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I'm afraid of losing Pooh Bear.


JackieMaya

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Lately when I've been letting the dogs in the backyard, I've had Pooh Bear on a retractable leash the whole time. If I let Pooh Bear loose, I have the shock collar on him. When I just let them out (at 11:45 a.m.), I had the shock collar (with a remote control) on Pooh Bear. When he started barking at the squirrels, I pressed the button on the remote, and either it wasn't working or it didn't have any effect on him. I tried it on myself yesterday, and the shock was definitely working. And I made sure the the tone was working on Pooh Bear when I let him out.

One of my neighbors started yelling "Shut that dog up! You should put him to sleep! I'm not going to yell any more. Next time I'm calling the cops."

I'm sitting here bawling, trying to figure out what I can do. Obviously Pooh Bear will HAVE to be on a leash from now on every time he goes outside. But what kind of life is that for a young active dog? I have a nice big fenced yard, but I can't let him loose any more because of my neighbor.

I'm not sure how many times the cops have to come over before they can take your dogs. They haven't been over since the first time, but if there's one more bark, I'm sure the neighbor will send them over. And would they take ALL my dogs? I'm just terrified and frustrated and depressed.

And now I'm afraid to go out of town, because the dog sitter will HAVE to make sure there's no barking.

I just don't know what to do. I can't stop crying.

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you need to call the police and tell them you are training the dog to stop barking, but the neighbor refuses to understand.

you will have to keep Pooh on a leash while you train him. come upwith one word (like QUIET!) said in a stern voice when he barks, then you can do a couple of things. first, yell quiet then spray him with a garden hose.
not enough to make it fun, but a short, sharp spritz, strong enough to make him listen. then bring him inside. no fun outside for a while after every spritzing. then a little later, take him out again. when he stops barking when you yell quiet, then congratulate and treat him.

you will need to use both treats and punishment in his case, until he learns thoroughly the meaning of the command. and obeys it every time.
this seems harsh, but its in both your best interests before the neighbors
make a scene about it.

you can do this, you just HAVE to be both stern, and consistent. and it has to be done before winter, obviously....

8)

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That is very upsetting but, I can't see how the neighbor can complain about a dog barking..... it's not like you leave him out there barking 24/7.....dogs will bark.
In our town the noise code starts at 10pm.
As long as you're not breaking any noise codes, I can't see there'll be a problem. :wink:
Hang in there J.M, and good luck with PoohBear !!!

And tell that neighbor to shut-up cause she sounds worse than the dog barking !!!! :evilbat:

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actually, as much as I agree with you, noise codes usually cover things like power tools and lawn mowers, and stereo's and such. dog barking falls under a nuisance code usually. its worth looking into, because I agree, at 11:45 in the morning most people are up and about, and if Pooh is only barking for a few minutes it shouldnt be an issue. I'll lend her neighbors the two Chi's next door if she wants to know what nuisance barking is!! their owner is an idiot.....

:roll:

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[quote name='Debbie']That is very upsetting but, I can't see how the neighbor can complain about a dog barking..... it's not like you leave him out there barking 24/7.....dogs will bark.
In our town the noise code starts at 10pm.
As long as you're not breaking any noise codes, I can't see there'll be a problem. :wink:
Hang in there J.M, and good luck with PoohBear !!!

And tell that neighbor to shut-up cause she sounds worse than the dog barking !!!! :evilbat:[/quote]

indeed.
JM, check your town noise code, as long as Pooh Bear isnt barking after the noise code then they cant do anything. Of course the neighbors can call the police and the police might come out to your house but you can explain to them your situation and they'll most likely just live ya alone...

generally if someone complains about a barking dog then the city will send you a warning letter in the mail and after 2 or 3 warnings they can fine you but i highly doubt they can take your dogs away because of barkig.

can you go over to your neighbor and try to nicely explain why your dogs barks and what you are trying to do to stop it?
kill them with kindness....they'll be less likely to be mean to ya :)

good luck!

oh and are you sure the collar is tight enough on pooh bear? with all that hair you're going to have to put the collar on pretty tight for him

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y'know, I'll never understand that. people buy a house, where they can see/hear/tell there's a dog, then yell at the dog owner when the dogs barks...DOGS BARK.....unless its incessant or 24/7, GET OVER IT.

if you hate dogs that much, why did you buy a house next door to one???

:evil:

still, its in your best interests to get Pooh trained. some people are born stupid and never grow out of it....

:evilbat:

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Call the police and ask how much barking is considered nuisence barking. One or two barks while he's outside shouldn't be a problem I don't think.

