Hello, I am new to the group and I am from Ottawa, Canada. I have a male 8-month old pomeranian. He is very friendly and seems to get along with most other dogs. The only problem at the moment is his barking which is starting to frustrate my wife. Any suggestions on what to do here. I was thinking about getting one of those electronic barking collars? Thanks in advance
Hi Kevin, welcome to the forum. I am sorry to say that the smaller Toy dogs do tend to make up for their lack of stature with the volume of their voices. I have tried one of the anti-bark collars on my Beagle dog, who is not actually a noisy boy, but can't help but retaliate to one of our neighbours dogs. True, it did inhibit his barking, but he was well aware when he was wearing it, and it made him unhappy, so I only used it a couple of times. I find that a fine spray of water, (from a refilled Febreze bottle), works almost as well, as the spray interrupts, but doesn't distress him. There are two kinds of anti-bark collars. The one that I used had quite a chunky box on a one inch nylon collar, and the spray operation was remotely controlled by the owner. I think that this type might prove to be a bit heavy for a small Pom. The other type is neater, and is triggered by the dog's neck muscles as he barks. However, this type needs to be quite closely fitted, and I'm not sure how well it would work because of the density of the Pom's Spitz type coat. If you do decide to try either one of these types, I would check with the retailer whether it will suit your breed of dog, as these collars are not cheap to buy.
Our dogs is 9 months old and he hasn’t completely stopped barking, but, I do feel it he doesn’t bark at everyone and everything now We live in a house which is on a corner with large low windows so he can see all passers by, so, when dogs pass he starts to bark, we jump up and clap a few times, I think that startles him, interrupts his barking which then allows us to step in with a treat, we stand close to him and tell him “ quiet “as he shows signs of wanting to bark. If he obeys he gets the treat It’s great if we spot a dog first or hear one before him and we go over to him before he starts and again reward him for being quiet, it can be the same when people pass by too As I say, it seems to be working, but, it’s relentless Youji is about the same age as your boy, as he has got older he doesn’t bark as much now when we are out walking, I think the calmness sometimes comes with age Philippa
