Author: StopDogBarkingNews

Do not punish your dog for this invaluable commmication! It’s the most benign means he has of letting you know that something bothers him. Take away his growl, and a snap or bite is likely to happen without warning. Rather, when your dog growls in warning, step back to see what’s causing him such discomfort, remove the stressor, and figure out how to give him a more positive association with the thing that’s causing the growling.

I would suggest speaking to a professional, who can come to your home to see and assess the behavior, otherwise there’s too much guesswork involved. And it will likely require some specialist knowledge and training to correct.

Dogs also bark if they are anxious, so medications can be used in the short-term to help your dog learn some coping skills. They need not be permanent. While there are some excellent dog trainers, there is little regulation in the industry, so skills and methods can vary. Ask your veterinarian to recommend someone if they can’t help.

It may help to have your dog wear a head halter at times when he’s likely to bark (for example, on walks or in your house). A halter can have a distracting or calming effect and make your dog less likely to bark. Make sure you reward him for not barking. (Important note: For safety reasons, only let your dog wear the halter when you can supervise him.)

To extinguish the behavior you must completely ignore it. Walk away, or look away and do not speak or give eye contact. Bear in mind that the behavior will temporarily increase before it improves, and you must be persistent and consistent. Try never to enter the house or yard or let your dog inside while your dog is barking, as this can easily reinforce the behavior too.

At the “more” end of the continuum, the scent hounds are programmed to give voice to announce the presence of their quarry. Thus Beagles, Coonhounds, Foxhounds, and others in this group are quite vocal – although they do tend to bay rather than yap. Most of the herding breeds are easily incited to bark. Skilled at telling a recalcitrant sheep or cow to back off, these Type-A workaholic dogs also delight in playing the role of noisy fun police. Many of the toy breeds also have a well-deserved reputation for barkiness as do the terriers.

Let’s face it – dogs bark. Some dogs bark for good reason and some do for apparently little or no reason and some do a little of both. Of course there are also certain breeds that are more prone to barking than others. The dog problem is not always the barking but the need for dogs to be quiet at certain times or when asked. I want to talk about the reasons dogs bark in order to help you prevent dog barking.

Talk to your neighbors and explain to them about your condition and see if they can come up with a solution first. If this doesn’t help, you may have to call law enforcement. If it is affecting your quality of life, this should be taken seriously.

Recognize compulsive/boredom barking. If your dog barks compulsively for no reason, or tends to bark when she’s left alone (in the yard, for example), she may be engaging in boredom barking. Dogs that bark when left alone may be experiencing separation anxiety, but there are usually other symptoms which accompany that problem, like destructive behavior, bathroom problems, and following you around when you’re home. Common signs of compulsive or boredom barking include:

Does she bark at every movement she sees through the window and every sound she hears? An easy fix for this is to simply block the view. Close the shades. Confine her to a part of the house that doesn’t have windows she can see through or if she stays outside in a fenced-in yard, keep her indoors rather than leaving her outside all day. She won’t bark at what she does not see. Play some music or the television, loud enough to cover outside noises.

You want some control over your dog’s voice, but don’t lose sight of the value of his vocal communications; he may be trying to tell you something important. If you ignore him you might find your horses on the highway, the house burned to the ground, or Timmy in the well.

Many owners can identify why their dog is barking just by hearing the specific bark. For instance, a dog’s bark sounds different when he wants to play as compared to when he wants to come in from the yard. If you want to reduce your dog’s barking, it’s crucial to determine why he’s barking. It will take some time to teach your dog to bark less. Unfortunately, it’s just not realistic to expect a quick fix or to expect that your dog will stop barking altogether. (Would you expect a person to suddenly stop talking altogether?) Your goal should be to decrease, rather than eliminate, the amount of barking. Bear in mind that some dogs are more prone to barking than others. In addition, some breeds are known as “barkers,” and it can be harder to decrease barking in individuals of these breeds.

Dogs are social animals, so it’s natural for them to bark when hear others barking. You can discourage this tendency by keeping your dog indoors when other dogs are barking, by playing music to drown out the sound of other dogs, and by distracting your dog with treats or play when other dogs bark (whether it’s in real life or on TV).

Dogs can bark excessively in response to people, dogs or other animals within or approaching their territories. Your dog’s territory includes the area surrounding his home and, eventually, anywhere he has explored or associates strongly with you: your car, the route you take during walks and other places where he spends a lot of time.

You can manage alarm barking by reducing the dog’s exposure to the inciting stimuli. Perhaps you can baby gate him out of the front room, move the sofa away from the windows so he can’t jump up and see out, or close the drapes.

