Barking Dogs

? Dogs are like children.?They look to you for guidance.?If you fail to give them this, they will do exactly as they please.?You are their benefactor giving them food, shelter and nourishment.?K...

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Dogs are like children.?They look to you for guidance.?If you fail to give them this, they will do exactly as they please.?You are their benefactor giving them food, shelter and nourishment.?Knowing this, you must be the dominant figure in your pet's life.?This does not mean that you must be violent or aggressive, but that you should be knowledgeable of your dog's bad habits and firmly and consistently steer him in another direction.?By doing this, you will clearly identify yourself as being the alpha and boss of the household.?He will still love and respect you and be eager to please.

Dogs will bark for various reasons.?It is their way of communicating their feelings to humans and other animals.?They will bark to warn their master of an intruder.?They will bark to express fear, anger, hunger, loneliness or, if in the house, the need to go potty outside.?So just listen to your dog and determine what he is trying to tell you.?If living in the country, dogs will bark at night if they hear the coyotes howling, thereby setting a chorus of barking dogs within a nearby radius.?This is just a "dog thing".?You may have to bring him inside where he can't hear the howling.

If your dog persists on barking after you have made sure that his needs have been met, here are a few ideas you might try.牋牋?

• Grab the dog by the collar, look him straight in the eyes and firmly,爓ithout yelling, give the command "no".?If爃e ceases barking, immediately give him another燾ommand, such as "sit" or "lie down", and then reward爃im when he does so.?Repeat this on several different爋ccasions and eventually he will get the idea.?If he does爊ot stop barking after the command "no", close the燿og's mouth and wrap your hand and fingers around it爏o as to form a muzzle.?Then repeat the command no".牋Follow up with a different command and then praise爃im when he obeys.

• To keep an inside dog from barking when you are away爁rom home, play some soft music.?Close the blinds and燿rapes so nothing from the outside can distract him.??

• If your dog is kept outside and neighbors complain that爃e barks continuously when you are away from home,爂o back to your house without letting the dog see you.牋Keep downwind so that he cannot pick up your scent.?If爃e starts barking, rush to him angrily shaking a can?full of?stones and in a firm and commanding tone loudly say?no", all the time shaking his collar vigorously.牋

• Another method you might try is "clicker training".?A燾licker is a small rectangular plastic box with a metal燽utton on top that clicks.?When the dog barks and you爁irmly tell him "no", give him another command, such燼s "sit", then click the little box when he sits and give爃im a treat.?After a few times, the dog will realize that if爃e sits, he will get a treat.?If he barks, he will not.

• If a dog requires a stronger behavior modification, there燼re several techniques that will help the dog associate his燽arking with a negative result.?There are no bark collars爐hat spray a citronella scent and make a sound that most燿ogs do not like.?Also electronic collars offer different levels of stimulation through vibrations and爏ounds.

The above recommendations will work with most dogs.?However, there are certain breeds that are just born to be barkers.?These are in the hound family such as a foxhound, bloodhound, or basset hound.?You might want to take this into consideration if you are thinking of getting one of these dogs.