Does anyone have trouble with their corgi barking at anything? Pistol seems to bark at nothing and he won't shush. Really frustrating when trying to get baby to sleep, or she is asleep. He's over a year old now, thought it may have been a puppy thing. He'll go nuts when the doorbell rings, totally understandable...but other times he just barks at nothing and I can't get him quiet... any ideas??

thanks! ~carrie

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My Mocha and Vienna tends to bark at "nothing". As far as I know, there seems to have nothing going on, and for some reason, they just suddenly bark. I think they just have super sensitive ears.

Sometimes, I think it could be someone passing by on the street... could be a dog barking a few houses down... Once in a while, I know someone put something at our front door (ads, etc.) without ringing the door bell, and they can hear it when we human cannot hear anything at all.

I don't have a baby, so, I don't really need to get them quiet down immediately or anything. But say, if someone ring the door bell, and they bark like crazy, I normally put them in the washroom, and close the door. Normally, within a minute, they will quiet down. And then once they quiet down, I release them.
This is so common! First off, as a herding dog he will be a barker. No doubt. What happens though is that the barking takes on a life of its own. It perpetuates itself. For example, a person walks by your house. The dog barks and the person keeps walking. In the dog's mind, they chased them away. The next person walks by and the scene repeats itself. Now the dog has reinforced its own behavior and believe it can chase off anyone who comes by. Next, they bark at a sound. The sound ends and the bark is reinforced. Next its movement, like a leaf on a tree, the bark is reinforced. Needless to say, by the time the dog is a year old, the barking is pretty well set. :-(

There are several ways to curb some of it. One is of course the old standard water bottle. A squirt when barking to break the bark and then reinforce the quiet. A good strong "shush!" and then when the dog stops, reinforce the quiet. When all else fails, there's the bark collar. Although I'm not a fan, they do have a purpose but should be used sparingly as it can make a dog neurotic if left on too long. Honestly, working with the water bottle and "shush" should curb a good bit.

Just remember that that little herder of yours is going to bark. We just have to work to curb some of it.
does the water work for u? Whenever i spray Bindi the water makes her bark more and it turns into a game!
I've tried the water bottle, some days it works, others it doesn't. Of course...when I'm feeding the baby or my hands are otherwise occupied...the water bottle theory is useless. Which is why I'd love to be able to say "Pistol, stop" or "SSSHHH" or "damnit dog shut up..."...lol anything verbal to make him stop if there really is nothing to bark at. Last night I nearly came out of my skin, I had just fallen asleep and he went nuts. Of course my husband is out of town and Pistol is the "man" of the house and very protective!
I always wondered if maybe it was just my Corgi who did this, and if it was because I live alone! I always say she thinks she's "ten-foot tall and bullet-proof" and has to protect me. She'll definitely go nuts with door knocks, or any loud noises on the television.

Some times, she'll just go "ooph" quietly, over and over, and I never know why. I figured it was a Corgi or herding thing.
Yah Roxi never really outright barks (except when she learned to from her cousin at grandma/grandpas place....) we had to retrain her not to when we left. She does the "ooph" thing a lot.. I think its because it doesn't bug us and she knows it but whenever she ever outright barked we were on her like kids on candy lol.
Pistol does the "oooph" thing, which is funny...and I'm totally okay with him barking when someone is at the door, or when we are playing "tag" outside, but the random barking is absolutely driving ME bonkers...
I have the same problem with Griff when we go on walks! He barks constantly (and I mean without stopping to take a breath) as if to say, "Look out, here I come!" I finally tried to water bottle at home, but I haven't needed to squirt him because every time it comes out he shuts up and runs away. Works out pretty well for me! You should give that a try :)
barking to go out is great, or at someone knocking at the door, or someone breaking in the house....but like right now...he just walked down the hall barking at absolutely nothing..lol
kaley corgi is no different, in regards to barking.....we have a 3 mo old baby now....and we have lots of commotion going on since there are over 10 parrots here and kaley corgi sometimes feels she has to get in the act and bark....but i am the pack leader and what i say goes!

if she is barking, and i know it is frivilious or she is barking too long, needlessly...i tell her to....shush....and point at her.....she knows what it means....

however to train, so she knows what shush means.......at the moment she stops, i say good girl and give her a small treat, very small, not wanting her to get fat just for being....gooood!

there is very lil food treat now for that for she knows what it means, but i forever say she is good....dogs work and live ...

for praise, not necessarily the food treats.....that is secondary


when trainging a dog, do not go rambling on and on and on, dogs do not listen to all the misc words and phrases...be calm, be patient, be consistent, and i have found very good progress training kaley corgi....we train every single day, it is a a life long thing, but it works.

smiles : )
I have this problem with my corgi. I have to shut the door and keep him in my room at night. Other wise, he barks at cars, and any other little noise. Often times he still barks at nothing. Occasionally he wakes himself up barking. He just barks at nothing. I haven't found a remedy for this yet.
Yes our corgi barks at nothing sometimes, like when he hears me typing on the keyboard and he doesnt know what it is!!! Our corgi barks at us to play as well!!! Lance is 2 1/2 and is a barker. They need lots of excercise...and the winter months are hard for that.

There are times that nothing will keep our corgi quiet except he does not like the sound of the little swifter....if i say do you want me to get the swifter? he will be quiet.....usually...if not i turn it on and that usually works! If he wants to play though that usually does not work. Corgis definitely have super sensitive ears. The water bottle did not work for us he thought it was a game and the vet said that it could even make them aggressive....but our dog just liked to drink the water out of the spray bottle!!

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