Bark! Bark!! BARK!!!
The dog barked the neighbor boy right off of his bicycle last week, and they complained. Other people have complained about his barking, and it’s getting hard to sleep through the night without getting woken at least once by his barking fits. GRRR! WOOF!!
Can anything be done?
Some problem behaviors are more straightforward to deal with than others. Learning how to deal with your dog’s excessive barking problem can seem difficult on several levels. It’s absolutely possible to correct and deal with this type of behavior, but you have to take a few things into account. There are a lot of reasons that dogs bark, and you can’t stop them from ever barking. You wouldn’t want to stop your dog from barking when it’s appropriate.It’s important to be aware of the possible causes of excessive barking so that you can approach and correct it in the right way. There are 3 or 4 reasons that dogs will bark.
THEY’RE BORED
Dogs that don’t get enough mental or physical stimulation will sometimes bark. She gets bored, and starts to bark. Try to give her the attention and exercise that she needs. But when she does bark from boredom, don’t give her attention. Positive or negative attention could well reinforce her idea that barking is the way to get her boredom ended.
TYPE OF BREED
Certain dog breeds bark more than average. Because of the job that they were bred to do, many herding dogs and hounds are like this. In spite of this, you can train her to bark a great deal less, almost a normal amount.
SEPARATION
Dogs are pack animals. Your dog may bark too much when you leave him home alone because he’s separated from his pack and doesn’t know how else to find you again. This can be one of the most difficult excessive barking problems to address, but it can be done when you know what is causing the problem.
There is one major pitfall to avoid. When you arrive home and he’s barking, don’t give him positive or negative attention. If you do, he may think that it was his barking that caused you to come back. If he’s barking when you get home, ignore him, no eye contact, and turn your back. As soon as he stops barking, pet him and praise him to show him that he can get attention by NOT barking.
STRANGERS
Anytime a stranger comes near the house, dogs usually perceive them as being an intruder to the pack. It’s tricky to eliminate this because strangers generally unwittingly reward barking behavior. The mailman comes, makes intruder type noises with the mail slot, the dog barks, the mailman retreats. Good Boy!
Certain breeds, boredom, separation from the pack, and strangers will sometimes make dogs bark too much. Although it can be annoying, there are times when it’s appropriate for your dog to bark. Barking is one of the ways that dogs express themselves. They just need to know when YOU think it’s appropriate, or not.
4 Causes of Barking:
* Certain breeds
* Certain breeds
* Separation
* Strangers
Bark, Bark! Grrr!! GOOD BOY!!
AVOID DISASTROUS Blunders with your dog. NOW REVEALED: 3 POWERFUL, humane, and loving ways to train your friend: 3 Dog Training Plans reviewed, Amazing results from 1 method! Or browse excellent, helpful FREE dog training articles. I am Scott Erickson, and am an enthusiastic long time dog fan, trainer, and writer.