How to Stop Your Dogs from Barking

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     Whether we like it or not, dogs, not unlike children, have an inherent need to express themselves vocally! Short of gagging them (definitely not recommended!), there are only so many different ways to stop your dog barking. Before attempting to deal with the problem, one really needs to understand the underlying reasons for the barking, and also understand what types of barking one can and should control.

What Causes Dog Barking

Dog barking may occur for a variety of reasons - sometimes when they are excited, other times when they feel threatened or annoyed. They may bark if they are scared, happy to see you or feeling unwell.

Generally speaking, barking fits into one of the following categories:

* Barking to outline its Territory
* Barking to Alarm its owners of an intruder or impending danger
* Barking to get attention
* Barking simply to say "hello"
* Barking out of frustration or boredom
* Barking as a sort of obsessive / compulsive disorder
* Barking in an effort to let you know they are injured or unwell
* Barking because they feel threatened

Barking is such an integral part of who your dog is, that getting your dog to stop barking completely is going to be just about impossible. However, that's not to say that you can't control your dog's barking to a large degree.

Methods to Stop Dog Barking

As for any undesirable behavior, hitting your dog or yelling, is simply unnecessary and counter-productive. First, determine why your dog is barking and judge whether there is a good reason for the barking or not. Usually, the barking is not warranted. Make a mental note of when exactly, your dog starts barking? Is there something in particular that your dog is barking at? Is there a specific trigger that starts your dog barking? For example, your dog may bark Monday thru Friday but not on weekends, it may bark early in the morning and mid afternoon - a possible scenario here may be that your dog is merely saying hello to children on their way to or from school. Alternatively, your dog may be telling the same children that this is his territory and he is barking to warn them not to intrude.

Whether protecting his territory or attempting to alarm his owner of a possible threat, your dog will not understand why he is being punished if you hit him or yell at him to stop barking. In fact, any form of negative reinforcement, particularly in relation to territorial barking, may well lead to aggressive behavior from your dog down the track. You may reduce the barking but the territorial instincts will still be there.

A much better solution would be to change the dynamics of your dogs role within the household. Start by taking control and show your dog that you are the alpha dog, the leader of the pack, and that you are the protector of the realm. This way you will reduce your dogs territorial urge to protect all the time. If he sees that you are in charge, he will be more settled and defer to you to decide what is a threat and what is not. An additional solution can be to remove your dog's ability to "see" anything that may trigger his territorial urge to bark. For instance, close your blinds to stop him catching sight of kids or the postman, replace fencing he can see through with non-see through fencing, maybe even block access to windows facing the street.

How to Stop Barking Dogs Suffering From Anxiety

Way more dogs suffer from anxiety than most people realize. The irony of this is that barking due to dog anxiety often occurs as a direct result of the owner giving the dog loads of attention when leaving or arriving home. The dog learns to associate the attention with the comings and goings of his owner and so the dog remains in a highly excitable state during the period of separation. Your dog wants to reach you and can't control his agitation, so he barks and barks.... and barks! Until you come home! Then what happens??? His owner comes home and gives him lots of attention, trying to reassure the dog that all is well. Big mistake! This only serves to reinforce this behavior. Solution: when preparing to go out, simply ignore your dog for the last 10-15 minutes before departure and do not acknowledge the dog at all as you leave. Upon arriving home, do the same - do not give your dog any attention at all for the first 10-15 minutes. In no time at all, you will find that your dogs barking problem will be greatly diminished.

One final tip, teach your dog how and when to speak.... and when to be quiet. Your dog can easily learn to control his own barking when it is not necessary, if only you take the time to teach him some simple commands. Clicker dog training is one particularly useful method to train your dog to "speak" and be "quiet". After all, you still want your dog to alert you if there is a genuine danger present.