All dogs, except the Basenji, bark. Barking is the dog’s instinctive way of sending its message and needs across. Excessive dog barking can sometimes become annoying that you need to make it stop. There are actually many ways to stop a dog from barking too much.
In order to be able to stop dogs barking, the first thing to do is to know why they do, and to identify the forms of barking that can be minimized or stopped.
The Causes of Dog Barking
There are a lot or reasons why dogs bark. Some of these are anger, excitement or fear. Here are the forms of barking that you need to identify:
* Territorial Barking
* Alarm Barking
* Attention Seeking Barking
* Greeting Barking
* Frustration Barking
* Compulsive Barking
* Injury or Illness Related Barking
Like a man’s signature, a dog’s barking mostly signifies its total identity. There is no known method that completely stops dog barking. It is not possible to totally prevent it from doing its natural way of expressing itself.
How to Stop Dog Barking
Excessive dog barking can be stopped if you can determine what caused it. Ninety percent of excessive dog barking is actually controllable. In order to have an idea of what caused it, here are some questions you should ask yourself:
* At what times does your dog usually bark?
* Can you identify any particular object that the dog is barking at?
* Is the dog’s barking triggered by any specific occurrence?
If your dog barks because its territory is threatened, there is very little you can do to stop it. Yelling and other negative reinforcement can result in aggression, it an even lead to biting issues. The dog is a territorial animal and it does what it knows to protect its territory, so even if you stop the barking but the cause is still unresolved, the problem prevails.
One of the ways to prevent your dog from becoming territorial and having the urge to defend itself is for you to take control of the household. By simply being the alpha leader, the dog understands that you are the one in charge of protecting the area. Reduce your dog’s capability to see incoming threats by drawing the blinds, installing opaque fences which prevents it from seeing outside the yard, and preventing it from getting to windows to see things outside.
Stop Dogs with Anxiety from Barking
Dog barking is just a manifestation of a much deeper problem if your dog has anxiety issues. This is often displayed every time you leave the house wherein they want to reach you and bark unceasingly until you come back. This behavior is often reinforced overtime when you immediately give the dog your attention upon seeing it getting excited as we return. To reduce this behavior, you should ignore the dog for at least 10 minutes. This should stop the dog from associating your return with the attention it gets.
Dogs should be taught how to speak and be quiet in order to keep it from barking. They should be taught to perform commands instead of barking. It is an effective way to control its barking behavior.
Do not let dog barking be the cause of your neighbors’ sufferings. You have to know what caused it and be able to control it as early as possible. This will prevent your neighbors from getting annoyed each time you come home. They might wish you would never return each time you leave.