I have a minor issue with Rorschach. He barks, a lot. It's not all the time, but whenever a dog walks past our place, he barks. If he sees the dog two yards over, he barks. If he sees a cat, he barks. He barks until they leave his line of site, then he barks a little more just to be sure.

The funny part is, he's not being protective or aggressive. I think this is a learned behavior. I believe he thinks it's an appropriate dog greeting.

Long story time:
I live in a town where every other house has at least 1 dog. Taking a half hour walk means passing 30-50 dogs. Almost all of these dogs are very territorial. Seriously, there are probably as many dogs as people in this town, but almost no one actually trains, works with, or interacts with their dogs. They claw at windows and doors while barking. They charge the fence, growl, bark, and bare their teeth. Some of the dogs are outside, with no leash, no fence, and unsupervised. If we don't spot these early and cross the street to avoid, they get right in Rorschach's face. Dogs out on walks will starting baring teeth and barking while pulling on their leashes.

Rorschach doesn't seem bothered by any of this. He likes the attention in fact. The inside dogs he looks at, but otherwise ignores. The fenced in dogs he approaches, but doesn't really respond. He's even gone nose to nose and even licked them through the fence if they take even the briefest break from barking. The free range dogs are the only ones that get a reaction, and then Rorschach only does his play growl that he does when he's fighting with his friends. He'll pull like heck to get to the dogs out on walks, but not in an aggressive manner, he just wants to play. He doesn't get hostile, he doesn't act scared, tail and ears still in full play mode. It does not matter if it's a giant mastiff or saint Bernard, he shows no fear. He doesn't get that they aren't his friends.

The funny part is if any of these dogs are MIA. Rorschach gets concerned. He anticipates each dog. He starts looking to where they usually are before we get into barking range. If they are missing that day, his ears droop, he looks back and forth at me and their usual spot, and he'll continue to watch their location long after we are past in a sort of looking over his shoulder type move (so much so he's walked into people, trees, fences, etc while doing this). If they are missing for more than a day or two, he'll start to even whine just a little when we go by.

I believe he may have decided that this is the proper dog greeting. If you see a dog, bark like mad until you don't see them. He's not growling, he's not angry, he's just barking. One older lady REALLY loves our other dog. So she walks her dog right up to the fence and gives them treats. Rorschach does not stop barking.

Whistles, high pitch dog bark devices, none of it seems to matter. Actually going outside to deal with the problem is almost a non-starter as the issue is almost over by the time I make it to him. He'll outright ignore me if I try to get his attention from inside. The barking is just that important to him.

Max (ACD) did the same thing, but I was able to break him of it with a anti-bark device. Sam (Aussie Sheppard) only ever barks at cats.

Anyone deal with something similar before? Anyone have any suggestions.

My gsd mix is a barker. He excited barks and spins. The barking was taken care of by a bark collar. It zaps him at the right time every time. I had tried treating him for being quiet, I had yelled at him (which only got him more excited and made him bark more), I had even put him in time-out for barking. The collar had it fixed the night I put it on him. I can't remember the brand but it was cheap since it is only a bark collar and not an actual ecollar. No settings but doesn't bite hard. It's also not so sensitive that he can't make some noise like light whining so I still have the hear that but it made it so I can take him on vacation and have him in a hotel without waking everybody up every time someone goes by the door. If only the thing would nip his spinning problem.

Have you tried the Pet Corrector - spray can of compressed air? Also - what kind of bark collar did you use? We had very good look with a Petsafe brand bark collar for both Archer and Z'ev.

No help here, two of mine never bark and when Avalanche barks I go check to see why he's barking. He normally has good reason (okay, a rabbit qualifies as a "good" reason?)

Thanks for the comment Amy; one of my neighbors is working about 40 miles away and has housing but can't take his dogs because they won't shut up (terriers of some kind) so he comes home overnight to let them out in the morning and then I let them out to run in the evening. He's been looking at collars but I didn't feel like I could suggest any, I'll pass your comment along to him.

checked on lunch and my collar is an older Guardian. Back when they were still green.

aljones wrote:

No help here, two of mine never bark and when Avalanche barks I go check to see why he's barking.  He normally has good reason (okay, a rabbit qualifies as a "good"  reason?)

Thanks for the comment Amy; one of my neighbors is working about 40 miles away and has housing but can't take his dogs because they won't shut up (terriers of some kind) so he comes home overnight to let them out in the morning and then I let them out to run in the evening.  He's been looking at collars but I didn't feel like I could suggest any, I'll pass your comment along to him.

Archer uses the Petsafe Basic Bark Control collar - i got it at Tractor Supply because I was desparate and needed it NOW. The battery is proprietary and has to be replaced every 3 months or so. A 2 pack is about 5-7. There is a rechargeable for dogs over 40 pounds but it more than double the cost. There are other brands, I just haven't searched them out much.

http://store.petsafe.net/basic-bark-control-collar

One thing I noticed was that using the bark collar seemed to make Archer calmer. Almost as if the bark was making him agitated rather than agitation made him bark. Go figure.

Chewy's has the basic bark collar for 29.95

Ami, thank Amy for me please. I passed her comments on to Darrell, thanks!

aljones wrote:

Ami, thank Amy for me please.  I passed her comments on to Darrell, thanks!

You're welcome. And... you got it right!

Direct attention (spray can or some other deterrent) won't work. Our setup makes it so it takes too long to get to him to correct this sort of behavior, plus we aren't home during the day.
Shock collar worries me a little bit. Our other dog gets very aggressive around cats, and our neighborhood is full of people that let their cats wander around. If one of my dogs get out, he'll be in the pound within minutes, but these cats wander freely...and then I get complaints about barking dogs...
Anywho, I'm worried about Sam's barking at cats causing Rorschach's collar to trigger. Might be our only option though.

On a walk yesterday, by the yard of one of the most aggressive dogs in our neighborhood, he sat down and started to whine...all because the dog wasn't there to bark at him.

A different dog barking won't set the collars off. At least not mine. They are sensing the vibration of the bark as much as they are hunting for the sound.

Ditto what Jenn said... even the creepy petsafe basic bark collar has a probe that detects vibration from the larynx. Also, it still allows for low level finalization like a quiet whine.