Loud Dog Worries or Not?

"We love her and my she's my litle girls world." How long have you had the dog?

Listen to Suz!

Obviously, you were in fact NOT ready for a dog. (Apparently, you didn't take anything people said to heart.) You should not even entertain getting a dog, without enrolling in obedience. You should not take an untrained dog to karate classes. You should leave, when the dog is constantly barking and disrupting others. You should not pet a dog while they are misbehaving. You shouldn't yank on a leash and say no, when a dog is pulling. You should not EVER allow your daughter to be in a dog's face.

I have grown up raising, training, and rehabilitating rescue dogs. If you look at my last question, we had a terrible time with one of our dogs. We did everything right by this dog and exhausted every avenue, and we still had issues. You are doing everything wrong and your issues will end up being very serious.

Of course, you need obedience training. (You need it more then the dog.) Have you taken the dog to the vet? Does the dog have appropriate shots and is the dog fixed?

it's so aggravating that you didn't take ANY prior advice to heart. i don't guess you will now either. but the question's here, so i'll answer it so you can ignore it.
teaching a dog not to bark is no easy task. it can be done, but you will almost certainly need professional help, since you're already doing things like petting her when she's barking, letting her run and nip at people while you have her in an inappropriate place, and are letting your 6 year old up in her face and risking your child's safety.
the barking is the least of the issues i see here.
khairete
S.

Dogs are not people, and they don't react to the world like people do. Dogs are dogs, and perceive the world from a dog's perspective. Before getting a dog, you should have been reading up on dog behavior. Part of the problem with shelter dogs (vs. puppies) is that essentially, you're getting someone else's problem. This is not always a bad thing in the hands of an experienced dog owner, but for someone like you who has not had dogs before, it's a lot to take on. Your dog has learned some bad behaviors, and now you have to correct them. It can be done, but it might not be easy.

What you need to do:
1) Enroll in dog training classes immediately. Your dog will need you to work with her every day, all day (as much as you possibly can). She needs consistency and clear commands/corrections so she understands her place in the family.
2) Do not take her out in public unless/until you are confident in how your dog will react, and in your ability to manage her responses to stressful situations. A dog doesn't look at a karate school and think, "Fun! Time to meet new friends!" Your dog doesn't really understand her place in your "pack" yet, and therefore her behavior is unpredictable. She is uncertain, and after having been in a shelter, probably afraid in new situations and loud, crowded places. She is stressed out. Don't take her in public again until you have her well-trained.
3) Right away, go get some books from the library on dog training and read them! You need to understand how dogs think, and the best ways to go about training them. Watch the dog whisperer show on TV. Just please, familiarize yourself with dog behavior.

It's great that you've adopted a dog, and with the right training, it sounds like she can be a good dog for your family. But you need to get some training for both of you ASAP!

And this would by why many people told you not to get a dog in your earlier posts. It is obvious that you have little experience with them.

Dogs bark to express themselves - happy, sad, bored - they bark. A qualified trainer/training program will teach you how to train your dog to heel, sit, stay, and not to bark at every random thing/person she sees.

Pulling on the leash and telling the dog no is not an effective way to teach the dog. Taking an untrained dog to Karate school is not an effective way to handle a dog and endangers the dog and the people around it.

You must take a training program with your dog. Pet Smart offers them, there are private trainers, heck, the local shelter probably offers them.

Do not let your daughter hit the dog. She is 6 - more than old enough to understand how to treat a pet.

I hope, for the dog's sake, that you invest the time, and yes, the money, into a proper training course. If not, the only one to suffer will be the dog.

Needs a dog trainer or obedience class. Seems like a sweet dog who was never properly trained.

Get her some intensive professional training now. There are trainers who will work with you and with her individually -- that might be more expensive than a group class but it will also work faster for her. You do need to train her and be trained yourself in how to handle her properly because if she bites someone you could end up being sued or charged by the cops, and the dog could end up being taken from you and destroyed as a "dangerous dog."
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If the dog is unpredictable enough to nip at a passer-by, the dog is someday very likely going to nip or much worse at your child. The fact the dog has not yet snapped at your child means nothing. One day, anything could set the dog off and your child could end up bitten.

take her to a trainer.

You need to get a few books on dog training and habits. A lot of the issues it sounds like you are having are issues that sound like a dog who has nobody in control. If you've ever watched Cesar Milan (The Dog Whisperer) then you know that if there is no pack leader, the dog will assume that position. That is what your's is doing/has done.

And all that petting while the dog was barking inappropriately? That was praising the behavior you were trying to stop.

