I tried the water gun trick (actually a squirt bottle) on our new Sheltie last year, and it only makes her angry, and she not only barks at the water bottle, she tries to eat the stream of water. She does the same to the garden hose, running under the water stream and biting at it, trying to bite the nozzle, and even the faucet when I’m turning on the water.
Otherwise, this dog is pretty good - and smart - and doesn’t chew things up, but she barks at EVERYTHING. When I sneeze, it sends her into a barking frenzy.
I’m told it’s the nature of Shelties, as is herding. She tries to herd everything that moves. I think she’s really a democrat.
But, she’s not quite a year old, and we’re hoping she’ll grow out of it. I think I’ve made a little progress, as I only have to yell “Shutup” three times now before she starts to quieten down.
I am sorry it didn’t work. Our beagle was so receptive to it that he even stopped baying inside. We would aim for his haunches and he just DIDN’T like it. It was just so quick for him to understand and learn what we considered to be unacceptable behavior.
Your post about your Sheltie reminded me about a video about these three dogs at a bar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK7b3DtpYb0
Squirting has done absolutely nothing for us. Our dog also eats the stream of water. She can get a squirt right between the eys and not respond. It may work for some dogs, but it means nothing to others.
Otherwise, this dog is pretty good - and smart - and doesn’t chew things up, but she barks at EVERYTHING. When I sneeze, it sends her into a barking frenzy.
Our dog is thankfully not a constant barker. She will bark at strangers, but she stops with a word from us. She does react to sneezing but not by barking. When I sneeze she runs over and wants to jump up on me and sniff my nose.