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Dog trainer and chihuahua dad here. It can get better, but chis are barkers. My guy was horrendous when we first adopted him, but has gotten much better. We almost returned him to the pound, but I’m so glad we didn’t. He was quiet to begin with just like yours, but once he settled in he was LOUD.
You need to use two tactics- management of the environment and conditioning. Use background noise like a TV or radio to disguise noises, block off his access to windows if he gets triggered by seeing things. Try to reduce the frequency of his triggers so he doesn’t get to practice the unwanted behavior.
At the same time start keeping a big bag of his favorite treats to hand. When he gets triggered, you want to get him focused on you and the delicious food and quiet. Reward him when he looks and you and shuts up. Even if he’s quiet for a few seconds that’s something you can build on. Clicker training will work well for this, but you can just use a word like ‘quiet.’
It might get worse before it gets better as they will experiment with ‘barking means treats’ but if you’re consistent they eventually start to understand that hearing a bad noise means they come and look at you and get rewarded instead of screaming the house down.
I’d say with a chi mix you need to accept that he will always be prone to barking, but it can be reduced to manageable levels. It just takes time and patience.
Wow thanks!! She’s only triggered by the doorbell and the door, or noises from outside the door. Will make an effort with the treats. Gotta figure out what to use; she has no real favorite.
Hotdog or rotisserie chicken chopped up small usually does the trick. You could also put a note asking people not to ring the doorbell while you’re working on things. Good luck!
Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Do note we are on a short backlog, and all posts require manual review prior to going live. This may mean your post isn't visible for a couple days. This is a carefully moderated sub intended to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Submissions and comments which break the rules will be removed. [Review the rules here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index) r/Dogs has four goals: - Help the public better understand dogs - Promote healthy, responsible dog-owner relationships - Encourage “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” training protocols. [Learn more here.](https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/) - Support adoption as well as ethical and responsible breeding. If you’d like to introduce yourself or discuss smaller topics, please contribute to our Monthly Discussion Hub, pinned at the top. **This subreddit has low tolerance for drama. Please be respectful of others, and report antagonistic comments to mods for review.** --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Dog trainer and chihuahua dad here. It can get better, but chis are barkers. My guy was horrendous when we first adopted him, but has gotten much better. We almost returned him to the pound, but I’m so glad we didn’t. He was quiet to begin with just like yours, but once he settled in he was LOUD. You need to use two tactics- management of the environment and conditioning. Use background noise like a TV or radio to disguise noises, block off his access to windows if he gets triggered by seeing things. Try to reduce the frequency of his triggers so he doesn’t get to practice the unwanted behavior. At the same time start keeping a big bag of his favorite treats to hand. When he gets triggered, you want to get him focused on you and the delicious food and quiet. Reward him when he looks and you and shuts up. Even if he’s quiet for a few seconds that’s something you can build on. Clicker training will work well for this, but you can just use a word like ‘quiet.’ It might get worse before it gets better as they will experiment with ‘barking means treats’ but if you’re consistent they eventually start to understand that hearing a bad noise means they come and look at you and get rewarded instead of screaming the house down. I’d say with a chi mix you need to accept that he will always be prone to barking, but it can be reduced to manageable levels. It just takes time and patience.
Wow thanks!! She’s only triggered by the doorbell and the door, or noises from outside the door. Will make an effort with the treats. Gotta figure out what to use; she has no real favorite.
Hotdog or rotisserie chicken chopped up small usually does the trick. You could also put a note asking people not to ring the doorbell while you’re working on things. Good luck!