Is your Mother active and able to walk the dog?
He's probably not getting enough exercise and IMO is not the right breed for a senior citizen. They're active, independent dogs and without training or someone who can control him, I don't think you'll find a solution to the problem.

This is one of those situations where one may have to consider finding another home for the dog and maybe adopting an older cat for your Mother.

Good advice from Annz. You really do need to figure out why he's barking. Has he been barking for 7 years or is this something new? Did your mom recently adopt him..? If it's lack of exercise and stimulation, you can hire a dog walker.

If he is new, maybe his previous owners gave him up because of barking?

You said "My mother can't really control or train the dog, so that is not a solution."

Without training the dog is going to keep barking. Collars are a training tool, you can buy a shock collar that zaps the dog when it barks, but unless training goes with it, the dog will get use to the zap and think it is part of his bark.

In my humble opinion this dog seems too much for your mother. Cairns need to be walked. I think it is time to find a new home for this pup. Maybe get your mom a nice cat....

Barking out of boredom. Probably going out of his mind just sitting there.

I like the idea about the dog walker. She has had the dog for its entire life, so giving up the dog would break her heart. It would be like giving up a child. I won't do it. He has always barked and the barking is at people who walk by etc., not just random barking. Instead of a couple warning barks, he barks for an extended period of time. That is the issue.

Gammy if you have experience using a collar and training - what is involved with the training? She has a caregiver who comes by for a couple hours every day, perhaps we could arrange for her to help with the training. It may not be a perfect arrangement, but better than what we have now.

Isn't it also heartbreaking is that the needs of the dog are not being fulfilled? Excercise and mental stimulation that is. Try the dog walker, maybe that will help.

Unless the caregiver likes dogs and is confident and knowledgeable in handling them, I would hesitate to ask her to help train the dog. Instead, I'd pay for a dog sitter/dog walker to come by and walk the dog to help burn up some of his energy. It needs to be someone who is also aware of the dogs physical state and how much excercise he can handle at his age.

My worry would be that the neighbors will complain enough that management may have to ask your Mother to make some difficult decisions.
A trainer could show her what to do when he barks.........she just need to learn how to be alpha...........and then let someone else take him for walks.

"He has always barked and the barking is at people who walk by etc., not just random barking"

If he's always barked, why is it now a problem? Did she move recently?

Are there blinds or curtains that you can be closed so that he doesn't see people walking by? The idea of a shock collar bothers me a great deal, and this breed is known to be barky. The Citronella collar should work if properly fitted/adjusted on the dog, and at least is not painful. Please do try the dog walker and closed curtains. I know this is your mum's companion, but if this fails she really needs to consider rehoming him and getting a senior(*) kitty. It's just not fair to the dog.

(*) I have a theory that older people should adopt older animals so that the pets do not outlive the owners, and the energy levels are more well matched.

What do you all think of debarking? As in surgically or however?

In order to de-bark a dog the vocal cords have to be severed. Alot of vets wouldn't do it. My MIL had this done to her basset/beagle in order to please a neighbor who filed a grievance against her regarding the dog barking. IMHO it was a really bad solution. After you de-bark the dog, if the dog gets itself in trouble i.e.; stuck somewhere, hurt, etc. how do you hear it when it is trying to let you know there's a problem. I think it is one of the most inhumane procedures you could do to an animal. There are other alternatives. Just my 2 cents.

I agree with the others that he is bored. He also needs some discipline or he'll add other bad behaviors to this one.

She could buy him new chew toys, but not keep them all out all the time so she can hand him "new" things all the time. You can play fetch with a small dog in the house even while sitting in a chair. I tire my dog out this way when I'm too busy to go out and play. Hiring a dogwalker seems crucial, too.

For the barking issue, I've cured dogs of yapping by squirting them in the face with a water bottle and saying "no" firmly and sharply at the same time. It doesn't usually take many squirts before they begin to respond to the command without the water, although occasionally they may need a reminder with the bottle. Good luck! I think rehoming should be avoided if possible, too.

Carlisa, you are in a tough spot. Without some activity, I don't think the terrier will ever stop barking.

A dog walker is an excellent idea. Perhaps a sympathetic neighbor could pitch in and help? Or, even better, a teenage kid could come a few days a week and take the dog to a park to run run run!!

Also, have you ever tried to engage the terrier with one of those activity toys? The ones where you put food inside and the dog has to roll the toy "just so" in order to get the food out? That might break up his day somewhat.

I'm not against debarking. I've had it done but this was years ago when i still lived in the city.

On one dog it eliminated her voice. I don't think the dog knew any difference but it looked odd watching her bark. I have a cocker-spaniel mix that had it done and he has this unpleasant harsh and high pitched voice now. So it works differently on different dogs. The procedure that I had done was the cheaper one where the vocal chords were not removed(?) but a hole was placed (somewhere?) - can't remember anymore.

vicky

I cannot believe there are people who would "debark" a dog because the barking is inconvenient for themselves or other people.

