A very frequent concern among those of us who have dogs is the excessive barking of our little friends, because it can trigger problems of coexistence within the home or disputes with the neighbors of the community.
If you want to know how to stop your dog from barking , we will explain below the reasons why they bark and how to correct it in a POSITIVE way, without punishment. ☝️
why do the dogs bark?
First of all, understand why your dog barks, since depending on the triggering cause, one attitude or another must be adopted.
There are many reasons why your dog may bark, however, each case is different and individual.
👇 Here are some of the most frequent:
- Demand for attention.
- Boredom.
- When you are home alone.
- At the sound of the doorbell.
- Out of fear or insecurity.
- overexcitation
- Aggressiveness
Do you identify the barking of your furry with any of these situations?
Don’t worry! Our veterinarian Paula teaches us how to stop your dog from barking with these TIPS.
✍️ Take note!
How to stop my dog from barking
Once we know the cause of our dog’s barking, we can choose the right tools to solve the problem.
From our point of view, harsh punishments are not necessary to stop your dog from barking. We will approach the measures from a positive reinforcement point of view , which over time will be much more effective since we will achieve a change in his basic behavior.
If he barks to get attention
Sometimes our dogs bark to get our attention. This demand for attention may be because they are hungry, thirsty, want caresses or go for a walk, etc.
In this case, to stop your dog from barking, we should redirect the behavior to another way of expressing itself.
Most of the time they take that stance, we respond with a “NO!” or angry, yet they feel they have accomplished their goal.
❌ Wrong! If our dog demands attention from us and we respond to him, even if it is to scold him, we are reinforcing that behavior.
✅ You must avoid eye contact, turn your back on it, not have contact with your dog and have a lot of patience. I’m sure it’s hard for us to ignore him, but deep down it’s the best thing for our furry!
Little by little he will see that barking does not get what he wants and he will calm down. When he is calm and has given up on his purpose, it is time to reward him with our much desired attention.
If he barks out of boredom
Boredom can be included in the demand for attention, and the ways of acting will be very similar.
If your dog is bored, it may be because he does not get enough physical exercise or does not have his necessary dose of play.
Take the opportunity to take him out for a walk or cheer him up with his favorite game so that he is entertained and exhausted.
If he barks when he is home alone
When a dog barks when left alone, what he feels is a lot of anguish at being away from us.
This can be an indication of separation anxiety , and it takes a lot of work and patience to resolve this issue.
So how do I stop my dog from barking at home?
- Take a good walk before leaving him alone.
- It also makes available toys, teethers , food dispensers that capture their attention.
- In addition, you must train with your dog so that he learns to be alone. Make short sporadic outings, and gradually increase the waiting time.
- If the problem continues, we recommend contacting a professional to help you in this process.
If he barks when the doorbell rings
Barking when the doorbell rings, or someone enters the house, is normal behavior among dogs, which does not mean that it becomes very annoying.
In this case, our dog barks as an alert mechanism: it warns that someone is on the other side of the door and intends to enter its territory.
It may also be because he is so happy to welcome family members and his level of nervousness is so high that he responds by barking excessively.
If you want to stop your dog from barking when the doorbell rings, we must seek calm and redirect the behavior towards other ways to release that energy:
- Encourage positive reinforcement: approach him and reassure him.
- Distract you with food or attention. While the other person generates the noise or the act that makes your little friend insecure, you can give him a treat or a caress. Thus, over time, each time you hear that sound it will induce calm and joy.
If he barks out of fear or insecurity
In addition to the sound of the doorbell, our furry ones are often afraid to hear strange noises such as a motorcycle, the neighbors talking on the landing, or anything that they do not recognize as usual.
Once again, it is very important to continue working positively in this situation, and teach him that there is no danger and thus favor his peace of mind.
If he barks when he is very nervous or overexcited
A dog with a sky-high energy level, who is very nervous and out of control, may react with excessive vocalization.
We must stop this behavior in time , encourage the control and calm of our dear companion.
How? We tell you! 👇
❌ We should never yell at him or get angry if our dog is in this state, as it will increase his nervousness and lack of control. We must be a reflection of serenity.
✅ You have to be patient and wait for him to relax, and only when he is calm will we reward his behavior.
➡ An exercise that helps induce calm is sniffing, as it decreases his heart rate, so it can be useful to bring him closer to areas with different smells or throw sweets into a grassy area where your dog has to sniff to find them.
If he barks when he gets aggressive
If a dog is barking because it feels threatened and shows signs of aggression, it is considered a complex and serious case. In the event that you do not know how to control his aggressiveness , the help of a qualified professional such as an ethologist or canine trainer will be required.
These recommendations will surely help you know how to stop your dog from barking. However, these are just a few tips and sometimes the help of a dog behavior professional may be necessary to solve our problem.
From My New Best Friend we want to encourage support and good practices with our four-legged friends for a perfect coexistence.