How To Stop A Barking Dog
3 Ways To Keep Your Dog From Barking Forever
If you’ve got a dog that won’t stop barking, then you need to read these three techniques for how to stop a barking dog. Of course, stopping this unwanted behavior might night be an overnight fix. Depending on how long you’ve allowed the bad behavior, you might have a lot of “fixing” to do.
1. Ignore It
This is easier said than done, especially for some dog breeds. Some dogs are naturally stubborn and do not catch on very quick. Even so, this is my number one suggestion. At times, it will literally feel like it is driving you nuts … and it might. I had to learn the hard way with my baby.
I had allowed this behavior for some time thinking he would grow out of it. Needless to say, he didn’t. So, I ignored him … for ten minutes … thirty minutes … an hour. At night, I was losing sleep and it wasn’t working out. Finally, I figured out that simply ignoring the barking wasn’t going to fix it.
I took a stab in the dark and decided to reward my pet with a reward whenever they stopped barking. Now, this didn’t stop the barking immediately, but after a while, my dog figured out that if he would bark only a few seconds and then stop, he would get a treat. For me, this was a “victory” as I could sleep through the whole night.
2. Use Orders Such As Quiet Or Hush
This method isn’t much more difficult, but will require more time with your pet. To accomplish this, you will have to teach your dog when to bark and when not to.
To do this, work with your dog when they begin barking at some source, say a passerby or animal. Have some treats ready and say “quiet” to them while extending the treat out to them. Once they begin sniffing the treat (and stop barking), reward them with praise first, then the treat. Continue doing this until they respond to the “quiet” command without any hesitation or desire for another treat.
3. Get Them Accustomed To The Source They Are Barking At
And finally, some dogs bark because they are unfamiliar with the source impeding on their property (and no, your house is not your house … it is theirs).
Determine what is causing them to bark and teach them to know it, without barking. If this is a cat that passes by each day, determine where your dog is comfortable with the cat and get them to that line. Hold them whenever the cat passes by and praise them when the do not bark; When they do bark, use the hush command and follow the steps accordingly. This will also require some effort but the result will be well worth it.
Hopefully, following these three techniques will help stop your barking dog. If not, you may have to take another course of action such as Dog Barking Control Devices
or some other specialized form of training. There are many other ways to stop your dog besides these three techniques … these are just what worked best for me and my dog.
or some other specialized form of training. There are many other ways to stop your dog besides these three techniques … these are just what worked best for me and my dog.
