Dog Training: Train your dog to control barking

We talk. Dogs bark. Dog barking is a natural thing. However, excessive barking is a major irritation. Imagine trying to sleep through the uncontrollable barking of the dog next door. Well that is how they feel about your dog’s barking!

This exercise is aimed at controlling your dog’s barking. It does not completely stop him from barking. Dogs need to bark.

When dogs bark, they send information to us. Your dog barks to get your attention. Likewise, he barks when he encounters strangers. Other times he barks because he is bored or lonely. If you don’t control your dog’s barking right from the beginning, he will think barking is not only fun, but acceptable and may bark constantly.

Remember ever giving your dog a treat to stop his barking?

Or perhaps letting him out of the house to get him to stop his barking? In doing so, you unintentionally trained your dog to bark. He learned to grab your attention through dog barking.

Control dog barking through exercise

When you interact with your dog, he will control his barking. He will no longer be lonely and bored. Exercise with your dog. Take him for a walk. When your dog has had enough exercise, he will feel happily exhausted and sleep most of the day while you’re at work. If he is well behaved, let him stay in the house when you are at home.

Walk your dog around the neighborhood regularly so that he gets quite comfortable with the sights, sounds and smells of the environment. He will bark much less frequently if he senses things that are familiar to him. Dog barking is often the result of your dog’s encounter with sights, sounds and smells that are foreign to him.

Let your dog make friends, at least to some degree, with the other local dogs in the park where you walk him. A little bit of dog social interaction will result in your dog being happier and more active. He will also become tired and perhaps want to sleep after all that fun and barking will perhaps be the last thing on his mind.

Begin the dog barking control exercise by commanding your dog to “stop barking” when he barks. Reinforce your command with a treat. When a dog sniffs food he stops barking. He cannot sniff and bark at the same time. When he has been quiet for at least a full 5 seconds, praise him. Repeat the “stop barking” phrase immediately each time you catch him barking (unless he was doing so for a good reason) so that he begins to recognize the command and associate it with the new behavior of being silent.

Do the same thing the next time, but try to keep him quiet for 8 seconds or longer by letting him sniff and lick the dog treat. Keep repeating that “stop barking” phrase through-out his training. Give him the treat after the 8 or more seconds of silence.

If he resumes barking, respond instantly by firmly and loudly commanding him to “stop barking.” You need to let him know that barking is not a welcome behavior. Don’t hit him. Simply express anger in your voice. Your dog knows and will try to comply in time as he associates the new behavior with pleasing you and getting praise or a treat in return.

Keep repeating the same phrase “stop barking” every time your dog barks until he is used to it. Training your dog to stop barking excessively takes both time and patience. Don’t assume that excessive dog barking can be controlled after just a few tries. Your dog will still bark when he sees or experiences unusual things. It is your duty to use the “stop barking” command to calm him down, whenever it is appropriate to do so.

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