Also, please note that because of volume, we are unable to respond to individual comments, although we do watch them in order to learn what issues and questions are most common so that we can produce content that fulfills your needs. You are welcome to share your own dog tips and behavior solutions among yourselves, however. Thank you for reading our articles and sharing your thoughts with the pack!

The first step towards controlling excessive barking is to understand the specific reasons behind it. Even after you know the why, don’t expect to wave a magic wand and stop your dog from barking. Training your dog to bark less (you will never stop it altogether) is a time-consuming process. Also keep in mind that some breeds are more apt to bark than others and these could prove more difficult to train.

With technological advances, it is now possible to tech out your house to make you and your dog’s life easier when it comes to excessive barking. While many choose to use anti-bark dog collars, there are also less stressful options that may work just as well. So if you’re having a hard time learning how to get a dog to stop barking, maybe some of these gadgets will help:

Our dog recently started using an LED collar and we both love it. I am currently training for a marathon and running at night by myself isn’t fun or the smartest thing to do. Having my little one with me makes me feel better and the light up collar helps a lot. I did a lot of research, but wasn’t too happy with the prices. I ended up finding a great deal on the Eternity LED Glow website. $15.00 only! Great quality at a fantastic price! Perfect for keeping my little one safe on our walks/runs. They’re so affordable I might end up getting all seven.

“Often, a dog’s bark means he’s bored or frustrated, and he wants us to fix it,” she says. “In situations where you’re not sure what the cause of the barking is, it’s fair to assume your dog would like to interact with you.”

Because extinction undergoes some interesting processes, it is worth learning why the act of not getting up still causes your dog to bark or even causes it to increase in intensity and duration. This behavior can be explained as ”extinction bursts”. What happens in an ”extinction burst” is the behavior increases temporarily, enough to have dog owners believe that the act of not getting up is not working.

Your dog might be barking in greeting if he barks when he sees people or other dogs and his body is relaxed, he’s excited and his tail is wagging. Dogs who bark when greeting people or other animals might also whine.

Gently closing your dog’s mouth. If you have a dog that will bark and ‘sport’ at people or other animals a head halter, such as a Gentle Leader that enables you to close his mouth and guide him into an acceptable behavior is a big advantage. Introduce the halter so your dog accepts it willingly and, when an unwanted bark happens, lift the leash so the dog’s mouth closes and he is guided into a sit. Now move again and change your direction creating attention to you as you move elsewhere. So, we stop dog barking, we gain attention and we redirect to an acceptable behavior in one simple step.

If the dog seems to be barking at nothing, he’s likely bored. Boredom, due to lack of exercise and mental stimulation, is probably the biggest reason for excessive barking. Think honestly about whether your dog is getting enough. How would you feel if you were locked up at home all day with no cell phone, tablet, computer or even television? Not even a book to read. You’d get bored pretty fast.

DO NOT let your dog bark constantly outside, regardless of the reason. You can hardly train her to stop barking by yelling at her across the yard. Plus, it is one of the fastest ways to turn neighbors into enemies and send an invitation to your local police.

Remember, most people actually do want their dog to alert them that something is going on outside. It’s like the doorbell. You want to be able to hear it and know something is there, but you only want it to ring once.

Meet Beck. He is my first failed foster dog. Beck officially joined our family in March. Guess what? The damn dog didn’t bark the entire 6 weeks he was in  foster care with me. It is true what they say about rescue dog’s honeymoon periods.

If your dog barks at things he sees out the window or front door, block the view. Close the blinds or curtains on the windows. If he can see out windows near the front door, Aga suggests covering them with darkening film you can buy from an auto parts store or even temporarily taping up some bubble wrap to block the view. If possible, confine the dog in a part of the house that doesn’t have windows or doors.

HI Melissa, I think GSDs take barking to a whole nother level. And they really do need more basic training and more socialization than other dogs. Have you tried cutting visual stimulation in the car? Covered crate? Every seen a Calming cap? Sometime shades like the ones you buy for infants can help to. One thing that worked for my collie was a combo of the game Look at that (you can do a web search) and taking handfuls of kibble and throwing it at the window when he saw a bike or dog coming straight for us. Also having a dog savvy person extra set of hands in the car really helps–so you don’t crash! There is no shame in hiring a great trainer. It sounds like you are on the right path. Best of luck to you both.

