Nasty dogs next door bark constantly at me if Im sitting on my porch eating dinner. Would it be wrong to use a “super soaker” squirt gun on them?
Yes, it would be WRONG. This (just like yelling at the dogs) does nothing to support them learning that they are behaving INCORRECTLY…and it does EVERYTHING to support them barking MORE! If you have been yelling at them (shut up dog, knock it off!) then YOU have accidentally been reinforcing and TRAINING THEM to BARK AT YOU MORE. The dogs are NOT trying to be nasty. They are simply doing what a dog believes it is supposed to do. You don’t have a NASTY DOG problem, you have a NASTY (or really kinda dumb) HUMAN neighbor problem! My dogs will bark if someone is at the door, or on our property, or walking PAST the house…especially if they have their dog with them. If on my property, they BETTER GIVE A WOOF OR TWO and let me know! That’s part of their job here. However…if it’s a passerby..or after a woof or two, they had also better KNOCK IT OFF! Especially if I have gotten up and looked and then TOLD THEM to be quiet! I have a whole list of things I can ask them to DO, if they don’t
