How to Stop a Chihuahua Barking
If you did not know this about the Chihuahua before you brought your precious puppy home, you probably fully understand it now. Chihuahua’s like to bark and his or her barks can often time be a high-pitched bark, one that could drive anyone crazy. No matter how much you love your puppy, you might find that the barking has become just a little too much to handle.
While you cannot completely stop the barking, especially because you have selected a breed of dog that is know for barking, there are things you can do to limit the barking if it has completely gotten out of control.
The first thing you will want to do is to figure out why your dog is barking so much. Does he only bark extra when there are strangers around, even after they have been sitting in your home for an hour? Does he only bark when he is left to play outside? Does he only bark when he is left at home alone? On the other hand, does he bark all the time, at anything and everything including the air?
Once you have determined just what it is that is causing your dog to bark, you can take action to solve the problem. If your dog was not properly socialized with other people from outside of the family and other animals, this could very well be the reason for the extra barking.
To correct this problem, you can work on socializing your puppy. Take him to the local pet store that allows pets in. Take him to the dog park, or any park for that matter. Walk him around the neighborhood and make sure that you are letting him meet and greet with other pets and people. The more socialization your pet gets, the less likely he is going to bark like mad every time someone new comes around the house or walks past your yard.
If the barking is only crazy when you leave the house, you probably only know about it because your neighbors have complained. If this is the case than you want to make sure that you are addressing the problem so that it does not turn into a bigger one. You could try making sure that your departure is as easy for your pet as possible. Do not make a big deal about leaving the house. In fact, try to sneak out when the dog is occupied by something.
You can also try leaving the television or the radio on low, just so your pet can hear human voices and it will not feel so alone. As you can see, there are many things that you can do in order to make sure that your dog does not spend all day and all night barking.
Just whatever you do, no matter how desperate you get, make sure that you are not using any spray or shock collars on your dog. These devices always end up doing more harm than good so you want to completely avoid them. Your goal should be to solve the barking problem without creating new problems, like emotional distress and trauma, in the meantime.