My name is Scott and my wife's name is Mira. I own a pitbull who has horrible manners and she owns a mix who is anxious and loud. both have their issues but we are hoping to learn basic concepts to help us grow as owners and for them to have the best quality of life. and possibly not get kicked out of our apartment for noise.....

This is a problem of 100% consistency. Whether you have your dog (and your wife her's) tethered on you or put in a restricted, but visible and quickly accessible area, you should immediately go to him and say in a firm but calm voice "no!" or "quiet!", no matter word you chose.

Of course in the beginning this word will be meaningless for the dog, but he'll learn to understand it's meaning quite quickly by linking cause and consequence.

E.g.:Each time he keeps quite (just for 2 or 3 seconds at first, then gradually more) reward him with lots of praise or/and treats. Don't misunderstand me: The reward is not for barking but for obeying your "no!".If he doesn't obey you of course don't reward, neither with food nor affection. Turn your back to him, go away for some steps, ignore him. After a while  repeat the whole thing. I know, this is difficult especially at night, when you'd like to sleep. But without consistency it will never work.

Together with consistency this all must happen with perfect timing. If you wait too long - not more than a second, better half a second! -  the dog will not be able to associate cause and consequence.

I know, this sounds horrible, it will inevitably cost you some sleep. In order to reduce this you should train it during the day as often as you can. Even if he doesn't bark, do make him bark. E.g. Let someone knock at the door or do something else which challenges him to bark. Like this you can create many opportunities to  train the "no!" or whatever word you chose.

Another help is to tire him before sleeping time (long walk, exhaustive game etc), this will make him want to sleep and reduce his drive at least for some time and give you some rest

Remember absolutely: CONSISTENCY AND TIMING.

You need to reduce all free roaming (temporarily), and add LOTS of RULES/STRUCTURE/BASIC OBEDIENCE TRAINING to your daily routine. Use a Dogtra bark collar.  Your timing will most likely be off if you try to say NO or you may not sound firm enough to make an impact/change in the dogs behavior so utilizing a collar is the best way to stop anxious, incessant barking mainly when you are gone but you could use the collar and go into another room for a period of time in order for the dog to learn how it works.  Usually only takes 1-2 corrections (again only temporary). This course only covers a fraction of what you will need to do in order to change the mindset/behaviors in your dogs.  Reward based marker training and the proper use of punishment for unwanted behavior and non compliance will be required and both dogs will need to start training separately.  Email me at Littledogchateauxsf@gmail.com and I will send you some resources to get you started.  It would be best to look for a balanced trainer in your area too. When young puppies are managed properly very little corrections are needed and most unwanted habits do not develop. Unfortunately most pet dog owners do not understand the proper way to raise a young pup and end up with an unruly adult dog.  Not trying to blame or shame you only trying to spread awareness and help.  You can fix this but it will require a lot of patience and discipline 

Again: No corrections, as long as the dog hasn't understood yet fpr what bejavior the correction is meant for. "Punishment" in correct timing, yes. Punishment in the sense of not rewarding in any way, not even giving attention. Scientifically spoken this is called negativ  punishment, because the anticipated reward is not coming. The average dog learns to connect root cause and neg. punishment quite soon, though of course needs some time, patience and absolute consistency.

About corrections, about when and how to apply them,  LB offers a huge amount of info in articles, DVDs and courses with highly  reputable professionals, like Michael Ellis, Forrest Micki, Ed Frawley, Cindy Rhodes and others.

I do agree with Ceslie Mulhollands "You need to reduce all free roaming (temporarily), and add LOTS of RULES/STRUCTURE/BASIC OBEDIENCE TRAINING to your daily routine". All this can be taught with lots of fun for the dog as well as for the owner.

Christina Stockinger's quote listed above-

"This is a problem of 100% consistency. Whether you have your dog (and your wife her's) tethered on you or put in a restricted, but visible and quickly accessible area, you should immediately go to him and say in a firm but calm voice "no!" or "quiet!", no matter word you chose.

