Stop Dog Barking Fast
When trying to solve a barking problem or any other behavioral problem your dog may have, the thing to keep in mind is this: you need to communicate clearly to your dog exactly what is and is not acceptable behavior.
A lot of us dog owners make the error of rewarding our dogs when they go overboard with their barking. This, rather than curbing the behavior, actually reinforces it and encourages them to keep right on barking. The three things that are the biggest mistakes made by dog owners trying to stop their dogs from barking are these:
1. Yelling at your dog is counterproductive - all this does is give your dog the attention that they were seeking.
2. Letting your dog inside. If your dog is outside barking up a storm, letting him in will make him think that he will be rewarded for this behavior.
3. When you give your dog a treat or pet them in response to their excessive barking, this is certain to keep them repeating the behavior. You are rewarding their behavior - and dogs will remember this. You must make clear to your dog that this barking is inappropriate behavior on their part.
Give these training techniques a try: Use these dog training techniques:
Don't yell at your dog. After some basic dog obedience training, you won't need to anyway. Excessive barking and many other behavioral problems will be easily corrected if your dog learns to look to you as their pack leader. A properly trained dog will respect you and be eager to please. The 'Stop!' and 'Quiet!' commands, which your dog will learn in obedience training should be sufficient to curb the problem.
If your dog has been barking while you are not at home, you should ignore your dog for a little while upon your return. This is not easy for many dog owners; after all, you are glad to see your dog when you get home. However, you also don't want your dog to associate your return with their barking. Just do some things around the house for a few minutes and wait for them to settle down before paying attention to them.
Dog Barks For Attention Or To Demand Something
This is one of the easiest barking problems to resolve. By establishing yourself as the 'pack leader', your dog will cease the barking problem quickly and will establish a proper relationship between you and your dog.
Dog Barks At Passers By
If your dog is barking at the postman or UPS driver, it is because they see them as threatening intruders on their turf. If your dog's barking drives these people away, your dog believes that they have done well. They will continue the behavior with this enforcement. This can be a sticky problem indeed.
If it is one specific person who sets off this behavior, you may need to enlist them in order to correct the problem. If, for instance, your dog gets aggressive every time the UPS man comes, talk to your UPS driver and have them give your dog a treat. This will teach your dog that they are a friend, not a threat.
How To Stop Your Dog From Barking
There are those who are proponents of debarking surgery for extreme cases, but in my experience, this is never truly necessary. If you have tried everything else though, you can talk about this with your vet as a last resort.
Stopping your dog from barking, like any other dog behavior conundrum, is best addressed by proper dog obedience training.
About the Author: Need to solve dog behavior problems or learn how to house train a puppy? Go to http://www.dogbehaviorexpert.com.
More articles by amyj@nitromarketing.com
Print Article | Download PDF | 25 views | Sep 23 2008
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