What's the best way to tell my roommate that her dog barks way too much and she needs to shut it up?

[NoodleBoy]

When she's around, my roommate's dog barks at things all the time. Usually I think she sees something out the window and starts this plaintive, desperate bark, and all I usually hear from my room mate is this really meek, "oooookay, quiet down, shhhhh" in a soft voice, maybe once in a while. I only really hear her try to get the dog to stop barking when I do, and it usually listens to me when I tell it to.

But it's gotten to the point where I'd be the only one yelling at her dog, so I've stopped, even though that results in broken concentration and headaches from hearing the dog.

The dog only really needs someone to say her name in a loud "you're being bad" sounding voice-- fellow dog owners probably know what I'm talking about-- so how do I tell my room mate to keep her dog quiet?

[MadMaddie]

1. Get a squirt bottle and fill it with water

every time the dog barks squirt him/her in the face and say quiet. Tell your roommate that it is not acceptable to allow the dog to bark.

The dog is owning you and your roommate, one of you has to take the Alpha role.

[lukasahero]

2. Stop yelling at the dog and talk to the owner

The best way to talk to your roommate about a problem is: directly. Personally, I wouldn't use your approach to teach the dog not to bark and since it's not your dog, unless your roommate has given you permission to train the dog, all you can do is talk to her about the problem. Do so honestly and directly. There's no real mystery on how to do this - there's no need to be rude but if it's really causing problems, you need to make that clear to your roommate.

FTR, using a dog's name as a reprimand only teaches the dog that its name is a bad thing and can interfer with the dog coming to its name when called. If you're going to continue yelling at the dog to make it stop barking, please consider just using the word no and not the dog's name.

[Butch350]

3. Forward her this page in an email!

[IndyOp]

4. It sounds to me like your roommates dog is barking because it wants her attention

and/or it wants to go outside. The dog will be much less likely to "bark at nothing" if it gets lots of exercise so make a deal with her that the dog should get one or two good long walks per day. If you walk or jog you could take it with you...

And/or talk with your roommate and get her to agree to train the dog not to bark...

And/or do it yourself: 1. Fill your pocket full of dog cookies. 2. Wait for dog to back and then call it to come sit next to you. Feed cookie for quiet sit. 3. If dog barks again, repeat. (Do be careful, however, that you don't train it to bark in order to get you to ask it to sit so it can have a cookie.)

:hi:

[roody]

5. That sounds like an unwalked dog!

[undeterred]

6. Seeing something out the window...

If the dog is barking at things out the window, rearranging the furniture so the dog can't see out might help. I had a border collie.. when it was living at my parents house the dog sat by the huge living room windows and barked at whatever walked by. When the dog was in my 3rd floor apartment and couldn't see out the windows, there was no barking except for an occasional woof when there was a noise in the hallway or something loud outside.

The dog may think its doing a job- reporting threats. If it can somehow be kept away from seeing out the windows altogether that might help.

Of course your roommate needs to cooperate with this- but it sounds like she doesn't know what to do or has no idea how annoying it is so you have to tell her.

[Joe the Liberal]

7. Yelling at the dog wont solve anything.....

In most cases yelling at the dog to stop barking only encourages him or her to bark even more. Because in their mind they think you are joining in with them. Your roommates dog sounds like he/she needs more exercise, it seems that the dog is bored and wanting to let off some energy.