There’s a reason why having dogs is so common these days – they make wonderful companions and can be ideal pets for most people and lifestyles. While there are more positives than negatives to having a dog, dog owners can all agree that dogs’ barking can really become a problem. Learning how to silence your dog from barking, is an essential part of ensuring that you have a quiet and calm environment for both yourself and your neighbors. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of 5 effective ways to help stop your dog from barking (without having to buy anything).
Correct the Problematic Behavior and Sustain It
When your dog starts barking, you need to get on them about their bad behavior immediately. With dogs, you cannot punish them for something after the fact because, by that time, they will have likely forgotten the thing they are being punished for. Instead, when the barking is occurring, tell your dog to stop, by using an intense, stern look, sound, and/or physical correction. But, it can’t stop there. Oftentimes, dogs will pause what they are doing for a moment, when being disciplined, but will then quickly resume. Be patient with correcting the bad behavior by continuing to stay on them about their barking until they stop completely. Every time they start to bark in the future, continue to carry out this pattern and you will likely see changes begin to take place due to their fear of punishment.
Stay Calm When Trying to Stop the Behavior
We can all agree that dog barking can get close to pushing you over the edge. It feels impossible at times to not lose it when you can’t get your dog to stop barking. One of the keys to changing your dog’s bad behavior is to remain calm while you’re disciplining them. If you’re punishing them when you’re in a chaotic state, your dog will pick up on that energy and continue to carry out their poor behavior. This is because dogs don’t respond well to unbalanced leadership and will mirror your energy and behavior as a response.
Challenge Your Dog Physically and Mentally
Barking is often the result of dogs having pent-up energy. Dogs are typically left at home for long periods of time during the day while their owner(s) go off to work or run errands, giving them lots of downtime. As a result, when their owners come home, they bark and bark and bark because they’re excited and haven’t been able to release their pent-up energy all day. To help them out, take them on more walks, play with them more, and find other ways to help them relieve that excited energy.
Stake Your Claim
While dogs bark at random things, they often have a particular object, person, situation, or place that sets them off as well. For example, some dogs will always bark when they see another dog or when they see another animal, while others will bark every time someone enters the house, even their owner. In order to break up this behavior, you need to assert your dominance over the thing that is setting them off and stake your claim on it. Using your body and voice, you can create a disconnect between your dog and the thing that is setting them off by making it your problem and not theirs.
Get Professional Help
This should be a last resort for any dog owner because if you sustain your firm and assertive behavior with them, you should start to see changes in their behavior. But, not all dogs respond easily to their owners or to training in general, making it time to call in the big guns. When all else fails, turn to a professional dog trainer who can more easily work with you and your dog to correct the poor behavior.
No Comments