Stop Dog Barking Problems

Is your dog a “noise-offender?” Learn how to stop dog barking problems with these tips.  My ex-neighbor had 3 dogs that were quiet all day, when the neighbors were away, yet barked most of the night while the neighbors were home. The neighbors were on bad terms with everyone in the whole neighborhood over this, but would do nothing to stop dog barking problems that were driving us all crazy. Besides the inconsideration, what I really couldn’t understand was how the neighbors themselves were able to sleep through the racket their dogs were making. It just did  not seem fair that they were sleeping and I was not.

So, if your dog is one of those noisy ones, it is a real good idea to know how to stop  dog barking problems. Sometimes it’s not so hard to stop, but with some dogs it can be a real big pain. They just really seem to be determined to bark their fool heads off. In fact, I read somewhere that a university study on incessantly barking dogs found that dogs could (and some would) actually bark for a full 24 hour period, without a rest period-no coffee breaks-and show no harmful effects. Incredible. Actually, this was not entirely true, it turned out that there was some harm, but that didn’t come until the University guys dissected the poor dogs… See, it turns out that too much barking apparently can be bad for the dog’s health

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If you have a dog that loves the sound of his own voice, don’t worry. You can stop  this dog barking problem. It just takes learning  how and then doing what you need to do. It all starts with understanding your dog’s viewpoint and why it is barking in the first place. In fact, not all dog barking is bad. Lots of times it’s a good thing. Barking is just the dog’s way of talking, and just like people there could be many good reasons for him to be talking at the moment. And just like with people there will be times you wish he would just shut the heck up.

By trying to understand how the dog views the world we can get a better idea on why he is barking. By understanding his body language you can probably “see” the reason he is barking. You’ll know at a glance if it’s a happy bark or a warning bark. He can’t enunciate, so he’s talking the only way he can. For me, I love it when I can see and listen to my dogs having a good time playing. I have noticed that dogs do a lot of vocalizing when they play. Sometimes he’ll start barking to warn you that something is approaching-another person or dog or a horrible cat. That’s something else that’s entirely natural for dogs. I don’t mind my dogs giving a greeting when I come home, or a warning bark when something new comes into the picture to get my attention—as long as they know to stop barking when I tell them to with just a calm command. They should be able to know by your actions that everything is under control, and there’s no reason to be unreasonably agitated.

Your dog will take its lead from you, since you are the Alpha dog in his pack. As long as you send out the right signals, your dog should act accordingly. However, sometimes just being cool and calm isn’t enough to stop a dog from barking too much. Some dogs are almost relentless, or overly excited about something and just won’t listen to their masters. They’ll just keep on barking and barking and driving everyone crazy. You’ll go nuts if you don’t stop these dog barking problems. You can yell but that won’t help. It’s no fun and sometimes embarrassing, too. For some more tips on controlling excess barking problems your dog may have, please check out my article  Stop Dog Barking.

No one likes being unable to control their dog’s behavior problems. The good news is that there are some good ways to stop dog barking problems. It doesn’t require yelling at or hitting your pet. One of my dogs had grown up with his overly dominant father until I adopted him at 10 months old. By this time it was not surprising that he had developed an unfriendly attitude towards other dogs. He didn’t like them-period, and he had a bad dog on dog aggression problem. If another dog came by, my dog would surely go into an aggressive barking mode which wasn’t stoppable with a mere verbal command. He was just too excited to listen to my request for silence.

Here is a one method that works to stop your dog’s barking right away-as long as your are with him when he is barking. You can close the barking dog’s mouth with your hand. Be sure to keeep your grip firmly in place until the dog has stopped its barking and calmed down enough to be submissive and attentive to you again. I had to hold my dog by his collar at first –he still wanted to keep barking and tried to back away. At first he kept trying to bark even with his mouth closed, which was  kind of funny. My grip on his collar and around his mouth stopped his resistance pretty quickly, and earned me a higher level of respect. I made sure to positively reinforce the training by offering lots of praise, affection and a treat once he had stopped his barking and was acting calmly again.

Try to anticipate when your dog will start barking, and get his attention away from the stimulus for his barking. Give him a reward for ignoring the stimulus and paying attention to you. The idea is that if you keep repeating this consistently  when your dog sees something that used to trigger barking, he should now turn his attention to you-hoping for a treat or some praise. Eventually, the impulse to bark will be transferred to an impulse to turn to you for some affection or a treat.

Of course you won’t be able to stop your dog from barking overnight, especially if he is a particularly vocal dog, but don’t be discouraged. Keep trying.  You’ve got to earn and maintain your dog’s respect if you are going to be the alpha leader of your pack and have your dog listen to you consistently. Since my dog already viewed me as the boss dog in other situations, it wasn’t too hard to remind him who was boss of the barking, and within a couple weeks, by using this positive reinforcement method he learned to take it easy when another dog got in the vicinity. Now all it takes is a quick “no barking” command and he quiets right down. Better yet, he’s learned not to even get started on a barking jag. It’s a lot easier to calm down and stop dog barking problems if you don’t let the dog already get caught up in it.

If you have adopted an older dog that has barking problems, you can still train him to stop. Once again, just must use a positive training system and become the alpha dog to get good results and overcome any behavior problems he has brought with him. Stopping dog barking is only one of many things you’ll be better able to do once you’ve learned the best basics of training your pet. For more detailed information, be sure to check out Secrets to Dog Training. His 260 page book is full of training techniques, all based on positive reinforcement. It is the best program available on-line. You can learn to train your dog at home and overcome any behavior problems your dog may have. Click here to read my full review of Secrets to Dog Training.

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