Expert: Have4Paws - 9/29/2002

Question
About 6 weeks ago we adopted a 3 yr. old neutered male beagle. he is just as sweet as can be...and is almost perfect.....he barks his head off! He is so vocal...when we come home from being out for even 10 minutes..he greets us with lots of barks and whining! he loves to ride in the car..but if we leave the car to go into a store...he barks until he can no longer see us and then begins all over again when we return. If he thinks another animal has entered his domain(his backyard) he barks forever at the mystery guest. We love Berkely very much But need some help with the barking.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Have a super day!
ellen

Answer
Hi, thanks for writing. Sorry for the delay, Computer was down for a few days!
You have the "typical" beagle problem. Beagles are prone to excessive barking. This may indeed have been why he was available for adoption!
First attempt at getting him to stop is using a traditional training method called a "shake can". You need to get empty soda or beer cans and wash them out really well so none of the sticky substance is left inside. Then put about 10 pennies in the cans. Tape over the tops with duct tape. It would be good to make about 8-10 of these so you can station them all over the house and even outside so you can grab one quickly.
You will be pitching these at him each time he begins to bark. The timing is important in that you want to catch him when he is actually in the act of barking and also HE SHOULD NOT SEE IT WAS YOU WHO PITCHED IT AT HIM (so he doesn't fear you, we want him to fear the sound of the can)
When you pitch it at him you want it to either land right by him or even tag him with it (obviously the goal is NOT to give him a concussion!)The sound will scare him and interrupt the cycle and he'll forget what he was doing for a couple seconds. He may or may not go back to barking and if he does you do it again and again until he stops. In between the barking while is being quiet you want to praise him lavishly and tell him GOOD QUIET!

This process can take a couple days to a couple weeks because you may not be there all the time to catch the barking. Usually I suggest spending a weekend being completely vigilant and just inundating them with shake cans. Eventually it will break the cycle and when he does anything you don't want him to you will be able to juct shake the can and not throw it and he will stop what he is doing. This is a fairly effective technique and if you are consistent it will stay with him for life. Mine at 8 and 9 still know the can means stop what you are doing.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to contact me again if you need any clarification.
Have4Paws