Have your dog bring you a present. Another way to keep your dog’s mouth closed is to encourage her to bring a “present” to you, a guest, or someone in your home; or to simply to encourage him to enjoy carrying objects. Dogs that enjoy retrieving will often pick up a toy and carry it around just to show their pleasure. Naturally dogs cannot bark when they are holding a toy. But be careful not to give the toy when dog barking is in progress or the dog could mistake the toy as a reward for barking.

If you have problems with your dog barking while riding in the car, you must enforce stillness and/or movement restriction. This is also good for the safety of both you and your dog. A loose, excited dog in a car is a distraction and can be trouble waiting to happen.

Ignore barking: (helpful for attention-seeking barking, play barking and frustration barking) attention seeking barkers are looking for some sort of acknowledgement from you when they bark. You can take the power out of your dog’s demanding barking by completely tuning him out when he barks at you with an agenda. Turn away, walk out of the room or do anything but look at your dog when he engages in attention-seeking barking. The same goes for frustration barking. If your dog is barking because his ball rolled under the couch and you fetch it for him, you’ve just taught him that being pushy gets him what he wants.

There’s a reason we get scared of things that go bump in the night — as humans, we fear the unknown, and dogs also feel the same nighttime anxiety. “If a dog is fearful, they may bark at any noise they hear that is scary to them or startles them. They may also bark as an ‘alarm’ to tell those around that something is going on that they should be aware of,” says Ganahl.

Barking in the morning for the purpose of waking up the owners and eliciting them to start their day early is a form of nuisance barking. What increases this form of barking is obviously the act of getting up and attending to the dog by giving it food or attention. To better understand though why a dog continues to bark in the morning despite not getting up and attending to the dog, it helps to understand all the mechanisms that come into play when a behavior is about to extinguish.

Obedience collars will assess the effect of a problem and not its cause. If you really want to stop the dog from barking, you need to stop the cause or do something to fix the problem that exists. We have to add that it has been proven that shock collars are not as effective as they are advertised. Modern dog trainers see this method as something that should never be tolerated. You do not want to hurt the dog in order to get him to do something for you. He loves you and will want to please you. He might not really love you anymore when he realizes that you abuse him.

Once your dog can be comfortably left alone for 90 minutes, she will most likely be able to handle four to eight hours of solitude. However, in the early stages of that comfort level, it’s best to “test” your dog at four hours of solitude, rather than jumping right to a full work day (if possible).[36]

Now I should point out that this barking is NOT “naughty behavior” as many people think, nor has it anything to do with boredom which is why using a shock collar to try to stop this behavior is such a cruel idea. Let me explain.

We tried all available training, including trainer to no avail, he was surprised that the dog barked so much. Our roommates dog barks all the time, except while sleeping. She only sleeps a few hours, max 4 hours at a time and is back at it again. She barks loudly at full volume while playing, running, walking on leash, while we prep food for ourselves or the other dogs, she barks at toys with toys in her mouth, she barks while digging in the back yard, barks at us on or off the furniture, sitting standing, literally everything. I had to start wearing ear plugs to sleep and during the day when I’m home. If someone comes in she follows them through the house barking full volume. Attention, lack of attention does not matter. She barks at birds, squirrels, leaves. She will sit in the back yard and wait for the roof vent (whirlybird) to spin in the wind and bark at it. We have tried ultrasonic, citrinela, and static collars. She barks through all of them. The static one keeps her volume down. It was hard when she was spayed because she was supposed to stay calm and quiet. She ended up pulling stitches from barking even while medicated. We have tried vitamins, herble remidies for anxiety, and settled on the static collar. It lowers the volume of her barking so we can at least sleep. Happy hyper dog.

Dogs that are not bored will rarely bark without a serious reason. The next time you see the dog barking in the living room and running around agitated, it may be because he is really bored. Take him out for a walk. Then, try to find more entertainment options for him for other days so that the situation does not repeat itself.

Studies have shown that the collars that make a noise do not work with most dogs. One study compared the citronella spray collar and the electronic shock collar and found they are equally effective for eliminating barking. Some collars use a microphone to hear the dog’s bark. If you have more than one dog, the second one could set off the collar with his barking. Anti-bark collars are not designed to be left on all the time and your dog may learn not to bark when the collar is on, and then resume the barking when the collar is off.

Other off-collar devices can work well if your dog barks in a set area. Bark-activated water sprayers or noisemakers switch on when they pick up barking, shooting water at your pet or emitting an irritating sound. These can sometimes break a dog of barking in a given area, but they work best if you are home to reward your pet when he stops barking. That helps reinforce what you want your dog to do.

