How to Prevent Your Dog From Excessive Barking

When one talks about dog training, the things that usually come first to mind are dog tricks, dog shows, and the like. Dog training is not really about turning your pet dog into a clown. It is more ...

When one talks about dog training, the things that usually come first to mind are dog tricks, dog shows, and the like. Dog training is not really about turning your pet dog into a clown. It is more of a behavior-enhancing activity. Dog training moderates, if not takes away all the bad habits of your pet dog, and that includes excessive barking.

Excessive barking is what veterinarians call an unrewarding behavior. Training your dog to bark less, therefore, means that you need to convert his excessive barking into a non-rewarding activity. Doing this, however, requires patience and skills since barking is natural among canines.

Dogs bark for many reasons. But mostly, they bark to alert other dogs in the pack of coming danger. Dogs also bark to warn their human companions. When dogs do these excessively, this means that they are stressed, bored, or anxious about something. This uncalled-for behavior is comparable to overeating in humans. When humans are upset, ill, or stressed, overeating usually occurs. This analogy suggests that dogs who bark excessively may be experiencing something that is unwanted in their physiology.

There are two elements to consider when the owner deals with his pet's excessive barking. These are the cause and the symptom. Boredom or stress can be the cause. And the resulting symptom can be a headache, which induces the need to create noise, thus excessive barking. Eliminating this unrewarding behavior suggests that you get rid of the cause and the symptom.

The best solution, as the owner of your pet, is to give him regular exercise. Different breeds demand unique levels of physical activity. More activity for the dog means less boredom. Tired dogs usually behave properly. Be careful not to exhaust your dog though.

Another helpful solution is to give your pet an unrewarding environment. Each time your dog barks inappropriately, approach and order "NO". You may use a water spray as a consequence of his bad behavior. This unrewarding experience will register into his mind that unnecessary barking can lead to undesirable events.

If water spray is not available, you may pop his nose using your fingers. But make sure to do this in a gentle but still authoritative way. The goal is just to give your dog an unrewarding experience and not to cause pain.

Be consistent with this method and ask other members of the family to do the same. During your dog's quiet time, it will also help if you reward him by giving food or by petting. The trick is to impose unpleasantness every time your dog barks excessively.

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