Yellow lab barking???

The dog needs to know who is boss and what its place in 'the pack' is and right now it sounds like the dog is at the top of the pile and has YOU trained.

http://www.mightypets.com/product.asp?3=339

I have the larger one of these for my American Bulldog and he will very rarely test it and when he does, he is reminded why he is wearing it. ONE bark, one yelp, problem solved. He remembers for months at a time.

 

Just keep the doggy remote away from the kids, huh?

 

What remote ?

 

I wonder how many cases they don't show?

 

It just works off the noise of his barking? I was guessing you could make him confess he peed on the couch or whatever.

 

where's The Idtio Whisperer when we need him?

(what thread was that in?...damn it...now I'm gonna have to dig through the Best Of thread...)

 

Yep, bark activated.

You were originally thinking of the electronic training collars.

 

for today i have been telling her no when she barks and good girl when she is quite and so far so good but other methods may need to be used... Thanks again for the helpful respones

 

lost my Chocolate lab about 3 months back,he was 14.Labs love to please and she will alwyas be hungry so you need to watch the food!We crated him till he was 1-1/2 and then the crate was always there but open and he stayed in there like it was his place.We have 2 Bloodhounds and right now they are crated just at nite.
We also walked him with a backpack and some water bottles in it.The one hound is very similar.Not a barker but if you don't give him the attention he wants he'll find a way to get it!

 

Have you trained her to do anything? Shake a paw, sit, stay, etc? Once you have her trained to work for rewards, then teach her to Speak. That will reduce her barking a lot. She will tend to save it for when she thinks she will get rewarded for barking. The trick is you have to play this speak/reward "game" a lot if she likes to bark now. It will quiet her down.

 

i second that...

 

yeah she sits and gives paw.. she also fetches her football if we ask for it. she mainly sits when you have food, its usually harder to get her to sit if she knows you dont have food for her. she has been getting better though

 

Well then, teach her to speak, it won't stop the barks, but it will reduce them without the electro shock treatment. It is all about positive reinforcement, that's all dogs understand, they just don't understand punishment. They will react to it, but they can't understand it. Have you ever seen a dog that has been hit with a newspaper? They look bewildered for a reason, they just don't understand why you just hit them. You have to find the positive side of the situation and exploit it to your benefit, (IE teach them to act the way you want them to act then reward them for being good).

 

how do i teach her do speak when thats all she does sometimes? How do i do it with out her thinking that is that behavior i want? So am i basically saying speak and when she does say good girl, give her a treat? I think she kinda already does that but for doing other things also, like playing, going out, etc.. and that is without my help.. Or does this just get her to understand the difference of when i want her to speak and when i want her to be silent?

 

It's the same way you would teach them to shake a paw. Find a trigger for it and then add in the command with a reward each time they do it right. Every dog is different, but you can always find something that excites them and makes them bark. Add in the speak comand when ever they bark and you are on the right path. I've done this with all the dogs I've owned and they eventually get the idea. She will begin to understand that barking on command for a reward is the time that she should bark when you are around.

 

Has yelling at her to stop barking worked yet?

 

There are a few flaws in this logic:
1. We are not the dogs mother
2. We are not dogs
3. there are several other "reprimands" that are not completely obvious to humans BEFORE the mom nips as warning (eye contact, body language communication).

Dog learn primarily through classical conditioning (associative: think Pavlov) and operant conditioning (consequences: Skinner).
Operant condition uses + r (positive reinforcement); - R (negative reinforcement); + P (Positive punishment); and - P (negative punishment).

Positive punishment in this behavioral model is the application of an aversive (bad thing) to make a specific behavior STOP. In the behavior model, punishment also has a lot of "fallout":
1. Punishers can suppress all behavior across the board - even the behaviors that you are trying to teach.
2. Punishers only temporarily suppress the undesired behavior. You still need to train the correct response to take the place of the undesired behavior. This is where we see a lot of fallout and other behavioral issues.
3. Punishment is strongly associated with the handler. I think this needs no explaining.
4. Punishment is difficult to execute properly because the punishment needs to be only be associated with the target behavior (undesired behavior). This is impossible to execute because we get what is called a Unpredictable Avoidance Response. Which in plain english means that the dog didn't associate the punishment with his "bad behavior". He may have associated the punishment with the handler or the location (like the backyard). Now the dog starts avoiding the owner or the backyard
5. Punishment with poor timing isn't punishment, it's confusing to the dog and it's down right abusive. When I say timing I mean 0.5 seconds or less.
6. Punishers can lead to aggression in dogs - dogs are fight or flight animals. How many times would I have to punch you before you decide to punch me back?
7. Punishment must occur each and everytime the behavior does - otherwise you will only make the behavior stronger. WHICH MEANS EVEN WHEN THE DOG IS NOT WITH YOU! ANY behavior that is reinforced (even if self-reinforcing) sometimes and punished sometimes will not result in an overall cessation of that behavior.
8. You must make a huge impression with a punisher and should only be a 1 time occurance (if used correctly). How much is too much? How much is too little. This is where people really get into trouble.

 

My guess: NO
Yelling at her is reinforcing the behavior.. why is she barking: because she wants attention. What are you giving her by yelling "no"? Attention/reinforcement for her behavior.