Dog behavior Problem, Dog Barking

How to stop dog barking is a common question among dog owners. Dogs will always bark. It is a natural way for them to communicate. The problem is when they bark too much or for no obvious reason. Your dog will upset your neighbors or disturb your peaceful home environment. But it can be stopped with the free training guide below. Keep in mind that not all barking is bad.

Why Does a Dog Bark?

• Some dogs are bred to bark such as a hound dog

• Rewarded often for barking by their owners. Be careful of this. If they are outside and barking, they may want to come inside as soon as you give in you reward barking with positive reinforcement.

• To express dominance as the alpha dog. Learning to be higher in the pack or leader is important training to prove to your pet that you are the alpha dog.

• Stressed or threatened can cause excessive barking.

• The physical environment can impact your dogs level of barking. Being placed behind a wall or fence and unable to see the actions on the other side.

• Separated from their pack. When you leave your dog alone, they may feel a level of stress and anxiety which will result in barking.

• Alerting members of the pack of danger. If danger approaches you or them, they will sound the alarm.

• Other animals and dogs. Whether your dog barks when playing or to claim their territory. Other animals can cause your dog to bark.

• When they need to express a need. The dog may be hungry, want their chew toy, or simply needs to go outside.

• Improper puppy socialize training may develop excessive barking behavior. Check out puppy socializing training for full details.

In most cases your dog is barking at something. Very rarely do dogs just bark excessively with out something to trigger it.

How To Stop Barking

Communication and consistent training is the key to reduce excessive dog barking. The mistake many owners make is rewarding their dog when they bark because it is convenient and an easy way to end the noise. By doing this, you are not clearly communicating that you want to end the excessive barking. Rewarding them for barking is inconsistent to the training you should be providing them to stop.

• Do not praise, pet or reward your dog with organic treats right after they bark. Unless you are training them to speak of course.

• Do not give into the barking when they need something such as being let out of their crate or to be fed. If you do give in, you are telling the dog that if they want these things, all they need to do is bark.

• Do not yell, scream or shout at the dog while they bark. The dog does not understand what you're saying but does understand the action it represents. The dog will believe you are "barking" with them, barking for fun or challenging them.

Guidelines to Stop Excessive Dog Barking

Once you have determined the reason to why your dog could be barking, you can follow the guidelines below to put a stop to it. These are some answers to common dog barking scenarios.

These techniques plus the owners training advice should be enough to start you on the right path to a quieter dog. Your neighbors and guests will appreciate the hard work and training you put into your best friend.

Below are some common situations why dogs bark and techniques to deal with them. You probably grew up with a dog or knew of a dog that had some of these common behavior dog barking problems. Dogs bark because of a noise, when alone, for attention or personal need, at people passing by or animals.

Dog Barks When the Phone Rings/Dog Barks When I Vacuum

Anytime the phone rings or the vacuum turns on some dogs just go crazy. This is not a personal doggy disorder but a lack of socialization training at a young age. Both devices create loud noises which startle and upset the dog. Read below to train them not to react.

• First, never yell at your dog to stop, this will only add to the noise.

• Desensitize the dogs reaction to the noise. As a young puppy this is easier and will sink in faster. What you should do is call your house phone from your cell or have a friend call you. Do it for a long period of time and as the dog barks to the noise do not make a sound or react. Eventually the dog will become familiar to the noise and stop barking. Repeat this same step with the vacuum. Turn it on and do not use it but let it sit there. After some time the dog stops barking, reward your dog with an organic treat.

• Obedience training command will work in this situation. This only works of course if you had gone through dog obedience training.

• Redirect their attention to something other than the phone. If you know the phone will ring, throw the dog his favorite chew toy before the phone rings. Same as with the vacuum. Before you start provide your dog with toys and put them in another area of the house.

• If these do not work then try changing the volume of the ringer, or the ring style. You may need to purchase a quieter vacuum.

Dog Barks When No One is Home

This will effect your neighbors and cause some tension in your community. It is hard to train because your dog is barking because you are not home. When you come home you reward your dog for calling out for you. Their social pack nature will often cause them separation anxiety or be under stress when alone. This stress can be reflected as excessive barking fits.