Behaviorists may have a number of different types of titles, but essentially any kind of behaviorist must have earned a master’s degree or a PhD in animal behavior. Typically a behaviorist with a doctoral degree will be called a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB), while a behaviorist with a master’s degree will be called an Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (ACAAB).[77]

Dogs tend to act up when they get bored. To eliminate barking from boredom or frustration, make sure your pup is getting sufficient physical and mental exercise every day. Click here to see 5 great ways you can stimulate your dog. 

If your dog likes to play fetching games, try teaching them to retrieve a toy or other item when the situation occurs that sets them off. Asking them to “go to bed” is also something you could try as this removes them from the area that the trigger is coming from and asks them to concentrate on a neutral task that they are already familiar with.

Make arrangements for a friend or family member to watch your dog while you’re gone. Most dogs only experience separation anxiety if they are left completely alone. In other words, having anyone there will usually help.[41]

I would suggest speaking to a professional, who can come your home to see and assess the behavior, otherwise there’s too much guesswork involved. And it will likely require some specialist knowledge and training to correct.

Of course with all dog training the more your dog takes notice of YOU the better! (Something I’ll explain a bit more later on…) So if your dog is not taking a blind bit of notice then we need to go back a couple of steps and get their focus and attention first!

“It’s an alert. It can be communication that someone’s there. It can be to tell someone not to come closer,” Aga says. “They have play barks, they have attention-seeking barks and they bark out of boredom. There are a lot of reasons, but it’s all instinctual, primal communication.”

As the owner of four dogs, two of whom are very vocal, with a third quite willing to express himself on occasion, I can testify to the domestic dog’s ability to speak. Interestingly, while wild puppies bark, wild adult dogs rarely do, at least not to the degree our canine companions do.

Provide door drills. Ringing the bell, knocking on the door, and arrivals or departures excite puppies or sometimes scare shy pups, so associate the location and sounds with good things for the puppy. Stage arrivals at the front door with an accomplice “visitor” loaded up with treats to toss the pup to help her stop seeing visitors as threats.

Ultrasonic anti-bark birdhouse – This bark-deterrent devise works by emitting an ultrasonic sound that dogs find unpleasant and startles them out of barking. Reviews of ultrasonic anti-bark devices, however, are mixed, with some owners saying their dogs didn’t respond at all.

If barking during the day is a problem because the dog is left outside, see if the neighbor will agree to install a dog house where the dog can take shelter during the day. Discuss a certain date by which the dog house will be installed.

Shock collars are similar to citronella and ultrasonic collars, but instead deliver a brief electric shock to the dog’s neck. These collars typically have a number of different settings to change how intense the shock is, and if using one of these collars it is best to use the lowest setting possible to prevent injury to the dog. Again, these should only be used as an absolute last resort.[81]

PerfectFit harnesses have tiny sizes (for tiny dogs, ferrets, etc.), so if Victoria’s don’t yet come in the size you need, you could have a look on dog-games.co.uk (they also have a list of stockist worldwide on the site should you wish to have one fit in person).

If your dog is in the garden and barks at passersby, make use of recall and praise your pet for returning to you rather than woofing. If you can’t supervise your dog in the garden, don’t leave them there on their own without something to do which will distract them away from what they want to bark at.

I had a six month old puppy in class last night that barks at his humans when they sit down to watch TV,usually from 5-7 PM range. That pup needs more exercise, but also something to do. Enrichment toys, bully sticks, raw marrow bones, training games before they settle for the night will all help this dog. This one also falls under most of the other numbers.

Problem: lack of nutrients in his diet – Dogs that have parasites or worms do not digest food properly, because the parasites consume many of the nutrients. Dogs may try to re-digest the food to get all of the nutrients they can from it.

Say “Go to your spot,” show your dog a treat, and then throw the treat onto the spot where you’d like your dog to go. Repeat this sequence 10 to 20 times. By the tenth time, try pretending to throw the treat so that your dog begins to move toward the spot on his own. As soon as he’s standing on his spot or rug, throw him the treat. As your dog catches on, you can stop making the fake throwing motion with your arm and just give him the cue, “Go to your spot.” Then wait until he does and reward him.

