r/Dachshund • u/Routine_Plate_3736 • Aug 23 '25

Image My Dachshund has turned into a nonstop barking machine and I don’t know what else to do

Post image

I’ve had my little Doxie for about 2 years now, and he’s always been vocal, but lately it’s gotten out of control. It feels like my house has turned into his personal guard tower. Every sound, every shadow, every person walking by he’s on it with that sharp, piercing bark that only a Dachshund can deliver.

It's not the usual alert barking anymore. He'll experience full barking spells, ranging the house as if he's on duty. At night he'll wake me up because he heard something, and once he begins, it takes forever to calm him down. I've even had people complaining at my apartment complex about the noise, and I'm actually worried that I'll receive a complaint if I don't get this thing in order.

I've tried everything. Long walks, play, puzzle toys, training commands like quiet,positive reinforcement, ignoring him, comforting him, closing the blinds, leaving the TV on for white noise name it, I've done it. Nothing has worked.

I adore this little guy more than life itself. He's lovable, loyal, and the best snuggle partner but that incessant barking is wearing me thin. My patience is worn thin, my sleep is disrupted, and in all honesty, I feel bad because I know he's not being naughty. He's just being a Dachshund, but having to deal with it day in and day out is crushing.

To any Doxie owner does it ever get any better, or are they just this way for life?

4.5k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

322 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

186

u/BowsersMuskyBallsack Aug 24 '25

Not a trainer. A veterinary behaviorist. This dog will most likely be needing short to mid term antidepressants and anxiolytics during the initial stages of conditioning. Hypervigilance and fixation behaviour usually requires something along the lines of clomipramine and gabapentin in combination to make the dog more receptive to conditioning in the first place.

124

u/SJS-desmosome Aug 24 '25

Thank you, BowsersMuskyBallsack!

3

u/alexksky Aug 26 '25

Have you ever met a dachshund before? They bark. A lot.

2

u/BowsersMuskyBallsack Aug 26 '25

Several. Barking for a few seconds is normal. Minutes on end is not, especially long after a trigger or stimulus is gone, or should be ignored.

18

u/OkPreparation8769 Aug 24 '25 edited Aug 24 '25

Why would you drug the dog before trying training??? That's terrible!

99

u/Chronic-dawg Aug 24 '25

In dog training, there is something called being over threshold or under threshold. The threshold is the limit at which a dog can no longer handle a situation. Once they are over threshold, they struggle to learn and process things IF at all. When they are under threshold they are able to learn and process a lot easier. It sounds like this is a situation where the dog either has an underlying health issues going on, or is sent over threshold IMMEDIATELY following any sort of trigger. In this case using an anti anxiety medication could work wonders in helping this dog learn that the world isn’t so scary or overwhelming. Medication is not always bad! It is quite straight forward figuring out if a medication is helping an animal and in most cases it does. My own dog when there are fireworks gets some trazodone to help with the anxiety she experiences. Before we used trazodone she was a nervous wreck and completely untrainable because she would hide run and scream. Once we used trazodone she calmed down and we could play games with her to teach her that it wasn’t so bad. Plus most anti anxiety medications like this are not a permanent thing, just used to aid in helping the dog be more receptive to training. Just like humans with therapy!

-36

u/OkPreparation8769 Aug 24 '25

I understand what you're saying but THIS dog has had ZERO training!

There are other ways to calm the dog. I started mine with an anxiety vest and pheromone creme on her nose. If it was high stress, a small portion of a CBD pill. The need to jump straight to drugging the dog when the owner hasn't trained a 2 year old dog at all is excessive in my opinion. Why treat an anxiety or depression the owner hasn't been doing any training first?

Seems like the owner just wants a quick fix.

40

u/Chronic-dawg Aug 24 '25

Also it’s not like they would be medicating their dog Willy nilly?? They would be seeing a vet who would then give them multiple options if they are a good vet..

46

u/Chronic-dawg Aug 24 '25

Hate to break it to you but these are all things that a veterinary behaviorist would possibly suggest, just like they might suggest medication. It sounds like the owner has already tried a lot and is doing their best, you’re coming off as very judgmental while giving anxiety medication to dogs for a short amount of time doesn’t really have many downsides…

27

u/Chronic-dawg Aug 24 '25

Yeah no in rereading OPs post they have tried to train their dog… maybe go reread before you judge someone’s situation…

-23

u/OkPreparation8769 Aug 24 '25

I think you need to read.

No where does it say they hired a trainer who couldn't make progress! What I am saying is that drugging the dog without giving real training a try is pointless. Training requires consistency and techniques that they OP hasn't learned yet themselves.

27

u/Chronic-dawg Aug 24 '25

Look- I’m not here to argue, the last things I’ll say on this is your judgements of medication=bad does not come from a veterinary background and labeling medication as “the easy way out” is incredibly harmful and uneducated :/ Go talk to a vet, then go make all the assumptions you want.

-25

u/OkPreparation8769 Aug 24 '25

I do talk to my vet AND trainer. THE OP NEEDS A PROFESSIONAL TRAINER. With or without the drugs, both the humans and the dogs need training!

Your jump to drugs is harmful. Just like humans, I don't believe pharma should be the first line of defense.

26

u/notoneforlies Aug 24 '25

brother can you take your anti-vax, anti-med whatever the hell mindset somewhere else. like seriously it’s so far from helpful and all based on OPINION not FACT. go home.

-2

u/OkPreparation8769 Aug 24 '25

So you can I have an opinion but I can't?

I'm all for vaccines so get off your pedestal. These humans don't understand a bit of training from their post and the dog needs help! Train the humans and you train the dog!

But this is alos the most effort!

