I yell at mine, they usually shut up then or take a newspaper & snap it on your hand, the noise usually scares them then tell them to be quiet

There's a collar out there that when ever they bark it sprays a scent in front of there face that's some kind of herbal remedy to calm there nerves... My sisters a veternarian and that's what she uses for her dingo/german shepard mix dog that barks and whimpers a lot... It helps...

In stead of using aversion training, (yelling and such) why not simply TRAIN THE DOG, using Positive Reinforcement (+R) Training? Is your dog already quick to COME, SIT, STAY, LAY DOWN, FIND "IT" (it can be a favorite toy, a hidden treat or a person in the house...this is a great, fun training GAME to play with your dog inside). If your dog is less than quick to do these basic training behaviors on command...START WORKING with the dog to learn and become sharp and quick at doing them! When we train our dogs to do commands, not only does the dog become more of a joy to be around in general, (a canine good citizen) it also raises confidence for both the dog and trainer/owner, provides additional opportunities to bond in positive ways and helps to tighten up your dog's RECALL (come) which is great in an true emergency situation...(dog gets loose or runs out to chase a cat while a car is coming down your normally quiet street) it ultimately gives you lots of chances to REDIRECT your dog from doing an unacceptable behavior to doing an ACCEPTABLE, TRAINED behavior that you get to reward the dog for doing...it adds fun to your lives because the dog learns that DOING the requested behavior EARNS both PRAISE and Treats! Granted it may not work 100% when you are not home to give the dog a command to do...but neither will Yelling at the dog. (yelling is both confusing to and frightening for most animals..they do not understand why we are angry at them for doing a behavior that makes total sense to THEM to do!) To a point the dog (according to all doggie mentalities and rules for living), should give a warning when a stranger or someone comes on your property or gets close enough that they might do so...that's "doing their job" from a dog's point of view! However, after a warning woof or two...who wants to listen to 5 minutes worth of prolonged yipping or brassy barks? NOT ME! So when Hannah does this, I redirect her to come, or to go find her ball, or Kong, and then she is praised and given a minuscule treat, for stopping what SHE wanted to do and doing what I want her to do. If she is unable to break from HER chosen behavior, I get up and GO GET HER and bring her to where I am, tell her to lay down, and by lots of practice and work together on this, she will...(still vibrating with the desire to protect the property...garbage collectors are the worse..."MY GOD! THEY NOT ONLY APPROACH THE HOUSE...THEY TAKE STUFF AWAY! HOW DARE THEY!!!"), then she gets her reward. If she is still too tightly wound up..I give her a short mini massage on the pressure point just behind her head, where it flows into the neck...this releases endorphins that CALM the dog. The more things you train your dog to do, the better they learn how to learn and become good at doing what you ask them to do...and the more they can do successfully, the bigger bag of tricks you have to pull out when they are entertaining a "bad idea" so that you can replace it with a "GREAT IDEA" of acceptable behaviors the dog can do instead! Check out DoggieBag.com a FREE +R training support site for dog lovers...fun, support, training tips that work! http://www.doggiebagonline.com/forum/

Are you really sure you want your dog not to bark? Isn't this the reason you bought your dog? Protection and warnings. Attempting to make a dog stop barking, is like asking humans to stop talking. Let your dog do his job of protecting you.

I have the same problem and have just excepted it, who knows some day it might pay off. One thing you can try is inviting more people over frequently so the dog gets used to visitors. This works better when they're younger but might still work. What I try and do is enter the house like I'm just entering from another room. I don't overly greet the dogs and just act like I'm coming out of my bedroom. It seems to help a little.

I just said "Thank you, Nipper," and she stopped. She wanted to be sure that I knew someone was invading our space, and she knew what "thank you" meant because she heard us use the phrase in our family. Don't yell at your dog, because if you yell, the dog interprets that as barking, and if you bark, she'll bark. That's the nature of a pack animal. Try it my way and see if it works, or whether maybe Nipper was just a very very good little dog.

I just know the shock collar is not the answer. It's animal abuse!

Thanks Redhawk. I just love my dog!

beat it to death...give michael vick a call, he will take it off your hands