There is a reason we spay and neuter.
There is absolutely no reason for debarking.

I just recently got my first dog, also a Cairn. She's 4 months old. She barks very rarely, but on the occasions that she does, she barks at exactly the right thing: Alerting me to strangers coming to the door. She also barks for a while when I leave the house, but this is perfectly natural. Now I give her the type of toy that that CindyB mentions, one in which you can stick tiny treats, and that helps keep her occupied for a while and take her mind off the fact that her main human is not there. When I am away, someone comes in twice to visit with her, give her one of her meals and walk her. My neighbors have not complained about any barking (so far).

I would like to thank those of you who have offered helpful suggestions, including walking, toys, collar training, other training and surgery. I feel like you truly understand this difficult situation.

My original posting asked about collars. There are other collars besides shock collars - I was looking for that kind of information or another realistic solution.

The dog is not neglected, she is with the dog all day, she can still take care of him, she has had the dog for a long time - he just barks. To continue to suggest that he be given away is starting to feel pretty insensitive to me.

One thing we liked about our new house is that we now "live" in the familly room at the back of the house - not in the living room looking out at people walking by. Could your mom maybe replace her blinds and get the top-down, bottom-up cellular shades? Shen she could let light in, but block the dog's view. I thought about this for our old house, but the dogs are too big and would just move the blinds aside. Some companies (try Comfortex) have optional metal channels for the blinds to sit in. It is a feature for cutting down on drafts.

Not being a dog expert, I can't offer advice, but I hope you can find a solution so your mom can keep her beloved pet. I'm sure they are devoted to each other and it would very sad if a solution can't be reached. I would try the blinds down treatment. An operation on his vocal cords sounds barbaric to me. Good luck.

Maybe your mom could try the pennies in a can thing. Put a handful of pennies in an empty soda can. Everytime the dog starts to bark, she shakes the can. The noise typically startles and distracts the dog. Once he is distracted, she can gain his attention and give him a small treat or simply a little petting or praising.

I agree about the walking too. If there is any way she can afford to pay someone to walk him at least once a day (preferably twice), it might help.

Hi Carlisa,

since you're asking specifically about bark collars. I tried the bark collars that make a loud beeping noise. It got the dogs' attention at first, but then they got used to it. Also, the battery doesn't last very long.

I've had better luck with the squirt bottle method.

I've also started using a single command "quiet" in a forceful voice, that helps sometime. That works fairly well when only 1 or 2 of the dogs are barking, but when all 5 are at it, it's pretty tough.

I think the other posters have a point about the dog needing a long daily walk, it will wear his furry little tush out so he'll rest more during the rest of the day.

Good luck, it's not easy.

jerri

Sounds like your mom can take care of all of this dog's needs except for exercise. A dog walker is a great suggestion, especially for a Cairn. They have tons of energy to burn. And you know my favorite saying... "A tired dog is a good dog."

The only collars I know of beyond citronella and shock are the ones that operate with high frequency noises. Without training, I don't believe they'd work. Any dog could learn to ignore the noise. In fact, I have to believe that using any noise -- high frequency, cans of pennies, yelling "no!", etc. -- is a bad idea for barking. Dogs just think you're joining in on the bark party.

If your mom is willing to try some training, she could use the method I used. She'd need a jar of tiny treats wherever she sits during the day. (I like Simon & Huey's Soft Training Treats, available online.) When he starts barking, she'd say "uh oh!" in a happy voice. The moment he looks at her, she'd give him a treat. She'd have to do this every time he started barking. Over time, her dog would see someone out the window and then look at her *before* barking -- a marvelous thing. In the dog's mind now, passersby = treats. In that split second, she'd say "good boy!' and then reach for the treats.

Barking is the hardest behavior to extinguish because it's self-reinforcing. Hey, dogs like to hear themselves talk as much as we do. But the technique above has helped me immensely. My dog always looks to me when something concerns her. If I praise or reward her quickly enough, she won't bark.

Are there families with older kids where your mom lives? If so, they are a great resource for dog walking. I had pre-teen twins who walked my dog until I recently got a job closer to home. They charged $3 per walk, and they adored my dog, showering her with attention. Adult dogwalkers charged at least $10 per visit, which was too much for me every day (although perfectly reasonable since they needed to earn a living).

Oh "girl" that's a great idea! I tell you, it didn't take any time for my dogs to realize, if I gasped in the kitchen they came running because it meant I dropped food!

Will ask my mom if she will try aspiringirl's idea. I talked with my brother and he says the caretaker is supposed to walk the dog every day.