My dog barks at absolutely anything, whats wrong with her? How do I stop her?

Barking is a phenomenon which can by easily controlled by giving the dog plenty of exercise. Make your dog play fetch for 30 - 45 minutes daily, apart from regular walks. There would be a great improvement in its temperament. I had a similar problem with my dog, so based on my experience i have given you the tip.

How old is Phoebe? (nice name by the way) Why not consider joining the program "it's me or the dog" here is the link: http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/I/itsmeorthedog/takepart.html Else yes, I think dog training ... please don't get those electrifying collar things or ultrasounds crap, that is so not fair for our little friends! good luck

There are some good comments here and some no so good, actually it is impossible to say without seeing the dog as it could be due to a number of causes. Lots of exercise and lots of interest may help but your dog sounds a little nervous, collies can be highly strung. Be careful what you do, even shouting at her or punishing her can be interpreted by the dog as reward, since it is attention from high status wolves (To her) The best discipline is to shut her out of your company when she barks and reward her when she is quiet. all the best urban

Avtually, i wont have any good recommnedations for you at the moment since i also have the same problem with my Labrador right now. he barks alot whenever he wants to. He barks when Im eating in front of the tv. he barks when im texting or on the phone. But then in fairness, he does not bark as much as your fog. Thank God!:P I think my dog stop barking when i give him attention. Sometimes i just ignore him or pretend to sleep whenever hos barking is without reason.:P

Maybe you can send Phoebe to a dog trainer. I'm sure the trainer understand the dog and I'm sure that the trainer will train your dog not to bark at anything.

My maltese gets started at ANY sound. She until we moved to this new house 3 months back, she'd never heard a door bell. This house HAS one. So every time we are watching tv and there is a doorbell from a show to a commercial she will freaking bark FOREVER thinking its OURS! Its SO annoying! Our other house had cats in the yard, around here they'd get eaten so they keep them indoors. So my dog has nothing to chase and nothing to bark at. So at night she will bark at her own reflection for NO reason at all. I swear its has to be that, she does it every night all the time! We dont get complaints mind you, but still its annoying the heck out of us. She will bark if the house creeks, if someone is up stairs. I dont know. Anyways. I have found just tell her to be quiet. I hear if you look to see what they are barking at they SHOULD stop (no promise). Maybe try a dog obedience person see if that helps. Read books on it too. Dog behavior books. Is this normal for the breed? I heard maltese were senstive to little noises before I got my Rainbow. Now I know what that means! Hum. Hope this helps :)) best of luck!

YOu have a very adorable dog. I can understand how her insistant barking can be a huge irritation for you as well as those around you. I have a dog that barks at pretty much everything as well. But since we have a large house and not many neighbours its not such a problem. I have no idea what can be done to stop dogs ffrom barking.

Some tips friend:Make sure your barking dog is being fed properly and has water continually available. Outdoor dogs need shade in the summer and a warm enclosure in the winter.The new Gentle Spray citronella barking collar is safe, humane and remarkably effective.When your dog barks, the collar sprays a light mist of citronella scent in front of his nose. Dogs don't like this. The hissing noise startles them and dogs seem to dislike the smell. Most dogs figure things out very quickly and stop barking. University studies have shown that citronella barking collars are twice as effective as shock collars.BYE

Oh,your dog looks beautiful.Maybe she barks only want to arrestive.Or she want to make a boyfriend now.Haaaaaha.

I think she needs more exercise. Sounds like she has too much excited energy. Walk her at least 45 minutes a day..at least.. it also gets her out where she can see where these noises are coming from so she will become used to them and not be trying to "sound the alarm" as much.. As for barking while salting you food? I think it is more likely that she is barking because she wants to eat too. Maybe she thinks she is supposed to eat with you? She looks really cute. How old is she? I think alot of her barking comes from the fact that she does not understand what all these noises are and it confuses her so she sounds the alarm.. walking her will help calm her.. not short walks..they will only make her more excited.. long walks everyday... also gets her used to the noises in the neighborhood so she does not see these noises as oncoming threats.. Good Luck

Well, it's a good possiblity that it's just an obsession or just that it's way of getting your attention. You have to be the head of the 'pack' so to say. You have to show her that you will not take that from her.

