Dog barking is your dog’s way of communicating with you and other dogs. Barking can be a warning to us about the arrival of an unknown person in the house. Warnings can be a good thing, but if the dog’s barking lasts too long, it can be a problem. We lose patience with our pet and many times the noise barely rises in the home. The dog barks and you yell at the dog to stop.
If you have a young puppy, it’s easy to train him to stop barking. You can use this same technique for older dogs as well, but you need to keep working on the problem to overcome learned behavior and habits. Whatever the age of your dog, you have to be constant and calm.
Start by choosing your command word, which you will always use to stop barking. Here are some words to choose from, but you can have any word, as long as that’s the word you hold onto to stop barking, try words that are easy to remember like “enough”, “stop”, “quiet”. This will let the dog know that you are in charge and that he can stop barking now. Have a favorite treat or toy handy and ask someone to knock on the door. After a few barks from your dog, use your chosen word and start distracting him with the treat.
When he stops barking for a few seconds, reward him with the treat and praise. It’s important to allow a few seconds without barking before giving the treat, as you don’t want your dog to think you’re rewarding him for the bark. Your dog needs to know that you are in charge. If the dog won’t stop barking, he shakes the toy or treat under his noise until he sees it and wants what you have. He repeats the command; he waits a few seconds while they are quiet, rewards and praises.
As your training improves, food treats should become less important and so give food treats sometime rather than every time. All treats should be small, but something the dog knows is a treat. Small pieces of chicken or small slices of carrot can be used. Try to think of things that won’t affect your dog’s health in the long run. Training should be given when the dog is not very excitable, as the dog may be just before walking time. Not even when they are very tired. A good time is after you have walked and taken a nap.
Another point here is to not give your dog verbal or physical reinforcement while he is barking. This only encourages behavior that he doesn’t want. There is also the breed of dog to think about as some breeds are bred as sheep or cattle watchers and part of this is that they are alert and warn with barks. This does not stop training, but it is something to keep in mind when choosing your pet.
Be patient and consistent and you will have the behavior you want.