How to Stop a Dog or Puppy Barking
There can be several reasons why your dog or puppy seems to bark constantly. While it is normal for dogs to bark, too much barking can be a sign that your dog is bored, and other things as well.
If you haven’t been spending a fair amount of time with your dog or puppy, say they are outside chained up, they could simply be barking because they get stimulation from the activity. Be sure that you give your dog the time they need to socialize and run off some of their energy. This will make them less likely to bark at every thing they see.
Dos are supposed to bark at times. They bark when they are excited, hungry, or scared. This is the way they talk to you. There are certain dog breeds that bark more than others, however. Breeds that bark in excess are Dachshunds, Schnauzers, Collies, Shetland Sheepdogs, and the Beagle. You will have to spend more time training these dogs for them to get their excessive barking under control.
If your dog doesn’t get to meet a lot of people, then chances are they will bark at everyone they see. If your dog is never allowed to socialize, then they are going to use every opportunity to bark as simple stimulation. If your dog is bored, the way to combat excessive barking is to just spend more time with them. Take them for a walk, and teach them obedience commands. Make sure your reward your dog when he does well. Please do not yell at your dog for barking. This will only make the problem worse, since the dog will believe you are barking with them.
Don’t comfort them when they bark either. This will reinforce the behavior, since they think they are being praised through the attention they are getting. You need to train your dog to follow commands like barking interruption-using clicker, speak, and quiet. If you practice these with your dog everyday, and keep the sessions short, then soon you will have total control over their barking problem.
If your dog hasn’t had the right degree of socialization, bringing friends over and letting your dog get used to them can help. Ask the person that comes over to play and feed treats to your dog.
Dogs need consistency. If one day you praise your dog for barking at a stranger, the next day ignore them, and the next yell at them, they will be completely confused as to whether to bark or not. Your dog needs to know that is it ok to bark, until they are told to stop barking. When your dog barks, let them go for a couple woofs, and praise them for sounding an alarm. Then tell him to stop barking. At the same time, have a treat in front of him, and he won’t be able to lick the treat while barking and he will stop. Praise him while he is quiet, and each session you should increase the time between no barking. Soon, your dog will be able to go for a couple of minutes without barking. If she barks during quiet time, scold her.
Soon, you will be able to mainly control when your dog barks, or at least stop it when it becomes annoying.