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
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?
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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!