dog barks in the house, too. I have found a squirt gun works wonders for distraction (the can was too much, terrorized him). Getting help from a 2nd person helps a ton so that the dog doesn't learn to bark when the squirter isn't near. There are also citronella bark collars that spray when the dog barks. They have worked well for a couple of my friends, but I haven't gone that route (yet?). I agree that leash training would help. You could start that inside, too.

Good luck!