How To Help Your Dog Stop Barking

For those of you who are working on the best way to housebreak a puppy, barking can be tough. Are you bothered by your dog’s constant barking?  Learning to control your dog’s barking is challenging, regardless of the breed you own.  Different breeds have different reasons for starting to fuss.  If you can determine the reason your dog’s barking is out of control it will help you teach your dog to control the barking and to bark when necessary, not at every little thing they see or hear.

Some dog are just barkers.  It may seem like they live to bark.  Some people don’t mind a lot of dog barking, but it is annoying to many other people.  Try to remember that when dogs bark they are using vocal cues and signals to try to communicate with humans or other dogs.  Don’t try to stop your dog from barking completely, just try to narrow the barking down to when it is essential for their communication.  

If barking annoys you, don’t choose a dog breed that is known to bark a lot.  Because different dogs are bred for different reasons, some dogs are intended to bark more than others.  For example, dogs bred to be used as watch dogs or hunting dogs need to bark a lot.  Different dogs have different kinds of barks, from high pitched squeaking to low growls.  Learn about different breeds and their bard before you get a dog.  

Once you get a dog, don’t let it teach you to respond to incessant barking.  If you get up and do what your dog wants just because it doesn’t stop barking, you are only rewarding the problem.  Respond to your dog once she quiets down.  This will train your dog to understand which behaviors will get her rewarded. Consider this before you buy a citronella dog collar.  

When your dog starts to bark, give him a few seconds to get it out of his system.  If the barking persists clasp your hand firmly, but gently around your dog’s muzzle.  If the dog tries to escape your grasp and continue barking reach out with your other hand and hold her by the collar.  

Sometimes pet owners can figure out why their dog is barking and sometimes they cannot.  I thought we would never get our Bischon to stop barking at every little noise, so I had to get outside help.  You may think it’s odd to get help to stop your dog’s barking.  Actually, it isn’t uncommon for dog owners to get help.  I know because my dog no longer barks at every noise, day and night.