My Puppy and Tinnitus — High-Pitched Bark — How to Train Her to Whine When She Needs to Go Out?

[coffee_girl]

So I recently got a little yorkie puppy, she is 3 months old right now and I've had her for a month.

I love her to pieces and she's a very good little dog. The problem is that she barks when she has to go potty, I have her on the couch next to me when I watch TV and she would bark once, pause, growl, bark again... Then I take her outside.

The fact is that the bark is high pitched and I instantly get full ears afterwards. I really don't know what to make of it. I don't know how to train her to whine when she needs to go outside. What should I do? Are her barks dangerous to my tinnitus?

 

[robHing]

Sorry to know your situation.
They can not talk or properly communicate through words.
Barking of dogs and crying of little babies are two natural behaviors for them.
I personally will avoid them.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Rather than whine or bark, could you train her to ring a bell? That is what my parents did and their dog rings a little bell hung on the door. It's a much more pleasant sound than barking. You could pick a bell noise you prefer, like a very quiet jingle sound.

 

[coffee_girl]

Rather than whine or bark, could you train her to ring a bell? That is what my parents did and their dog rings a little bell hung on the door. It's a much more pleasant sound than barking. You could pick a bell noise you prefer, like a very quiet jingle sound.

I want to do this, but unfortunately she can't be allowed to roam around the house on the floor. She is always either on the couch or on the bed when she is not out side. Which makes it very difficult for her to reach the front door. She used to just lick my face when she needs to go out... But she has started barking now.

Is stuffed ears after a bark a bad sign?

 

[Nanny chocolate]

Maybe you're tending up to her bark. Why isn't she allowed on the floor? perhaps she hasn't had all her vaccinations yet.
@coffee_girl

 

[coffee_girl]

Maybe you're tending up to her bark. Why isn't she allowed on the floor? perhaps she hasn't had all her vaccinations yet.
@coffee_girl

She's not allowed on the floor unsupervised... Because I'm afraid she will potty when my back is turned. I'm sure for a tiny dog... An entire house is an adventure and full of fun corners to pee in... But i dont want to break her potty training. She's doing really well right now and I've had her on the floor before but she will poo somewhere when I go to grab a drink. She never potties on bed or couch even if I leave to go to the market. She will stay on her little section of the couch and play with her toys. Yes I agree I do think I encourage her barking a bit in the beginning (I thought it was so cute).

Now she's barking regularly to go out and it's a nightmare on my nerves .

I think I will just avoid the couch 20 minutes after she has eaten just to let her bark it out... Take her outside... Then join her again on the couch when we are back indoors. I swear my dog is slowly taking over my house

 

[Nanny chocolate]

She sounds gorgeous. She just a baby so it will take her a little while to learn that pooing on the floor is not the best thing. Yorkies are very bright and she is telling you when she needs to wee or poo. Going outside after meals sounds like a very good plan.
I always used to follow our puppies around waiting for the squat!
@coffee_girl

 

[Red]

Hey @coffee_girl , have you ever heard of clicker training? You should look this up. It is the best, most effective way to train dogs.

Clicker training revolves around the dog performing the positive action you want, followed by a click sound, you then immediately reward the dog with a nutritious treat or even some other rewards like pats or toys.

 

[another sean]

@coffee_girl I'm not sure what the ear fullness is indicating as I never get that during a spike from a loud noise but I have read others mentioning it when they encountered some severe acoustic trauma.

I was also thinking the same thing as @Tinker Bell by training her to use a bell when needing to go outside. I had trained cats in the past to do the same thing. I know there will be a transitional period for her to learn to do that as she may soil the floor, but it could be a better long term solution and worth the effort. Usually you would tell them no where they soiled the floor and the immediately carry them to the bell and have them tap it with their paw and then carry them outside and then praise them. You could also train her to use the bell outside of bathroom times so she learns how to use it before soiling the floor which could make the transition faster.

Another option is to mount a bell somewhere near the couch or bed instead. You could also train her on pee pads indoors. Or you could estimate when she usually has to go and then preemptively take her outside before she feels the need to bark to go to the bathroom. If you get feeding times down exactly, they can be pretty predictable. I've done that with my cat. If I feed him by 4pm, then he'll go by 10 pm. If I feed him anytime past 4pm then I will suffer the consequences from the odor of his ferocious poo while sleeping.which seems to pass through walls and even space and time. I swear, it's like he's dropping corpses in the litter box and he's in a hurry to burry the dead bodies to cover up the evidence. Like who the heck died inside of him?

 

[coffee_girl]

Hey @coffee_girl , have you ever heard of clicker training? You should look this up. It is the best, most effective way to train dogs.