Dogs are not people. When you praise or comfort them, it causes them to repeat whatever behavior was happening. So a dog who is barking gets petted? He's going to keep barking.

The barking is probably why she was dumped at the shelter. She needs a professional trainer.

Is this your first dog? If so.... Get some training. It will help both of you!

I have 3 dogs who are He$$ to walk. Great dogs but not social. Thankfully I have the yardage and stimulants of wildlife, etc that offsets daily walking since they thrive in our yard.

One thing I do know.... They each ( 2 cockers and 1 toy poodle) have distinctive barks. An " I want a treat so I bark", " someone is on the property bark" which is heavily rewarded, and " there's wildlife out there as in bobcat, coyote, etc" which is rewarded.

It's like my dogs have different voices and you end up understanding what voice us being projected so you know whats going on.

It takes patience!! Good luck

Our rescue dog isn't that bad but he barks more than we would like. We hired trainer to come and it's not that easy to teach a dog to not bark. She said to get his attention each time probably via a treat for our food obsessed dog. But that means constantly trying to antcipate when he is going to bark. We do that some and fortunately he's not like your dog with the constant stuff at all. When we really need him to stop though, we put a bark collar on him. Not a shock one but it sprays citronella in his face when he barks. It works well and is not painful at all. We've tested it on ourselves. When he's wearing it out, I notice it makes him more docile in general. If he constantly wore it maybe he'd start to ignore it but works for us and is easy. You can find it online.

I agree that by petting the dog while she was barking, you were reinforcing the behavior. You should have been telling her "no"

As for barking at people while she leashed, a lot of dogs do that if they are not socialized enough. It stems from their fear. While they are leashed, they feel that they cannot protect themselves - they are at a disadvantage. So they bark to keep strangers away from them. It's like self-preservation. The more she is socialized, the better this will get. I think she turns and barks at you because she's still getting used to you.

I think an i-home training session or two would go a long way. And PLEASE teach your daughter right away to stay out of the dog's face. You say she takes your 6 year old in her face without snapping. Do you realize that the first time she does snap, it's too late. Your daughter is bitten - too late to do anything about it. Please teach your daughter how to be responsible around the dog. If she gets used to doing that with her dog, she will do it with a strange dog and then you very well might have a serious, lifelong situation to deal with.

She may be backing because she is nervous too and wants things to go away. I would find a positive trainer or behaviorist in your area soon and see what they suggest. No shock, choke collars etc

More walks could even be making it worse if she is nervous and not excited to see things. Now if she is excited that is another story too. If you keep walking make sure to take lots of treats- reward good behavior. I would walk in places with very few distractions too, work on leash walking at home no stress for either of you. If she is new to you she is probably also just getting adjusted to you and a lot of out and about might be stressful for a few weeks - not to mean don't introduce her in a controlled environment.

I play a game' look at that" with my dog- she has reactivity issues with other dogs, but is well managed, trained, and able to deal with other dogs close now. I am always careful though and try not to stress her if not necessary. It was a training process and I've done a lot of other work with her and

Don't let your daughter put her face in the dog's face lest she ever bite.
Don't take the dog to busy places to be surrounded by people.
Keep taking her for walks but look up best ways to train this dog in how
to do so. You can use a choke chain (not my favorite).
Keep the leash shortened.
Be wary of trainers & obedience classes. Only go to the classes that let you attend & investigate the trainer's practices. My sister's dog was ruined by a trainer. Just terrible.

You need to get a professional dog trainer to help you. Otherwise, it sounds to me like this dog maybe a candidate for biting or causing physical harm. Ask your vet for a referral, and do it today before someone gets hurt. Walk the dog when there are fewer people around and don't take the dog places like the karate class again until you have started working with a professional trainer.

In the meantime, start instituting the NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free) training (it's not hard, but you do need to be consistent!!!!). Here is a link to get your started: http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm. It basically means that the dog gets what it wants AFTER s/he does what you ask.This reinforces obedience, and will help develop the relationship with you. You should also have your daughter do this as well. The dog wants petted? Then the dog needs to sit first. The dog wants dinner? The dog needs to lay down first. Start by teaching the basic commands (come, sit, down, stay, etc.). Then, for everything the dog wants, s/he needs to do a command first.

H.-

Proceed with caution. Do not let love blind you to what needs/ must be done. In an effort to be kind/ welcoming, you are inadvertently reinforcing bad behaviors.

It will take hard work, and a fim/ patient hand to give this dog the structure it needs and the leadership it desires.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.