Sounds to me like she hasn't learned the difference between good barking and bad barking. We had this problem with our doberman puppy, and he still isn't totally broken, but it has improved immensely! Here is what we did, you can try it, it might work. We only let him out when we are home... and we listen for his barking. As soon as he barks, one of us rushes out to see what he is barking at. If he is barking at something he isn't supposed to bark at then we tell him "no bark". If he continues, then we show him the muzzle we bought and tell him again, "no bark," if he barks again, he gets muzzled for about 15 minutes and is told while the muzzle is going on, "no bark" and then again once the muzzle is on. When we take it off, we remind him "no bark." The important thing is to differentiate between good and bad barking. If someone pulls in our driveway and he barks, he is praised. If someone is too close to the fence and he barks, he is praised. We have been "muzzle training" for about two months, and the only thing he barks at now that he isn't supposed to is every now and then he barks at the neighbor kids. It is also important to make him tired... a tired dog is a good dog... seriously. Plenty of play, and by the way, we let our dogs bark when it is playtime... and they really go at it too... You might also try some different bark commands. Speak and Whisper are great. Anyhow, just a suggestion, might work for you as well as it has worked for us! Good Luck!

I have just consulted my "dog book"... Here are a few tips. 1. Dogs are social creatures that crave attention, so even negative attention when they are misbehaving may be encouragement enough to repeat the very behavior you are trying so hard to eliminate. 2. If you want a well-behaved dog that responds to you quickly and is fun to be around, don't use punishment to teach her, it won't get you anywhere. Reward him when he's being quiet for awhile, NEVER while he is barking. 3. Provide mental stimulation. Stuff Kong toys with dog food and let him work to get the food out. 4. If your dog goes nuts over the doorbell, then have someone ring the doorbell a billion times when no one is there for the dog to greet so that it eventually doesn't mean what the dog thinks it means. Then perhaps give a treat to the dog when it hears the doorbell, so he will come running for the treat instead at the sound of the doorbell. Just keep working to change his response to the stimuli by distracting him from the things that make him bark. 5. Dogs that bark for attention: get everyone in the family to ignore the dog when he is barking for attention or whatever other reason. Absoluately don't give in to the dog's demand... the more he barks and the less attention he gets, he'll stop. Either turn your head, walk away from him, turn your back, pretend you're asleep. It takes awhile, but be vigilant. Everyone in the family must participate. 6. There's also something called Tellington Touch or T-touch which has worked for all kinds of animals for all kinds of behavoral problems. It's massaging your dog's head and jaws. I know it sounds weird but maybe you can look it up online. What have you got to lose, lol.

just take her to a veteniray doctor and have some check up.

your house is haunted. you dog is seeing ghosts.

It pretty common in some types of dogs. You have to correct them when they are still a puppy. If he or she is full grown theres nothing you can do about it now. sorry

Oh...Maybe you should take him to a vet..maybe something is wrong with her....ask your doctor if he has a medicine to quiet him down a bit....Also always put something for him to drink so he wont get thirsty...This is the first time I've heard of a noisy dog like this one..:)

My dogs also love to bark, but usually only when someone's at the door or comes inside the house. I bought an electric shock bark collar and put it on one of my dogs and this really works to stop her barking. I leave it on only if I will be away from the house for several hours and don't want to risk bothering my roommate with the dog barking. Aside from using the collar, I don't know how I would train my dogs to stop barking. Maybe you could consult a trainer to understand why your dog is barking and how to make her stop. Good luck!

i find it funny when dogs bark at nothing, my puppy barks at her own reflection XD its so funny she thinks theres another dog in the house and chases after the reflection to get it outta the house XD funny stuff!

You didn't train her properly. Dogs are taught what to bark at wether intentionaly or unintentialy. If you don't disipline them when they bark at nonsense they'll bark at any and everything for the rest of their lives. Good luck