So what do you do to prevent something from happening when you are not there to train them or say "no"?

• The first thing to do is provide lots of toys and objects for the dog to interact with. Some people even leave their TV on the Discovery Channel as a way to provide background noise and comfort for the animals. For outdoor dogs that bark after you leave, try tiring them out with exercise before you go. By exhausting them their focus may be on resting instead of looking for people to play with.

• Now you can not stay away from home forever. So if your dog is barking when you do arrive do not reward them further by acknowledging them. If they are outside or crated then leave them where they are. Wait for them to calm down and stop barking then release them.

• Another technique is to apply negative reinforcement when the dog barks. This will be tricky but can work in extreme situations. Pretend to leave and then find a good hiding spot where the dog can not see you. Perhaps around the corner of their pen, or through a window on the second floor. When the dog begins to bark try spraying them with water. Do not let the dog see you and repeat as often as the dog barks. Eventually the dog will dislike being sprayed and may make a connection that barking causes that action. Just do not over do it.

• There are also special devices used to deter dog barking. Noise makers or citronella dog collars will create an unpleasant sound or odor deterring excessive dog barking. These negative reinforcements devices work well when you have just one dog. A great bark control collar can be found here.

• If all else fails you may need to higher a pet sitter. One of the largest pet sitting companies in the U.S. is Sitter City. They are well known, featured on CNN, CBS and the Wall Street Journal. If you are a pet owner looking for a pet sitter in your area you can create an account with them for a low annual fee by clicking here. You will have access to baby sitters, senior care, housekeepers, tutors and of course, pet sitters. All have been pre-screened with background checks and are safe.

Dog Barks For Attention or Needs Something

In this scenario your dog is basically saying, "Hey look at me!" or "Gimmie gimmie!". These are the easiest of the excessive barking situations to control.

• Never give what the dog wants when they begin barking. A dog will remember what worked in the past to help them get the things they want. Ignore your dog when they are barking for attention, toys, food or simply to be let out of a crate. Wait until they are calm and then give in. Reward their quiet behavior.

• Obedience training tools such as cue words or command words will work wonders. Once you have established dog training on command words such as "leave-it" your dog will always look up to you for the next order.

• Pack order you hold will also determine how the dog asks for things. Alpha dogs want all of the attention and get what they want. If you are higher up in the pack order, or alpha dog, your pet will not disrespect your command and speak when spoken to. Learn how to become the alpha dog.

Dog Barks at People Passing By or Animals

Often this behavior is hard to break. Dogs bark when people pass by or a delivery persons drops something off and leaves. They do this because they are either warning off an intruder or they are trying to protect the packs territory. Either way the passing people only reward the dog after they bark as the people eventually leave. The dog feels their actions of barking made the people go away. This habit is hard to break, but can be if your follow the steps below.

• Proper socializing training will help here. Obedience training will also play an important role. If the dog barks at a person passing by you can use a command word to silence them.

• Remove the dog from the view of passing people. If your dog can not see the delivery person then the dog may not know they are approaching and bark. Have an area in the back yard for the dog to play during the day or pen them in an area of the house away from windows that view the street. Thicker fencing or blocking the dogs view may work but the dog could still smell and hear people going by your house.

• If the dog is constantly barking at the same delivery person then you could always speak directly with them. Provide the delivery worker with organic dog treats or have a bag of them near the door so the delivery worker can easily grab one and feed it to the dog. This approach does not always work best as it rewards the dog barking with dog treats. Use this as a last resort if the dog is causing a stir in the neighborhood from excessive barking at frequent house visitors.

If none of the techniques work and you are on the verge of being kicked out of your neighborhood then debarking surgery may be your only option. Consult with a dog trainer or behavior specialist before performing this drastic step. Remember a dog's bark is no different than a person's speech. Do you really want to mute your pet?

Consult your veterinarian for other options as well. There may be new techniques or training devices on the market. We will continue to update and ad new content as it becomes available so check back often.

The Most Common Dog Behavior Problems

• Dog barking
• Dog separation anxiety
• Dog aggression, aggressive dog towards other animals
• Dog biting, puppy biting
• Dog digging
• Dog chewing, puppy chewing
• Excessive dog peeing, dog urinating