When we first got Tootsie, our Blue heeler mix, we lived out in the country, so there was not usually any other people nearby, and she was a pretty quiet dog.
Then, last fall, my husband almost died, and we had to leave everything and move to town where we could get him to the VA hospital for treatment.
Now, we live on a sidestreet, but there is a whole lot of foot traffic, and people walking up and down all day and night.
Tootsie thought she was supposed to bark at everyone who came by. Scolding her would stop her, but only until the next person walked past the house.
I found a device on Amazon called the "Dog Repeller", and it emit an ultrasonic noise when you push the button.
The first time I tried it, Tootsie stopped barking and ran into the shed. After a few days of this re-inforcement; she stopped barking at people unless someone actually comes into the yard. It only costs a few dollars , and it is well worth it ! the dog doesn't get hurt like with a shock collar, and they learn really fast not to bark.
Our Labrador Retriever, Bruce, barks a lot. He barks when there are people. He barks when something surprises him. Sometimes, it's tolerable, but because he is a really big dog, his voice is really big, too! Some of our neighbors are already complaining about the noise. Thank goodness they don't report us to community officials or worse, the police.
My friend already told me that I should try purchasing a shock collar to teach Bruce. I am considering it, although I think that it can be cruel. I just hope that when I indeed buy this, Bruce would learn his lesson and stop barking a lot.
I have tried shock collars, and I do not like them one bit ! The ones where you push the button and it shocks them are not too bad, but the ones that are triggered by barking are horrible. I had one because i had a dog at the time that barked at every little thing. I put the bark collar on her, and let her out into the yard. It was not long before she saw something and started barking at it. The collar shocked her, and she yiped; so then the collar shocked her again.
That poor dog went streaking through the back yard , screaming as she went, and every time that she screamed, she got shocked again.
When she got up close to me, I held out my arms, and she just jumped right up into my arms, shaking and whimpering. I took that collar off of her, and NEVER used it again. The barking was better than the torture that she went through with the shock collar.
The little bark stopping device that I got from Amazon works much, much better, doesn't hurt the dog, and costs way less besides !
We have 2 dogs and one always seems to be barking at something. She is a great protected of us all and our house so we really can't complain. She won't even let people close to our front door!! It is a blessing because in our neighborhood there has been a few break ins so we feel confident in her protection. Our other dog just follows suit and seems to just do what the other is doing. I swear she has no clue what she's even barking at !
The protector barks at everything... we have lived in our home almost 7 years and for 7 years the same landscaper comes, the same day and the same time every week... she barks nonstop every single time! Still after 7 years!!!
Oh... did I mention she also barks at our coffee maker when it beeps??? Yep !!!
She is a great protected of us all and our house so we really can't complain. She won't even let people close to our front door!! It is a blessing because in our neighborhood there has been a few break ins so we feel confident in her protection. Our other dog just follows suit and seems to just do what the other is doing.