Español: lograr que los perros dejen de ladrar, Deutsch: Einem Hund das Bellen abgewöhnen, Русский: добиться, чтобы собака перестала лаять, 中文: 让狗停止吠叫, Nederlands: Een hond leren minder te blaffen, Čeština: Jak utišit štěkající psy, Italiano: Calmare un Cane che Abbaia, Bahasa Indonesia: Menenangkan Anjing Menggonggong, Français: faire taire un chien qui aboie, Português: Acalmar um Cão que não para de Latir, 日本語: 犬の無駄吠えを止めさせる, Tiếng Việt: Dạy Chó Ngừng Sủa, ไทย: ทำให้สุนัขหยุดเห่า, العربية: جعل الكلاب تتوقف عن النباح

I notice that the halti or other head collars were not mentioned. I have a breed that is just made to pull and I have finally found a head collar that works for us although I would love to modify the part that goes over the nose. (I actually have purchased two of similar design and a mix of the two would be ideal) The person who makes the one I am using is a bit of an um, interesting character on the fb page and on the web but thus far the apparatus works really well for control. I really don’t want my dog at heel for the whole walk, but as the article says, the dog’s idea of walking right along and mine are pretty different, particularly as I am now more disabled and use a cane. We used to walk one to two miles a day, but that has become impossible so we are mixing a play date with a friend and shorter walks a couple of times a week. What the walk has always been for us is a time to practice those things his fluffy brain would like to forget!!

Once your dog barks, get their attention on you. Once they stop barking to look at you, say your command. It can be “Quiet,” “Enough” or “No Bark.” The phrase doesn’t really matter as long as you are using it consistently.

Don’t use inconsistent rules. If you yell at him for barking at some sights or sounds, such as the kids leaving for school, and encourage him to bark at others, like the salesman at the door, he will be hard-put to distinguish between the two events. The result will be a still-constantly barking dog.

Does your dog bark people, dogs, other animals? Does your dog bark when you are walking? Does your dog bark when you leave? There is no need to use punishment to teach your dog to not bark. Adopt an attitude of patience and you’ll fix this in no time at all!

If you are not sure what your dog is barking at or if he seems to be barking at everything, keep a bark diary. You may start to see a pattern, for example he barks at 3pm when kids are getting out of school. It might be useful to ask your neighbours to do this also, so you know when he is barking when you are not home. Your neighbours also then know you are attempting to resolve the problem.

It may help to have your dog wear a head halter at times when he’s likely to bark (for example, on walks or in your house). A halter can have a distracting or calming effect and make your dog less likely to bark. Make sure you reward him for not barking. (Important note: For safety reasons, only let your dog wear the halter when you can supervise him.)

There are a number of different collars available to stop barking. The most humane is the Husher®, which is a soft elastic loosely fitting muzzle, that stops your dog from opening his mouth to bark, but will allow him to pant, eat and drink. It can be left on while your dog is alone, and can be used as a training aid. If you hear your dog barking, say ‘hush’ and show him the Husher® and if he does not stop, put the Husher® on.

You can avoid yanking by motivating your dog to follow you with an excited voice to get his attention. When he is following you and the leash is relaxed, turn back and continue on your way. It might take a few turns but your vocal cues and body language will make it clear that pulling will not be reinforced with forward movement, but walking calmly by your side or even slightly in front of you on a loose leash will allow your dog to get to where he wants to go.

Try to agree on a concrete solution. Rather than expecting your neighbor to put a stop to all barking, it might be more feasible to agree on a practical solution that works for both of you. Here are a few solutions that might apply; you can adapt them to your situation as necessary:[3]

We rescued a lab and we’re told she was locked up in a chicken coop and neglected Over the past few years she has been great except for one continuing problem. When she sees other dogs, especially in the car, she barks ferociously and at times claws at the window. Over time we have learned that although she appears agressive, she actually is just wanting to get to the to see them. She does the same thing to a lesser degree outside and as soon as she meets the dog she is fine and never agressive. My thought is it stems from the past neglect and yearning for attention Any thoughts on how to address this, especially in the car?? Thanks

You can use the positive interrupt to redirect a frenzy of frustration barking. If you consistently offer high value treats in the presence of frustration-causing stimuli, you can counter-condition your dog to look to you for treats when the cat strolls by (cat = yummy treats) rather than erupt into a barking fit.

Unfortunately, this is one of the most used methods to get dogs to stop barking. In case you are not aware of this, a shock dog collar is a special collar that includes a remote. You use the remote to practically shock the dog when he does something wrong. Some people use it to correct barking. The problem is that this is not going to work. The dog will not actually understand why he is shocked and will only know that he has something around the neck that is hurting him.

You can manage alarm barking by reducing the dog’s exposure to the inciting stimuli. Perhaps you can baby gate him out of the front room, move the sofa away from the windows so he can’t jump up and see out, or close the drapes.

Pheromone-based treatment: Diffusers mimic the “calming pheromones” given off by female dogs and will help soothe dogs that bark due to the stress. You might not see a dramatic shift in behaviour but keep in mind that the chemicals are milder than medication, but is an easy and affordable way to take the edge off.