Bark Worse Than Bite?

I’m being a bit facetious. Of course, a dog’s bite is worse than its bark. But after the past few days, I can tell you that a dog’s bark is annoying ... teeth grating ... when it starts daily at 6am and goes on continuously for three hours ...

Our dog Dixie is 14 years old ... an all American mutt, a mix of Golden Retriever and Chow. She has always been an outside dog, lovingly cared for, but not in the house. (It’s not an option with my Mom.) She’s beginning to lose her hearing and some of her eyesight. She’s got the best personality you can imagine, but recently she’s begun this early morning ritual of incessant barking.

I’ve been getting up at 7am, giving her a morning bone, a bit of lovin’ and filling up her water bowls. She has a large fenced-in yard, shelter from the sun, a cozy house to snooze in or retreat from the rain. Seconds after she finishes the bone, the barking recommences. With my Dad needing rest to recover from his heart attack and Mom requiring extra rest to handle the pace of the care-giving, the barking has to stop. My folks’ bedroom is on the back of the house right above Dixie’s yard. Her bark is so loud, she might as well be in the room with them.

Dixie has always barked at white trucks. Her surprisingly low, butch bark has been aimed at the donkeys in the pasture backing up to ours; people walking past on the road; and at the skunk family living in the adjacent acre. I have studied how to make her stop. I don’t yell at her. I’m not going to hit her. I speak firmly and make eye contact with her. Today, when all else failed, I brought her into the basement and kept her in until Mom and Dad were up. My instincts tell me that she is acting out ... that she recognizes that something has happened to Dad. I’d like to think the barking is her way of showing us she’s protecting us, that she’s still on duty, tilting at windmills. But again, we’ve got to change the behavior.

I know that I have a lot of animal lovers on my friends list. I’d like to ask for advice. Am I missing the mark when it comes to stopping Dixie’s bad habit? What would you do? We are trying our best to give her the same level of attention she had prior to Dad’s heart attack and strokes. Anyone have a suggestion as to how to curtail her barking? It only happens in the early morning and at dusk. We need sleep.

Bark Worse Than Bite?

I’m being a bit facetious. Of course, a dog’s bite is worse than its bark. But after the past few days, I can tell you that a dog’s bark is annoying ... teeth grating ... when it starts daily at 6am and goes on continuously for three hours ...

Our dog Dixie is 14 years old ... an all American mutt, a mix of Golden Retriever and Chow. She has always been an outside dog, lovingly cared for, but not in the house. (It’s not an option with my Mom.) She’s beginning to lose her hearing and some of her eyesight. She’s got the best personality you can imagine, but recently she’s begun this early morning ritual of incessant barking.

I’ve been getting up at 7am, giving her a morning bone, a bit of lovin’ and filling up her water bowls. She has a large fenced-in yard, shelter from the sun, a cozy house to snooze in or retreat from the rain. Seconds after she finishes the bone, the barking recommences. With my Dad needing rest to recover from his heart attack and Mom requiring extra rest to handle the pace of the care-giving, the barking has to stop. My folks’ bedroom is on the back of the house right above Dixie’s yard. Her bark is so loud, she might as well be in the room with them.

Dixie has always barked at white trucks. Her surprisingly low, butch bark has been aimed at the donkeys in the pasture backing up to ours; people walking past on the road; and at the skunk family living in the adjacent acre. I have studied how to make her stop. I don’t yell at her. I’m not going to hit her. I speak firmly and make eye contact with her. Today, when all else failed, I brought her into the basement and kept her in until Mom and Dad were up. My instincts tell me that she is acting out ... that she recognizes that something has happened to Dad. I’d like to think the barking is her way of showing us she’s protecting us, that she’s still on duty, tilting at windmills. But again, we’ve got to change the behavior.

I know that I have a lot of animal lovers on my friends list. I’d like to ask for advice. Am I missing the mark when it comes to stopping Dixie’s bad habit? What would you do? We are trying our best to give her the same level of attention she had prior to Dad’s heart attack and strokes. Anyone have a suggestion as to how to curtail her barking? It only happens in the early morning and at dusk. We need sleep.