DogTrainingAggression.com

Bark! Bark!! BARK!!!

The dog barked the neighbor boy right off of his bicycle last week, and they complained. Other people have complained about his barking, and it’s getting hard to sleep through the night without getting woken once or twice by his barking fits. GRRR!!WOOF!!!

Can something be done?

Your dog barks too much. Luckily, it’s possible to solve this problem. All dogs will bark from time to time, but there are only a handful of reasons that a dog will bark excessively. To correct this, it’s important to be aware of what is causing the barking. There are 3 or 4 reasons that dogs bark too much.

THEY’RE BORED

Your dog may bark because he isn’t getting enough mental or physical stimulation. Just like a little kid acting out, your dog may bark because he’s bored. Make sure that he’s getting the exercise and attention that he needs. Don’t give him attention when he barks for this reason. A direct reaction to this type of barking, even a negative reaction, will encourage your dog to behave in the same way later.

BREED

Your dog may be bred to bark a lot. Many herding dogs and hounds have this trait because of the job that they were bred to do. If you have one of these breeds of dog, he may be barking because it’s in his genes. However, you can still train him to bark only when it’s appropriate.

SEPARATION

Dogs are pack animals. Your dog may bark too much when you leave him home alone because he’s separated from his pack and doesn’t know how else to find you again. This can be one of the most difficult excessive barking problems to address, but it can be done when you know what is causing the problem.

The main pitfall to avoid, is rewarding your dog’s barking when you come home. If your dog is barking while you’re gone, and you come home and immediately give him attention, he’ll think that it was his barking that caused you to return. To break this cycle, you have to ignore your dog if he’s barking when you first come home. Once he settles, you can initiate contact, praise him, pet him, and give him the attention that he wants.

STRANGERS

Your dog may bark when a person he doesn’t know comes near the house. This could be anyone that your dog perceives to be a threat to her territory. It can be particularly difficult to eliminate this behaviour if your dog is barking at the mailman or other delivery person because these people are guaranteed to reward the behavior every time. The mailman comes, the dog barks, the mailman leaves. It’s not an impossible cycle to break, but it takes some work.

These are just a few of the reasons that dogs may bark excessively. It is an annoying problem, but it’s good to keep in mind that there are times when you’ll want your dog to bark. Barking can be a healthy way for your dog to express himself. He just needs to know when it’s appropriate, and when it’s not.

4 Barking Reasons:

* Boredom

* He’s bored

* Separation

*Separation from pack (you)

Bark, Bark! Grrr!! GOOD BOY!!

AVOID DISASTROUS Blunders with your pooch. NOW REVEALED: 3 POWERFUL, humane, and loving ways to train your friend: 3 Dog Training Plans reviewed, Amazing results from 1 method! Or browse excellent, helpful FREE pooch training articles. I’m Scott Erickson, and am an exuberant long time pooch buff, trainer, and author.