You'll still have to continue with the training, but at least you might not have to be so paranoid about one or two random barks.

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Other than barking at squirrels, Pooh Bear is VERY well-behaved. He's just obsessed with squirrels. And my dogs are inside dogs. I let them outside to go to the bathroom and get some exercise, and I'm ALWAYS out there with them whenever they're in the back yard. So it's not like it's going on all day long. And if Pooh Bear starts barking, I get after him right away (same thing with the other two). In fact, there hasn't been any barking all week until today at almost noon. Since the neighbor yelled that I should have "that damn dog put to sleep" he's obviously not a dog person. So Pooh Bear will be on a retractable leash every time he goes outside. He's just wonderful on the leash. He saw a few squirrels, and I just gave a little tug on the leash and said "SHHH" and he didn't bark.

For those who don't know Pooh Bear's history, he was in the rescue shelter from the time he was 7 weeks old, and was in about 6 homes before I adopted him when he was 14 months old. He had been adopted twice and returned due to no fault of his own. So he hadn't had any continual (if any) training. He's come so incredibly far in the four months I've had him that it's just amazing. He's very smart and very eager to please. He's very well-behaved in the house and on the leash and in the yard UNLESS he sees some squirrels; then he just can't help himself.

I finally quit crying and will just have to ALWAYS have Pooh Bear on a leash when he's in the back yard, and we'll just constantly work on obedience in the back yard on the leash.

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i hate it when people think the world owes them something! can ya just shoot the neighbor and be done with it? our neighbor ties their jrt outside and she barks like nobody's business. yes at 2 am this is annoying but i wouldn't dream of having her pts.

it's a hard row but JM you can help him be less reactive to squirrels. you are gonna have to be consistent and patient and that means your retard neighbor will have to just keep her(?) pants on. i would talk to the police and the neighbor and explain that you are working on the problem but it doesn't help when she yells! is this your only neighbor? do other neighbors complain?

*hands you a tissue*

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I live in a nice suburban residential area, and this is the ONLY neighbor who has ever complained about my dogs. After the cops came over a few months ago, I talked to three of my neighbors about it. They all said that they loved my dogs and that they feel safer knowing that my dogs are there. And they said "hey, dogs bark!"

He's still a puppy (about 1-1/2), so maybe he'll outgrow it. But in the meantime, I'll just have to keep Pooh Bear on his leash all the time in the back yard and work on obedience training whenever we're out there.

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sorry if i am repeating myself but do you have a 'watch me' command? if you work with him on watching you (low distractions at first) you can train him to automatically watch you when he sees squirrel. you have to establish the watch command and then inch your way into outside then onto birds then the dreaded vermin.

when gaia is uneasy she lets me know by sitting and watching me. i don't even have to tell her to watch cause it is automatic now. i have taught her that i will handle the situation. so she looks to me and i take whatever action necessary to make her comfortable. i used "watch" to get her focused on me then we did watch in the living room, backyard or in the car or at the front door. it's not an overnight bewitched deal tho. you still will have to manage his outside time until he can be taught an alternate behavior -- if he is sitting and watching you he can't be barking at squirrels.

it may very well get better with time as he is young and still fairly new to your pack. i am glad to help you in any way i can. i know how exhausting it can be but the final product will bring tears of joy!

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if its only squirrels, I have heard of a unique squirrel stopping technique, also using water.

if you have a long garden hose, mount it up in the tree where he barks at the squirrels. let him out, let him bark, but as soon as he starts, turn the hose on. this makes the dog think the tree or the squirrels is what is reacting, not you. turn it off right away, and wait, when he starts to bark, squirt him again. he will eventually put the water together with the tree/squirrels, and stop barking. you have to catch him every time tho or it wont have the effectiveness you need.

8)

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First, find out specifically what noise codes you are bound by.
Dogs gotta bark! Not non stop, not all night, but dangit they gotta bark!
If Pooh Bear is a treat fiend, work on that watch me or quiet command with treats. Perhaps even throw in a 'that'll do' to tell him barking time is over.
Geez, Candy barks too much in my opinion but I give her a short time to bark then tell her to knock it off for a while.
Next time you're A$$HOLE neighbor yells at you or your dog and says the dog should be put to sleep, smile sweetly and say thanks for the oh so helpful advice and then turn your back on them!
Here's another idea, got a lawn mower? Turn the danged thing on and tell Pooh Bear to let 'er rip!

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Your neighbor sounds like one heck of a jerk! I'd check out the noise laws just to be aware of the actual ordinances in your area. I don't have any training advice, since I've never had much a problem with barkers.

