How To Stop Barking Dogs

Note: this is page 2 of our tips on how to stop barking dogs -                                  page 1 is here: How to train your dog to stop barking

As we discussed in page one of this article, if you want to learn how to stop barking dogs, you need to understand what makes them bark in the first place ...

Barking is one of the main tools of communication for a dog. There are many different reasons why a dog will bark, such as:

·         To defend their territory

·         To express anxiety when their owner leaves the house

·         As a response to stimuli such as a passing motorbike, another dog barking, a doorbell or telephone ringing

·         To express boredom or frustration

·         To assert dominance

·         To gain our attention

·         Just for fun!

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Barking comes naturally to dogs, and you should not seek to eradicate it completely – dogs need to express themselves just as humans do. What you can do though, is occupy them more fully, so that they no longer feel the need to express their boredom or frustration. 

You are simply trying to find ways of how to stop barking when it is excessive, annoying, or inconvenient to you, by teaching your dog how to stop barking when you tell him to.

How to stop barking by using exercise.

Making sure that a dog is properly exercised is essential. It burns up excess energy and provides visual and aural stimulation. It also allows them to satisfy their instinct to use their sense of smell to detect the presence of other dogs who have been in the area recently.  They are then far more likely to settle down calmly for the rest of the day, as both body and mind have been exercised.

Swimming or walking uphill can be a good way to use up even more of your dogs excess energy.

How to stop barking when you leave the house.

If your dog barks as you prepare to leave the house, he’s probably begun to recognise signals like ‘picking up the car keys’ or ‘putting your shoes on’, and associates these with a long period of isolation. Try to break these associations in your dogs mind so that he has less time to become stressed.

For example, if your dog begins to react as soon as you pick up the car keys, simply keep picking up the keys, then putting them back down again.

Similarly, if your dog reacts when you put on your shoes, just keep putting them on but without leaving the house, or putting them on and then taking them off again. 

In this way you break the associations in our dogs mind and remove the trigger points which lead to the barking.

Another trick is to vary the length of time that we leave the house for. You could try doing all of the normal things that you do before leaving the house for a long time, go out of the door, then come straight back after a minute or so and sit down.

This will help the dog to understand that going out does not always mean long periods alone.

If these techniques don’t seem to solve your particular issue, you could consider getting an anti-barking collar for your dog. They work by emitting a mist of citronella (an unpleasant sound and smell for dogs) which is triggered by the sound of the dogs bark.

The theory is that the dog will eventually choose to remain silent rather than receive the inevitable dose of unpleasant citronella when it barks.

They must be well fitted, to stop the dog from being able to remove the collar, and to make sure that the sound of the dogs bark actually triggers the burst of citronella.

They must be comfortable for the dog to wear, and most importantly, the dog must not associate it with punishment or it will become fearful of the collar.

It must be fitted for short periods only to begin with, and whilst the dog is in the company of someone who can give him rewards for not barking.

How to stop barking caused by boredom.

Dogs who have been exercised, stimulated and fed should be happy to be left alone for a period of time whilst we are away from them.

It is still a good idea however to provide them with some chew toys or food puzzle treats such as a Kong to keep them from getting bored while we are away.

Kongs are particularly good because they can be filled with dry food, and then sealed with a small amount of grated cheese, for example. This means that the dog will have to use its intelligence to work out how to get at the food.

As mentioned before, the aim is not necessarily  to find a way of how to stop barking completely, but how to stop barking when you decide it should stop.

Are you struggling to control your dogs behaviour ?

If the answer to the above question is 'Yes', then I strongly recommend that you check out     Daniel Stevens 'Secrets to Dog Training'.        

This comprehensive training programme can bring an end to your dogs behavioural problems IMMEDIATELY using proven techniques.        Click here to check it out now !