Clicker training revolves around the dog performing the positive action you want, followed by a click sound, you then immediately reward the dog with a nutritious treat or even some other rewards like pats or toys.

I haven't used that yet, I treat her and praise whenever she does anything positive. I cook all her treats myself and she is obsessed with them to the point where she will hold her pee just to go outside for that bonus treat. She is very good with potty training, it's just the house is so big that she gets confused where she is allowed to potty and where is a nono. Especially if it's a foreign part of the house like my gaming room or the dining area.. She will potty there just to see if she's allowed. I feel like as long as I make sure she understands that there is only one place to potty (outside) and never inside... Then we're golden. I take her out every 1 hour and she squats immediately so she knows this is where she is allowed to pee. I probably won't let her on the floor for another 7 months

 

[Red]

Mmm. Maybe something other than a bell. You're all nuts if you think a bell is pleasant with hyperacusis. @coffee_girl seems like she might have a touch of it. A normal person does not think barks are irritatingly loud. Discomfort is a H thing, not a T thing. I'm thinking preparing for worst case scenario, if you get worse in the future (I hope not), you don't have to give up Fido because you're trying to recover from bothersome H.

 

[coffee_girl]

@coffee_girl I'm not sure what the ear fullness is indicating as I never get that during a spike from a loud noise but I have read others mentioning it when they encountered some severe acoustic trauma.

I was also thinking the same thing as @Tinker Bell by training her to use a bell when needing to go outside. I had trained cats in the past to do the same thing. I know there will be a transitional period for her to learn to do that as she may soil the floor, but it could be a better long term solution and worth the effort. Usually you would tell them no where they soiled the floor and the immediately carry them to the bell and have them tap it with their paw and then carry them outside and then praise them. You could also train her to use the bell outside of bathroom times so she learns how to use it before soiling the floor which could make the transition faster.

Another option is to mount a bell somewhere near the couch or bed instead. You could also train her on pee pads indoors. Or you could estimate when she usually has to go and then preemptively take her outside before she feels the need to bark to go to the bathroom. If you get feeding times down exactly, they can be pretty predictable. I've done that with my cat. If I feed him by 4pm, then he'll go by 10 pm. If I feed him anytime past 4pm then I will suffer the consequences from the odor of his ferocious poo while sleeping.which seems to pass through walls and even space and time. I swear, it's like he's dropping corpses in the litter box and he's in a hurry to burry the dead bodies to cover up the evidence. Like who the heck died inside of him?

Haha yeah, millie's poo is ferocious too...which is why I freak out internally when she has an accident on my white carpet. Her body works the same way as your cat... She will complain about pooing around 20 minutes after eating... Sometimes it can be an hour. I just need her to not bark at me lol

 

[coffee_girl]

Mmm. Maybe something other than a bell. You're all nuts if you think a bell is pleasant with hyperacusis. @coffee_girl seems like she might have a touch of it. A normal person does not think barks are irritatingly loud. Discomfort is a H thing, not a T thing. I'm thinking preparing for worst case scenario, if you get worse in the future (I hope not), you don't have to give up Fido because you're trying to recover from bothersome H.

I never thought about H, but yes certain pitch noise will bother me and make me freak out a little. Is this H? I don't know. Either way I'll figure something out, giving her away is not realistic for me. At worst I will give her her own little play pen and I'll put her in there for 1 hour after eating.

But right now I'll try the 30 minute rule after eating.

 

[Christophe_85]

Hello !

When they are very young like your dog, it can be difficult to make them learn about being quiet ! LOL

But maybe you can find some dog teacher like Victoria (Dog tv show with english woman) !

 

[coffee_girl]

I downloaded an app that recorded my dogs bark dB to average around 44 dB with max of 70 dB. This is with my maid screaming in the background, the dishwasher on, and my clapping my hands to get her excited enough to bark

 

[Red]

I never thought about H, but yes certain pitch noise will bother me and make me freak out a little. Is this H?

Yes, it sounds like the mild form of it.

 

[Emperor-Drax]

Uh... get a cat instead?

 

[twa]

I want to do this, but unfortunately she can't be allowed to roam around the house on the floor. She is always either on the couch or on the bed when she is not out side. Which makes it very difficult for her to reach the front door. She used to just lick my face when she needs to go out... But she has started barking now.

Is stuffed ears after a bark a bad sign?

You could teach her to do a paw motion when she needs to go out. My dog paws at the door, like let me out! Move her paw in a pawing motion then take her outside. You could also move her paw in a motion, then take her outside and give her a treat.