I do know it is possible to get used to the sound of barking and tune it out so it's a natural ambient noise. After living next door in my youth to two kenneled beagles for two years I didn't even hear their baying. They belonged to my ignorant landlord. :roll: If the rest of your neighbors are fine with it, then I don't see how the guy could cause too much trouble.

Good luck with the training! I like Carolk9s lawn mower suggestion. :evilbat:

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LOL - I like the lawn mower idea too! Too bad I don't have any loud equipment or lawn mowers.

I really don't think I could go over there and be civil to the asshole after he told me I should have Pooh Bear put to sleep for barking once in a while at the squirrels. And it really is once in a while.

So I'll just do lots and lots of obedience training with Pooh Bear on the leash whenever I have him in the back yard. Hopefully in time he'll grow up (he's just barely 1-1/2) and grow out of the squirrel fascination, and eventually be able to run around in the yard again (but silently).

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[quote name='courtnek']if its only squirrels, I have heard of a unique squirrel stopping technique, also using water.

if you have a long garden hose, mount it up in the tree where he barks at the squirrels. let him out, let him bark, but as soon as he starts, turn the hose on. this makes the dog think the tree or the squirrels is what is reacting, not you. turn it off right away, and wait, when he starts to bark, squirt him again. he will eventually put the water together with the tree/squirrels, and stop barking. you have to catch him every time tho or it wont have the effectiveness you need.

8)[/quote]

LOL - that method wouldn't work because there are SOOO many trees! I would have to put about a hundred garden hoses in the trees!

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I've been taking Pooh Bear outside on his retractable leash, and he's being wonderful, not even trying to bark. Maya went over to the gate and did a little growl at something, and Pooh Bear wanted to go over there to investigate, but I gave a little tug on the leash and said stay and he did. I'm hoping that we'll see a bunch of squirrels while he's on the leash so that I can start working on taking his mind off them.

We'll get through this!

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[quote name='rotten_two']JM i'm not sure he will do much learning in the presence of squirrels just yet. i would take any squirrel free time and use it to train him to do something else so that when you add squirrels he will do it cause it's second nature to him :) [u][b]just a point to ponder while you pee![/b][/u][/quote]

LOL - The squirrels aren't out there all the time (or at least aren't letting us know they're out there), so we spend lots of time on basic obedience. When he's on the leash, he's real focused on me. And since I can't let him loose for exercise, I'll just have to start walking the three dogs again! It'll be good for all of us.

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I talked to two of my neighbors today and told him about the butthead who was yelling about Pooh Bear. One of the neighbors lives right next to me, and the other one lives next to her. They both said that they never hear my dogs! And the one next door to me is retired, so she's home most of the time. So I know that they'll vouch for me and my dogs if it ever comes to that. I told them that I had Pooh Bear on a leash in the back yard. They both said why shouldn't he be able to run in his own yard? Oh well, there's always has to be one butthead in every neighborhood!

Anyway, Pooh Bear is great on the retractable leash in the yard. I just feel bad that I can't let him go for fear that he'll bark at the squirrels and piss the butthead off. The fact that he told me I should have Pooh Bear put to sleep (for barking at squirrels) makes me afraid that maybe he would do something to my dogs if I got him any madder than he is. I'm going to start taking the three kids for walks more often too since I'm having to curtail Pooh Bear's exercise in the back yard.

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[quote name='JackieMaya']I talked to two of my neighbors today and told him about the butthead who was yelling about Pooh Bear. One of the neighbors lives right next to me, and the other one lives next to her. They both said that they never hear my dogs! And the one next door to me is retired, so she's home most of the time. So I know that they'll vouch for me and my dogs if it ever comes to that. I told them that I had Pooh Bear on a leash in the back yard. They both said why shouldn't he be able to run in his own yard? Oh well, there's always has to be one butthead in every neighborhood!

Anyway, Pooh Bear is great on the retractable leash in the yard. I just feel bad that I can't let him go for fear that he'll bark at the squirrels and piss the butthead off. The fact that he told me I should have Pooh Bear put to sleep (for barking at squirrels) makes me afraid that maybe he would do something to my dogs if I got him any madder than he is. I'm going to start taking the three kids for walks more often too since I'm having to curtail Pooh Bear's exercise in the back yard.[/quote]

I know somebody else suggested this already but if you're really that nervous about him doing something to any of your dogs then I don't about the laws by you but county laws here is that if somebody threatens you or YOUR ANIMALS and you call the cops they can order that the person stay away from your property and they can even arrest him for actualy threatening an animals life!

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