Dog Barking - Effective Methods to Stop Your Dog Barking

Controlling excessive dog barking is a painful ordeal for the dog owners to deal with. It is difficult and time consuming unless you know why your dog is barking in the first place.

Dogs bark for various reasons. It is their way of communicating to you their moods, excitement and to get your attention to their needs. It is not mere noise but in conjunction with their body language, tail movements and facial expressions they tend to convey their message across to you.

Some instances are- Low pitched growl and loud bark with ears perked and tail up shows sign of his dominance. Short and sharp bark along with swift tail wags shows he is excited. Low growl escalating to a howling bark with bristled tail when he perceives intruders in the territory. High pitched constant bark when he is in distress or alone and so on.

Once you know what triggers the barking then putting a fix is an easy task. Reasons for barking fall into two main categories - Basic behavior problem and situations and circumstances contributing to the barking. Barking on instinct is natural and should not be restrained.

Here are some proven techniques to stop your dog's continuous barking, which is unwarranted and not natural:

* Your dog must learn first what is expected of him and what is not. If he barks to get your attention and manipulates you to give in to his needs then it is not good. If you give him a treat or play whenever he barks then it reinforces that behavior and he will do even more in the future. Turn away from him and simply disregard his barks. He may be surprised and bark harder at first by your action but the more consistent you are the effective control it would be.

* When he barks, divert his attention by saying, "quiet" or "hush" in a strong yet calm tone. Use the same command every time for consistency and not to confuse him. When he obeys and stop barking praise him immediately. He will pair the command with the praise and learn to be quiet.

* Barking as a means to display dominant behavior: If the dog refuses to obey and continues to bark back to you with aggression, then he believes that he is the leader of the pack. It's very important that your dog recognizes that you outrank him as the leader an Alpha dog and he is below you. They are well behaved under a leadership and form a strong bond with you based on trust and respect.

* Constant barking due to boredom or lack of socialization: They become anxious or stressed without social interaction and resort to meaningless barking to let out their stress. Spend time and engage your dog with playful activities, which are interactive like fetching the ball or taking for a long walk.

* Separation anxiety can drive your dog to bark constantly. When left alone, they bark in an effort to get out of that situation. Exercise him enough before you leave so that he is tired and sleep when you are away and also provide enough chewy toys and items to engage him till you return.

Use of shock or citronella collars to control your dog barking is not recommended and can be used only as last resort for a stubborn dog. Understanding and retraining by reward is the most humane approach to dog barking problem.

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