Cure a German Shepherd of Incessantly Barking

[CustomChevyGuy]

My family has a German Shepherd that never stops barking. They have had him for 4+ years or so, and took him in off of the streets. He had several bad habits when they took him in, and most of them they have been able to resolve.

They have been able to brake him of chewing phone boxes off the house, and chewing pvc drainage pipes, or even the steel braided hoses off of a gas grill. They accomplished this by covering everything in Tabasco sauce.

However, they have not been able to stop his random, useless, annoying barking! If they leave him in the garage, then he usually only barks if he hears someone approaching the house. This type of barking is fine by us. But if he is left out in the yard, he becomes this random, hyper active barking nuisance. He will bark at trees, weeds, shrubs, whatever. When he is outside and someone approaches the house, he goes absolutely nuts! Again, that part doesn't bother us.

My family thinks I complain about him to much, but they work during the day, and right now I have been working nights and weekends. They don't know what a pain, and how much barking he actually does. The problem I have is that my room is on the side of the house surrounded by the yard. Many times his barking causes me to have to wake up and often triggers a migrane. I need my sleep and cant go on having to plan my sleep around a dog's barking schedule.

We have tried several zapper collars with the remote buzzer for getting him to stop from inside the house. This doesn't seem to have any effect. We have tried teaching him not to bark, by spending time with him in the yard, again no change.

We just want him to stop barking at everything, and only bark when there is actually something to alert us to.

There has to be some reasonable method that works. He's not a stupid animal. He has learned sit, and shake, and lay down, or jump up since they took him in...but just doesn't know when to stop barking.

I apologize for the rant in essay form.

[hig]

You must exercise and stimulate that dog. You need to take him on at least one hour walk in the morning and one hour walk in the evening MINIMUM. He is barking because he is bored to death.

Tabasco sauce and zapper collars just mask bad behaviour. A few training sessions will be well worth the investment, especially if his behaviour is giving you migraines already.

At minimum... Get a good martingale training collar and 6 foot leash, and a good pair of walking shoes! Do some research on how to properly fit and use the training collar, it will be the best $20 you have ever spent on the dog! Practice walking the dog on umbilical (leash around your waist), sit stay commands etc.

Exercise and training will stimulate the dogs brain and thus tire him out. Think about yourself after writing that huge 3 hour final exam - I know I was always beat afterwards. Do this for a month and I guarantee you will see huge improvements! Obviously, a month is not going to cure 4 years of bad behaviour, however it will be huge steps in the right direction!

(Martingale training collar example ...
http://www.gear4dogs.com/images/ce/C...ruction_V2.jpg )

[aldebono]

Give him a job!!!

Shepherds need to be busy busy busy. That is what they are bred to do and love to do.

A tired dog is a good dog. Get him a Kong and stuff it with goodies and put it in the freezer and then let him have it when he goes out.

I can't say it enough. JOB JOB JOB WORK WORK WORK! He is indeed not a stupid dog, just a bored dog. Give him some GOOD LONG exercise and see if that helps at all. Combine the Physical exercise with Mental exercise and see if he gets any better.

[Lana's_mom]

I agree with what the others have said. I have had German Shepherd Dogs for over 14 year, both from Show and Police/sport bloodlines. And this breed needs a job. A good long walk will help, but also do something to stimulate his mind. Train him in something. Tracking, Carting, Tricks, Agility, he could do any of those if not all of them, plus more. My 1st GSD learned Agility, Tracking, Bite work, Article searches and advanced tricks all in a 3 month period. And she did well at them all. I can't explain enough to people that have this breed that they need to work. Get him working his mind and the barking will stop.
And the suggestion of the Kong toy is good too. I would get about 3 or 4 of them fill em and freeze em and than hide them in the yard during the day It's a doggy scavenger hunt that will give him something to do while out in the yard.

[CustomChevyGuy]

Thanks for the informative replies!

I didn't think about it but, over the summer, my youngest sister and I had been taking him on walks in the afternoon. I don't recall much of a change in his barking, but, I wasn't trying to keep any records either.
I do remember that while on the walks, he seemed to listen to my sister better when it came to sit and heel commands then he did with me. He would always pull on the leash when I held it, and with her he would stay only a step or two ahead.

I am not sure how the Kong would work out. He doesn't seem to know how to play with toys. We have tried to give him an tennis ball with a treat inside, and he simply ignores it. He won't chase anything, even if we show him there's a treat inside. Same goes for big bones and other toys.

He does however randomly play with things on his own. I got him on camera one time, dragging a 5 foot branch that had fallen in the yard. He would run a few paces, drop it, run around it and bark, then nip at it a few times before he finally picked it up again. Then he would repeat the process.

I will have to walking with him again and this time stay on it. Will try to keep you posted as well.

[aldebono]

Walks? German Shepherds laugh in the face of walks! Take him on runs, or to a lake and let him swim. He needs to do physical and mental activities.

Are you tired after a walk? If you are tired, he will be tired.

We live in a 1 bedroom apt with no yard and a 1 year old female GSD that we have only had for 3 months (God only knows who owned her previously). She needs serious exercise at least 4 times a week, otherwise she is obnoxious and driving me crazy!
She goes on 3 mile runs with my fiance 1x a week, out to the barn and runs up and back the half mile drive way in front of the car 3x a week, goes on horseback rides 2x a week, and plays with my chi-weener-russel at home. Is she tired after those outing? Yes, for about 45 minutes and then you would never know she's been out.
I also work on their obedience most nights and they get mental stimulation trying to wrangle and kill the barn rats.

You can bring him up to Gainesville for a week and see how TIRED and QUIET he is when he gets done with our exercise routine!

[Lana's_mom]

Do some kind of training with him, on top of Obedience A working GSD is a happy GSD. Teach him to cart and than use him around the house, you can load sticks and leaves into the cart and have him take them to the trash for you, he can move tools for you if you have a project you are working on with the house, anything. GSD's are a great breed. Teach him tricks, just work his mind. A walk a day just isn't going to do it for him. Use a bike and take him for a good jog. You work his mind and you will have a completely different dog