How to get a dog to stop barking

Dog owners have to face many canine behavior problems. The dog’s tendency to soil the house and to chew destructively will only affect the owner. Excessive barking is a different concern as it also affects the neighbors. A consistently barking dog would be annoying not only to the owners but more especially to the neighbors. Excessive barking is a more annoying canine problem as it would affect not only the dog owners but other people as well. This problem is aggravated by the fact that many dog owners are living close to each other in condos or in apartments

Barking is generally not considered a problem. Barking is the dog’s way of communicating with humans and animals. Some owners actually value the barking of the pet as it serves as an early warning system that alerts them to a potential territorial intrusion. Barking becomes a problem when it gets out of control and starts to annoy people. Most dog owners are overwhelmed with the task of controlling the pet’s excessive barking.

Excessive barking is one of the reasons why dogs are abandoned. It is not impossible to correct the dog’s excessive barking. Although barking is a natural behavior there are other reasons why dogs bark. Excited, bored or nervous dogs can bark excessively. To get the dog to stop barking, an owner has to know what causes the pet to bark.

Dogs bark if they are bored and lonely. Bored dogs bark a lot thus, to stop the dog from barking it would be a good idea to leave interesting toys that will keep the dog busy. Dogs that are not allowed to let off steam bark a lot too thus regular opportunities to exercise is necessary to stop the dog’s excessive barking. Did you know that by teaching an excessively barking dog to bark you can actually manage this annoying habit? Teaching the dog to bark only when a command is given will desensitize the dog to the other stimulus that sets off excessive barking and more importantly, the training will sharpen the dog’s natural instinct to bark when there is a potential danger. Rattling a can filled with coins or using a spray bottle every time the dog is about to bark would effectively modify this annoying behavior.

Dog training collars that are designed to stop the dog from barking and ultrasonic devices that emit a high pitched sound are high tech devices used to prevent a dog from barking excessively. The unwanted behavior can simply be the pet’s way to call the owners attention. A little attention given to the pet is all that is necessary to stop the bad behavior.

More information on how to get a dog to stop barking and dog first aid can be found at Sarah’s Dogs.