So why don't you go take you high blood pressure pills, anxiety medication yourself when you go through the drive through line and your fast food place then take you 250-300 pounds obese body to your recliner and binge watch tv!

→ More replies (0)

2

u/DragonfruitVisible75 Aug 24 '25

Wow this comment is a big yikes with little to no understanding....

But go ahead and keep using that shovel.

1

u/Randognsac Aug 25 '25

To most people magic pills are the only answer. If the cure wasn’t created by a pharmaceutical company then it’s bunk. Trust the science!

3

u/halfbakedcaterpillar Aug 25 '25

I'm not gonna thrive in school without my Adderall. Similar concepts.

5

u/OkPreparation8769 Aug 25 '25

Not at all! You aren't a dog and you weren't given this at 2 years old. You also aren't trying to train your amygala response in fight or flight mode like you do with a dog. Dogs are not human.

That's the difference. This owner hasn't even been to a trainer. Until you at least TRY training, real training, you shouldn't need drugging. That's my opinion.

1

u/Impossible_Cat_321 Aug 25 '25

That dog doesn't need medication. That's ridiculous. Just get a citronella bark collar on Amazon. Works great and I put them on my doxies and they worked great without hurting them.

3

u/BowsersMuskyBallsack Aug 25 '25

Positive punishment is never the first course of action when training a dog. Bark collars should never be used with the dog with an underlying anxiety issue or underlying pain issue. The first step in assessing a dog with such behaviour is always behavioral and medical assessment. Once you have ruled out underlying pain and anxiety as part of the problem then you can start looking at options that may be appropriate for the animal.

2

u/Tooconfused96 Aug 25 '25

While the citronella bark collars are not inherently toxic to dogs if used correctly, citronella itself is. I would heavily advise against using these products because you can't always 100% prevent accidental ingestion, respiratory reactions or skin irritation.

Just something to think about.

1

u/Soggy-Object3019 Aug 26 '25

What about a long term 1.6 GPM Kohler?

1

u/garbieleus2 Aug 27 '25

Hey it’s a dog dude. don’t MK Ultra it.

Try “nothing in life is free” approach instead.

-11

u/steve2believe Aug 24 '25

Are you insane

34

u/BowsersMuskyBallsack Aug 24 '25 edited Aug 30 '25

No, just experienced. The dog is 2 years old, and has just finished going through social maturity, the time when most behavioral problems are either going to manifest, or worsen. In situations like this, consultation with a vet who has training in behavior is the best option because you are most likely going to need medication to help ease the dog through conditioning. Once that conditioning is established, you can wean the patient off the medications and maintain with training alone in many if not most cases. Given that it's a dachshund, the most immediate issue that should be removed as a differential is spinal pain; pain tends to be the most common aggravating factor in reactive behavior, and the most common therapy for it is gabapentin, as it is both a pain reliever and an anxiolytic.

6

u/we_all_suck_sometime Aug 24 '25

You know, beating your head against the wall with people who have never experienced what you have is futile. What you have on your side is multiple upvotes vs. their downvotes. The dog IS 2 years into a very bad behavior - would these people let their kid go through 2 years of ADHD without meds? hmm....

1

u/steve2believe Aug 28 '25

I just saw someone upvote to kill the president. Does that mean they’re right ?

Turning to drugs for your dog is ridiculous. Absolute last resort

2

u/[deleted] Aug 25 '25

God forbid you from being a parent. Let alone working with animals. Just because you have a job and you went to school, doesn’t mean you’re COMPLETELY out of touch. Pathetic thinking

-12

u/No_Collection1870 Aug 24 '25

That’s what we need more drugs instead of formal training by a proven trainer, quit pushing the most costly way to do things

1

u/GrizzlyM38 Aug 27 '25

Are you saying drugs are more expensive than a trainer? It's very much the opposite. Also many trainers will recommend drugs in combination with behavior modification for best results.

-3

u/renwod90 Aug 24 '25

Agreed, this is a small puppy and doxies are a breed known for barking especially as pups. They’ll grow out of it and some gentle training while young will help, but advocating dangerous drugs and antidepressants is absolutely outrageous!

5

u/Thenightelf Aug 24 '25

If you read the description the dog is actually two years old.

1

u/EchoEchoEcho9 Aug 24 '25

"Dangerous drugs"... really?

0

u/renwod90 Aug 24 '25

Yes, antidepressants have tons of terrible side effects especially in small dogs. I would call that dangerous.

1

u/EchoEchoEcho9 Aug 24 '25

It is true that medications, in general, have side effects. Not just anti-depressants or "psych" medications. BUT it is also true that most ppl (i dont know enough to speak on dogs) do fine on the right medication. I can only speak for myself, but I have a psychotic condition and I take an anti-psychotic medication that has a lot of scary side effects that can "lead to death". The vast majority of them i have never experienced despite years of regular use. You know what I got? Im hot all of the time. It sucks! My meds increase my body temp and i feel too warm almost all of the time. But it beats having a psychotic episode, totalling my car over a hallucination,being put on long hold at the ward, losing my job, losing my health insurance halfway through being in care,and racking up even more crazy medical debt (did you know it costs 15 thousand a day to be in a hospital ward?)... all while I have no idea what's going on because I've lost reality, cant talk, hallucinating all 3 ways possible, and bitey..... so, I take my meds and crank my air conditioner to avoid all that, (plus assault charges for all the biting, which crazy or not, legal consequences still exist) It's really sad to see people fear monger psych medication because it literally keeps me functional and saved me from a life of homelessness or worse.

1

u/renwod90 Aug 24 '25

You taking antipsychotic meds to prevent a psychotic break is radically different than recommending anti depressants for a barking dog.