Identifying WHY your dog barks is an important initial step towards finding a way to stop your dog barking. If you can pinpoint a reason behind his barking, you are in a better position to choose your preferred solution from the many dog barking remedies available.
A dog that barks incessantly can be most annoying for you and for your neighbors. But what is he hoping to gain from all this barking?
Is he used to getting his own way when you are home? That is, do you usually give in and open the door to let him inside after so many barks? I know we have fallen into that trap in the past. Or do you go outside to reprimand him in a stern voice? Either way, he is learning that barking produces attention results of some kind.
It seems that many of our dog-loving friends have been searching for dog training tips for barking and in particular a dog barking book that could help them. If it is not nipped (sorry for the pun) in the bud early then it becomes habit forming and extremely difficult to stop.
How to Stop Barking
Dog Barking Remedies for when you are at Home
Our 2 little dogs come inside when we are home but go outside to sleep at night in their own cozy kennels. They are so used to this routine that they often “take themselves off to bed” about 10 pm. But, our little Jack Russell started to get into the habit of barking about 4 o’clock every morning to come back inside, regardless of how warm his own kennel was. Rather than risk his waking up all the neighbors we started to comply with his wishes and open the door as soon as we heard him. This was all well and good except for the fact that we were now being woken very early every morning. We tried the old “Go to Bed” yelling trick but this is one of the dog barking remedies that didn’t work for us. In fact it probably did an even better job of waking the neighbors than the barking did.
Next I tried the water spray trick. I put a small bucket of water ready by the door. As soon as I heard him barking, I opened the door and tossed some water in his direction. I was never fast enough or accurate enough to actually spray him but he started to get the message. After a few nights the sound of my picking up the bucket before I opened the door was enough to send him back into his kennel. The desirable behavior pattern became habit forming. This was just one of the dog barking remedies that we found worked for us.
Click here for Other Dog Barking Remedies.
Dog Barking Solutions for when you are Away
The more your dog learns from you that incessant barking is not acceptable and is not going to win him the attention he wants, the less likely he is going to get into a barking habit when you are away, provided he is not bored.
So what can you do to provide entertainment for him while you are away? If there is nothing to do, there is a good chance that barking at every person walking along the street will become THE fun activity to occupy his attention.
More often than not, a dog that barks and barks and barks when you are away is a bored dog.
The types of distractions that you could provide while away include:
- Kongs with a tidbit inside
- Toys that are rotated so that their novelty appeal is maintained
- Chew Treats
- A chewable toy on the end of a rope
It is also a good idea to get him used to the fact that it is no big deal that you are going off to work That is, he is not being abandoned, so you could downplay the leaving ritual, making him feel that it is quite routine and that you will be back soon, as usual. We tried a number of these dog barking solutions and found that rotating toys, rather than leave them all out in the yard, worked best for us provided we had given our little Jack Russell his morning walk first.
Click here for Other Dog Barking Solutions.
Of course there are times when you probably do want your dog to bark, such as alerting you when someone is coming to the door, taking on the watch-dog role. With consistent praise followed by the “stop now” command on such occasions you can treat an alert bark differently from the annoying continuous, attention-seeking bark. Someone coming to the door provides the perfect opportunity for “stop barking training” and allows you to positively reinforce the type of behavior you want in your dog.
~ Bright Dog Tips
Stop a Puppy From Barking
For tips on how to stop barking, take a look at this dog barking book:
For Secrets to Dog Training, check this out:
