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Are you struggling to figure out how to stop excessive dog barking? Our four-legged friends make the best company, but an unwarranted barking problem can get obnoxious quickly.
If one or more of your dogs bark excessively, try using some of these helpful tips and commands to teach your dog to be quiet.
Barking is simply what dogs do. There are many instinctual, valid reasons for your pet to make themselves known. However, barking can quickly become excessive and unnecessary in a domestic setting. Understanding what causes your pet to bark is the first step in teaching them to remain calm.
A major type of barking is territorial barking, where the dog feels that a danger is encroaching on their home. This sort of alarm barking is great if there’s an actual intruder but becomes loud and off putting when greeting guests.
Dogs may also bark for other reasons such as wanting attention, separation anxiety, or simply boredom. All of these instances can be avoided by training your pet accordingly. Now that you know what to look out for, you can try employing some of these training methods.
A tried-and-true method of reinforcing dog behavior is issuing a command and rewarding the correct action. In situations where your dog gets a bit too excited and struggles with excessive barking, try commanding your furry friend to be quiet with a phrase that works best for you. Be sure to give them a treat or pets when they listen. Otherwise, reaffirm your command with a strong voice to help your dogs learn right from wrong behavior.
This is the opposite of responding with a command but may be the correct course of action in some cases. Many dogs get wound up and bark as a response to new people and social situations. However, it’s not always territorial barking, but cries for attention.
If you choose not to reward their behavior with attention, they may eventually learn that it doesn’t work and stop barking excessively. Your dog still needs love and attention, however. Be sure to reward them with affection when they’re quiet and behaving.
If your pet never leaves home, they never get opportunities to meet new people, and will always see strangers as threats. By allowing your pet to interact with a variety of people, such as those in the park or the UPS driver, they’ll learn to calm their nerves around new individuals. Their positive experiences will reinforce calmer behavior instead of treating everyone as a territorial threat.
A great way to stop a dog from barking is by having a tired dog. Not only is exercising healthy for their heart and weight but will prove great in reducing their need to bark and panic. If your pet likes to act out for attention and cause a commotion, a long walk will tire them out.
While excessive barking can be a major nuisance, it’s only just that. Be sure never to resort to harming your pet as a response to loud barking. Dogs only bark as a natural response and are often doing it as they believe they’re keeping the family safe. Invest the time into teaching your dog the right and wrong moments to bark, and they’ll eventually learn from it. Most importantly, reward your furry friend with love and attention every chance that you have.