Pet Information > ASK Experts > Dogs > Dog Breeds > Yorkshire Terriers Yorkies > Strangers

Strangers

20 11:39:45

Question
My dog Romeo is about 3 uears old and barks his little head off is a stranger is anywhere NEAR him. They say it is best to train them when they are young, which he's not. Can he still be trained? And is so, HOW??

Answer
Jane,

This is a tough question.  Over the years I have had barkers and non-barkers.  In my experience once they become barkers you cannot train them not to bark.  Small dogs have a reputation for being yappy.  My own experience with them is that if you allow them to bark when they are young they will become barkers when they get older and their is no way to stop it once it has become a learned behavior.

As puppies I would let my dogs bark for a minute if there was a reason to bark.  Then I would pick up the dog and say good dog and then say it's ok now no more barking.  By having direct contact with them and holding them they get the idea that it is time to stop barking and that they did their job as a watch dog.

This did not however, work for all of the Yorkies.  It seemed that it was a hit and miss thing and that some of them were just destined to be barkers.  I had one that was a barker and just about drove me crazy.  I was tempted to call the vet and have her voice box removed so that when she barked nothing came out but never actually did it.

I wish I could be more help but in my experience once a barker always a barker.  You could try to retrain him by using the method I described but chances are that will not stop him from barking.

Sincerely,

Melinda

DON'T MISS