Having a dog in the family is really a treat but that doesn’t mean that it is always going to be smooth sailing. The fact of the matter is, you may discover that there are issues that come up from time to time that need to be corrected and some adjustments may need to be made. One of those issues is barking, and some dogs just seem to do it in great measure.
Barking is a problem for a number of reasons. Of course, as far as the dog is concerned, it’s just something that they naturally do and they may be doing it for a specific reason. To a human, however, it is an annoyance and bad behavior on the part of the dog as well. Not only does it bother your family but it can bother the neighbors.
One of the most important things to remember if your dog has a problem with barking is that you should not yell at them to stop. Dogs are not going to understand why you are yelling at them and more than likely, they are going to think that you are barking along with them. They may stop temporarily to give you the opportunity to bark but when you are done yelling, they are just going to go about their business once again. In fact, you may even be reinforcing it.
Training the dog on a regular basis is also important because it can go a long way in helping your dog to be motivated not to bark. Be sure that you keep any training session on a positive note and never use negative reinforcement in an attempt to teach the dog to stop barking. Along with it, you may need to be consistent for quite some time before you see any real results. Inconsistency is going to be confusing for the animal and it will likely result in them continuing to bark and perhaps even barking more.
Try to look into the reasons why your dog may be barking. At times, it could be a matter of being bored and they might just need something to do. Dogs sometimes bark when you are away from home and this type of anxiety is a real problem. Dogs may also bark to get a reaction from you so it may be necessary to just ignore it until they stop. If that doesn’t work you may need to try a different method.
If you regularly train your dog, you may also want to teach them a quiet command. This is something that many dog owners tend to overlook but, just as you could teach a dog to speak on command, you can teach them to be quiet as well. Get the dog to start barking and then wait until they bark a few times before you put a treat in front of them. When they stop barking to check out the tree, give it to them and tell them “quiet”. You might be surprised with how well it works.
