How to Stop Dogs Barking

Why Do Dogs Bark in the First Place?

Dogs are like people - they like to communicate. They also have feelings and responses like people, so the secret to how to stop dogs from barking lies in tuning into their thinking patterns and feelings. The advantage we humans have, is that dogs, unlike us, have a very simple outlook on life and therefore are easy to "program" or "train" if you know how.

All dogs bark, it's their way of communicating a message. The disadvantage they have is that their vocabulary only contains one word - "woof". It may be to greet, to alert, express boredom, to attract attention, or when they get excited. Most would agree that some barking is acceptable, but too much barking will most certainly be annoying, especially to your neighbors.

Take into consideration what is making your dog bark. Is a cat taunting him in the window? Does he need to go out into the yard? It could be hungry, out of water, or just trying to tell you something.

So How Do We Stop the Barking??

You need to create a new link in a dog's mind between event and response. A good way is to set up a situation similar to where your dog always seems to bark. An example would be having someone knock on your door or ring the doorbell. During this simulation, when your dog charges for the door and starts to bark, simply grab him/her by the collar and give the command "No!" or "Quiet!" But be careful not to yell at the dog because yelling doesn't help. A barking dog thinks our yelling is our attempt to join them in warning everyone of the intruder. Your yelling is inadvertently telling your dog, "Keep it up, bark more and make it louder too!" Look the dog in the eye and firmly say issue your command, but don't yell.

If your dog ceases barking after you gave the command reward him, but not immediately, otherwise he might think you are rewarding him for barking. First, follow directly with another command like "Sit!" and when he obeys, then reward the dog.