Barking Dog Problem

 Excessive Barking

Dogs sometimes just do not want to be quiet and neighbors not always are that tolerant - I know this from my own experience. My intentions in this article are not to stop your dog barking completely but rather to eliminate the excessive barking which is very annoying. You would rather not want your dog be quiet when your house is getting burgled in the middle of the night, right?:)

First thing you need to do is to find out why the dog is barking excessively. Here are several reasons why dog barks:

• Warning - normal behavior when there is somebody at the door or is passing near to your house. It is dog's way of saying: "I am protecting this area so you better leave now." The sound of this bark is usually sharp, loud and authoritative.
• Anxiety - many dogs bark to calm down - it is kind of self- soothing "methods" for them. This kind of barking is common for dogs with separation anxiety.
• Excitement
• Attention - seeking - like children dogs sometimes want to get you attention and by barking they say "Look, here I am, play with me".
• Out of boredom or just for fun!
• Responding to other dogs barking
• To let you know he demands something
• Terriers end hounds are bred to bark
• Out of isolation or when they are separated from their pack
• When trapped or closed in a room for a while
• Dominance barking - very natural for dogs at certain age
• Once excessive barking was awarded in the past dog will remember this as a positive reinforcement
• When threatened or feeling insecure

Dog's hearing, seeing and smelling are much more sensitive than humans. Keep in mind that barking might be because of something else than you think.

Once we covered all possible reasons for barking let focus on how to stop this. Dog and the owner must establish clear line of communication that will allow them to know exactly what other part thinks and wants. fridlyckans

When your dog barks make sure you NEVER DO the following:

• DO NOT give your dog a treat when he is barking - that will only encourage the dog to keep up with it. Let the dog know that such behavior will not be tolerated and make a dog feel bad about it.
• DO NOT let the dog inside the house when he is barking - this is another stupid thing to do and makes a dog comfortable about it. Make sure he feels the punishment and only let the dog inside a while after he is done with barking.
• NEVER ever scream at your dog - this might sound weird at first but this human behavior only encourages a dog to bark more and more because he thinks that you join in with him and gives dog more energy to continue barking. What is more you only give your dog attention they were looking for.
Now you know what you should not be doing. It is time for some information on what you SHOULD BE DOING in order to your dog stops barking.

• Play and exercise with your dog as often as possible - this will keep your dog's energy low and he will not be so eager to bark that often
• If possible try not to leave your dog for a long time in the house or in other closed environment
• Work out a system that will let your dog know that you do not like it - a whistle or a clamp and when he calms down reward him with a treat or toy. Do not use shock collars - they are painful and a dog will very often test those devices and work out a system around them
• Once quiet do something productive to get his attention. Try practicing basic commands like SIT, STAY, DOWN.

How to stop barking in most common situations

Stop you dog barking when phone rings

• First of all you need to find out what is it that makes your dog going crazy every time phone rings. Sometimes it might be only a matter of a tune or the volume of it and when you change it to something else dog will not bark.
• How DO YOU react when phone rings? Probably you jump out of the couch and run like crazy to get this before anybody else. No wonder your dog starts to bark - he thinks it is very exciting watching you doing this and joins in with you thinking it is a playtime! While running to get the phone you are probably moving your dog out of your way and by this a dog associate ringing phone with human contact and interaction with you.
• Try training your dog on "go-to-your-spot" command and use it every time phone rings - that is a way of alternate behavior that will keep your dog quiet at the above occasions
• Get your dog used to phone ringing. Make sure though that you do not answer it, just sit calm pretending that you hear nothing (for example call from your mobile) - after some time dog will get used to it and stop barking when hearing this sound.

Barking when you are not at home

This type of barking is not that easy to control and is regarded as rather long-term process. Before we star altering this you should be aware that dogs are social creatures that once separated from their pack or owner feel lonely, stressed and express that in many ways. This is commonly known as separation anxiety. Here are some basic points you need to cover to keep your dog quiet when you are not at home:

• Keep you dog happy - as simple as it may think you would be surprised how important this is. Exercise and play a lot with your dog, provide fresh water and comfortable and secure place to sleep as well as try to keep a dog far away from a place when he can see what is going on outside the window - basically keep him away from distractions that may work as a trigger for barking.
• Cruel but effective - ignore your dog the moment you come home. This method is proven and works but applies only to those dogs that were barking the moment you come home.
• Positive/Negative Reinforcement Training is more than necessary. You must train your dog what is good and what is wrong and each problem you will have with your dog would be much easier to solve once basics are covered.

Barking In Order To Get Something

This one can be "fixed" very quickly.

• You must let your dog know who the boss is. If you establish mutual respect and general understanding on most common issues with dog training and problems this problem will not occur
• Very easily managed when you already did some basic training with commands STOP and QUIET. When your dog wants something badly and starts barking furiously simply use those commands. This can be reinforced by showing your dog a treat and when it works simply give him that treat.
• You can also use very simple method - when your dog is showing what he wants you simply ignore him. Eventually dog will get bored and give it up and this behavior will be remembered in the future. It might be a little bit annoying and hard for ears for a while but remember what your end goal is.