How to Humanely Stop Your Dog From Excessive Barking

By guest blogger, Deinah Storm

Barking is one of the things dogs are born to do; it’s basically their way to say hi to the world. Sometimes, though, their yelling can be too much to take, wearing out the patience of even the most long-suffering owners. As your pet’s parent, it’s your job to ensure that your pooch behaves well, barking only when necessary. So to help you out, we listed a few tips on how you can tone down your pet’s voice.

Remove the Reason

One reason why dogs bark is because it feels rewarding for them; otherwise, they won’t do it. So if you want to stop them from making a ruckus, you should find out what set them off in the first place. Only then can you manage their behavior. For example, if your pooch is in a room and is barking because he’s annoyed with the people and animals he sees while looking out of his dog door (https://pawcastle.com/best-dog-door/), pull the curtains if you can’t have your pet go to another room. Or if he’s barking at passers-by while in the yard, just let him in.

Interrupt Your Canine

You can also abruptly stop your pooch from woofing through physical correction. No, we’re not telling you to spank your pet! We’re talking about doing a look or a sound that would make your canine buddy stop baying. And you shouldn’t just do that and go back to whatever stuff you’re busy with or else your dog will go at it again. Wait until the tyke stops, relaxes his body, and behaves before you resume your activity.

Exercise Your Pooch

Sometimes dogs bark excessively because they have all this pent-up energy inside them. The solution to this problem is simple: engage them in some healthy physical activities. For example, if your pooch loves taking daily strolls, then you can change it up a bit by walking them while you’re on a bicycle. This not only lets your pet productively release all his bottled-up energies, but it also alleviates his stress levels, which could also cause him to wreak havoc if not dealt with.

Ignore the Barking

We’re not telling you to ignore your dog every time he barks. What if he’s growling for a good reason like when there’s an intruder in the house or if something is aching in his body? That you shouldn’t ignore! The excessive ruckus, though, you can. Paying them any attention for this behavior only encourages them to do it more. By ignoring them, you silently let them know that you don’t like how they’re behaving, and they would eventually stop. To further drive your point home, give them a treat once they do quiet down.

Teach “Speak” and “Quiet”

If you want to stop your canine from making too much noise, you need to teach them to bark first. Yeah, it sounds like a silly, crazy idea, but hear us out for a moment. If you train your dog to bark only when he’s told to speak and to shut it when you say ask him to be quiet, then you’ll be able to train his bad habit of excessive ruckus making out of his system. For best results, be sure to use a calm, confident tone when teaching the words, and have dog treats at hand to reward your animal buddy for complying.

Wrapping Up

It’s natural for dogs to bark. Too much of it, though, isn’t going to help anyone. By following the tips mentioned above, you’ll be able to reduce the ruckus your canine is making (if not get rid of it altogether).

Featured Image Source: Pixabay.com

Author's Bio:

Deinah Storm is a pet lover from the US that’s had cats and dogs all her life. When she’s not walking the dogs with her family, she spends time writing informational and interesting blogs about pets to share with pet lover communities.