Stop Barking - Be a Detective to Teach Your Dog Not to Bark
Posted: Saturday, October 31, 2009
by Peggy Ellingson
Trio Enterprises
Does your dog's barking drive you crazy? Are your friends and neighbors complaining? Barking is a normal dog behavior but when it becomes disruptive, it can be modified with a little bit of effort on your part, okay, maybe more than a little effort but it is "doable" and rewarding as well. Consistency is the key to success! As a last resort, a bark collar may help you.
To find the right technique, you need to be a detective to discover the reason for his barking.
You will need to find out the real reason for the barking. You might need to ask your neighbor to help you with this. Try to find out this information:
Is there a certain time or times during the day?
If it starts after you leave, can your neighbor tell you how long after you leave the barking starts?
Is the barking for short spurts or does it go on for long periods of time?
Does the dog usually bark from one location in the house or outside?
Does there seem to be trigger to the barking (squirrels, mail delivery, doorbell)?
You might also want to consider:
What breed or mix of breeds is your dog? (some breeds of dogs tend to bark more)
What does your dog usually do when he's alone?
Are there other dogs or animals to keep your dog company?
Is your dog able to see activity on the street outside?
What is your dog's age?
How long have you had your dog?
How long have you lived in your home?
Is your dog hot, cold, hungry, or thirsty?
Does your dog get enough physical and mental exercise?
General Dog Behavior Solutions: The first solutions are something that ALL dogs will benefit from, whether they have barking problems or not.
1. Leave your dog indoors in a safe environment when you are not at home a crate or small room will serve best. Dogs like small areas for sleeping. Consider it like the cave or burrow his ancestors used for protection
.
2. Leave the radio or TV on to mask the sounds of the outdoors and let him hear a human voice.
3. Take your dog to a training class this will help you to learn basic training techniques and him to see you as his leader.
4. Make sure your dog has had sufficient exercise most dogs need a half hour every day to burn off some of their energy. If you don't have the time or energy, consider hiring a neighbor or use something like the Hyper Bark N Bat ball launcher so the dog gets maximum exercise in the time you have available. If your dog doesn't burn some of his excess energy, he's going to have lots of energy to use to look for "trouble".
5. Work on teaching new tricks or commands for a few minutes every day. The mental stimulation will help compete with boredom!
6. Provide your dog with interesting, stimulating toys that will keep him busy for a long period of time. Examples of these are Kong balls, Goodie Chips or marrowbones stuffed with food. Other examples of good toys are Nylabones, Buster Cubes and Tricky Treat Balls. Rotate the toys so that your dog has something new to look forward to every day.
If you discover that your dog is barking whenever he sees an "intruder", you probably have a dog which is guarding his "territory". He'll look threatening and he may be exhibiting a protective behavior.
To correct this, try these techniques:
1. 3 bark limit: (This is a great tool because if your dog is truly protecting your property, he still has "permission" to respond.) Teach your dog that he can only bark three times and then he needs to stop.
The way to teach this is as follows: You will need to use treats or toys that your dog likes. When your dog barks the 3rd time, softly say the word quiet'. Put the treat under his nose and turn him towards you using the treat to lead the head. Give him the treat. Repeat this several times. Do this for several days. Next, say quiet' after your dog's 3rd bark, without using the treat to move him. If he turns toward you on his own, give him lots of treats and praise. If he doesn't respond, continue using the treat as was previously described. Do this for another day or 2 and then again try saying "quiet" without the treat. If this doesn't work, go on to the next step.
2. If you don't have success with this program, the next step goes like this: (Remember, to correct a dog you do not yell or use brute strength - just simple psychology.) You will need a squirt bottle of plain water for this program. Make sure the bottle squirts rather than mists. Make sure the bottle ONLY has plain water in it. If you've already said the word quiet' and your dog hasn't stopped barking, don't repeat yourself or do anything else to get your dog's attention. Simply squirt him in the back of the head ONCE and stop. Your dog will probably look at you totally confused. Pat and praise him at this point but don't give him a treat. He needs to respond correctly to your command. Give him a chance to earn the treat on his own by doing it right.
3. Once your dog is responding well to the word quiet' or is limiting his barking on his own, make sure to tell him he's a good boy and pet and praise him for getting it right.
4. You've curtailed the action but the next step is to help him not to get upset by what is making him bark. For example, if he barks at people passing by, he needs to learn that they aren't intruders and he doesn't have to protect you from them. Recruit a few friends to help with this lesson. Have your friends to come over one at a time and walk near the yard. Ask them to stand far enough away so that your dog doesn't need to bark. You will throw treats to him and praise him. Have your friend gradually walk closer and closer to the yard until he can walk back and forth in front of your yard without your dog barking. Once your dog stops barking at your friend, have your friend give your dog a treat. Have a different friend do the same thing with your dog. It may take several days or weeks to correct his reaction.
If your dog acts aggressively (barking, growling, showing teeth, hackles up, etc.) please consult your veterinary for more information. This is a much more serious situation.
5. Make sure you don't accidentally reinforce his behavior by praising him when he barks at strange noises.
6. You might consider having your dog neutered to reduce some of his territorial behaviors.
If you still are having problems, you might consider the use of a bark collar. Anti bark collars come in 3 distinct styles: Electronic bark collars, spray bark collars and ultrasonic/sonic bark collars. For more information on these, see my article "Bark Collars and Detective Work: How to be Successful in Stopping Unwanted Barking".
Lastly, don't be afraid to talk with your neighbors about your dog's barking. If your dog does bark a lot they will be thrilled to know that you are aware of the problem and are trying to solve it. Once they're involved they are much more likely be helpful, supportive and less likely to complain.
This Article has been viewed 181 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Very insightful ideas here. Now I know why we have cats... I know, dogs are SO much more people oriented and we do have 5 acres - my hubby and I go back and forth on the dog issue and so far we both haven't been on the "green light" page together so no dog, YET... Marijo (pronounced Mary Jo)
Hi Peggy.Thank you for a very informative and insightful article. It is very helpful. Welcome to Searchwarp. Best of luck to you. ~Nenita~
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.