Help! New doggy neighbour.

[graceomalley]

A GSD moved in next door yesterday and my dogs are both going crazy. I know they just want to meet him but it's driving us (and probably the neighbourhood) crazy. The barking won't stop.

How do I deal with this? I've never had a dog being barky like this before so please start with the basics.

[Ola_]

Are they barking when they're indoors or outdoors?

[Sailor]

Is this typical of your dogs when they see other dogs? Do they bark when they see the dog, or just in general?

If so, your best bet is to keep the dogs inside (assuming they're not baking when inside) while the other dog is out. Or you can try training. Teach them to bark on command. And then teach them to stop. When you're out there, and they're barking, say no in a firm voice, and "stop" ... when they stop, treat and praise the heck out of them. Continue this for a few weeks or until the barking stops.

If that doesn't work, you can always be out there with them and use a prong collar to correct them. Assuming you know how to use a prong collar correctly - there are detailed video instructions for this. And a good trainer could show you.

[SquishyKitty]

Is it possible to get the dogs together? A few hours (if the dogs are ok with it) of running around, butt sniffing, gnawing on each other and vying for dominance in various hilarious ways will likely calm the whole thing down.

Our dogs are like this when a new dog first comes around, it's very chaotic until everybody gets their greetings and sniffs and whatnot in.

[Ola_]

When we moved to our house one of my dogs would bark at the little yappers next door (I'm sure it didn't help that there's at least 3 of them there and they bark the entire time we're outside). She would run the fence and get all worked up. Fortunately I always go out with the dogs so I had the opportunity to redirect her. I would throw her frisbee and squeaky toys to get her to focus on me and not the other dogs. And if she started to get worked up we'd just go back inside. Unfortunately barking can be a self-rewarding behaviour so the less opportunity they have to practice it, the better.