Of course in the beginning this word will be meaningless for the dog, but he'll learn to understand it's meaning quite quickly by linking cause and consequence."  End Quote

Christina- Are you aware of the fact that the verbal use of the word "no" is a form of punishment? Corrections/punishment/consequence- whichever word you want to use-all indicate a technique used to stop an unwanted behavior.  Tethering is considered a low level correction. Gentle leaders are a form of punishment too- this tool applies continuous pressure on the dogs face the entire time it is in use.  According to you a form of correction would be fine (verbal NO) yet then you say NO CORRECTIONS should be used.  Could you please explain exactly what you mean? I am a bit confused.

As a balanced trainer who has received certifications from the Michael Ellis School For Dog Trainers (feel free to look on my business instagram-littledogchateauxsf), when it comes to a pet dog client possibly getting kicked out of their apt due to their dogs behavior, I stand by my original recommendation for the use of a dogtra bark collar to reduce anxiety and loudness (assuming it's barking but could be wrong).  My suggestion is a quick/realistic solution to prevent the dogs from getting re-homed or a solution to prevent the humans from losing their home. The collar also reduces OCD behaviors (such as spinning in the crate) and incessant barking almost immediately.  How do I know this? Because Ive suggested it several times and it works.  Is a collar my first suggestion for every dog? NO WAY. It's usually a last resort after many other things have failed.  In this case, I am suggesting it because eviction sounds like a serious matter to me.

Could the behaviors the owners are struggling with have been 100% prevented with proper management? Most likely. Is it fair to all of a sudden begin punishing the dog when it doesn't understand what's happening? No, it isnt fair. But the work needs to start somewhere and the owners need to be educated during the process. 

There are many ways to change behaviors.  Maybe a trainer who assesses the dogs in person will determine that a collar isnt necessary.  Ok great! Anything that works is fabulous! In my opinion sharing ideas that will help these folks is a priority.  Instead of saying something wont work-maybe focus on methods you have used successfully.  Lots of things may not work but until you begin working with the dog/handler, you should keep all options on the table.

Hi, Cesclie. I do think, we're actually on the same page. In my eyes the confusion seems to come from different interpretations of the words. Yes, the "no!" could be interpreted as a form of punishment as the dog gets deprived of doing sthg he'd like to do.

With "no corrections" , including verbal and physical ones, I meant we'd confuse and in some cases perhaps even demotivate the dog. I myself start training houserules etc. by making the dog have as much success as possible. This I can do by means of giving him no chance to commit an error. Having him tethered or having him kept in a clearly restricted area, he has not much chances for errors. I can almost each time reward him. Like this he learns what I want from him. Once he's got it i can start with verbal and a bit later with physical corrections.  By continuing this I can also - very gradually - give him a bit more freedom, proofing his learned behaviors on another spot, over time in another room, later on outside and with a long line.

Yes, you can call tethering or restricting as Punishment. This is one of those questions of interpretation of a word. I can agree with you without problem in this point, I myself would just interprete it differently. In a natural pack the puppies are kept near the mother. If they try to go away, she'll grab them softly and put them near to her again. I myself wouldn't call this punishment, although I agree it is a restriction. Or correction.

For me correction is sthg stronger and it has to come from ME. For example a dog is pulling when I want to walk with him. I say "No!" and if he doesn't obey I stand still. If he goes on pulling it means he himswelf is "punishing" him, not I.Like this he learns: Oh, pulling is not worth it, if I return to her the continuation orf walking will happen much quicker. Or I change direction. He doesn't follow me, I never drag, but go on walking, logical that the leash stretches, which is uncomfortable. But it is he who does this to himself. Like this he learns, it is more comfortable to follow me.

An actual correction for me would be much stronger. Again: adapted to the individual dog. With a softer dog I have to use a lower correction level, adapted to him.  For a dog who is not impressed by a correction level 3 I will have to give one of level 5 or more. I have to find out what effect a level such or such has on him.

This description is only to show you how I am doing it. Of course everything is simplified as I can't list here all of the rules he's got to learn.

Actually I should especially name the distractions and how to deal with them. It is so diffferent from dog to dog. In short: If I can, I avoid distractions which are of too high a level for that particular dog.I start with very low levels at home, later on I try the comparable level outside. I try to tackle with them by making myself more interesting than the distraction, a little game, an exercise, trick he loves and so on, food sometime yes, but not only this, it must be a little event.  I want him to keep focussed on me inspite of the distraction. Often easier said than done!

I hope I've described all this clearly enough, but don't hesitate to ask or comment, I also like discussions and like to hear about how others are handling their dogs.