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How to Control your Dog's Barking
from:Most dogs are described as having a barking problem because
someone is complaining. Maybe the dog is noisy when left alone,
or drives the neighbours mad in the garden barking at them. What
most owners miss is all the other times the dog barks and isn't
controlled.
Excessive barking can be due to a dog being in charge of you
and/or your home, fear, anxiety and poor training. If your dog
is in charge, you won't stop the barking unless you teach the
dog you are the boss which means getting some proper help. If
the dog is afraid or anxious, you must treat the underlying
cause and give the dog a better quality of life.
The first thing to understand is that all barking must be dealt
with to eliminate the problem barking. It is no good letting
your dog jump around and bark because it hears a door slam or
another dog down the street barking and then moan it barks when
you are not there. So all of it must be under your control. When
the dog barks, hiss a loud "no" whilst looking directly at the
dog. As soon as it stops, make a fuss, say "good dog". Make it
worth the dogs while to stop by praising it when it does. This
has no effect on your dog barking because a burglar is outside,
it just stops the nervous or showing off noise. Try to
anticipate the reaction and stop it before the dog barks. As
your dog gets used to this, watch out for it listening to a
noise but looking straight at you. It is trying to tell you
"look, I'm not barking" so tell the dog it's good.
You could consider a bark collar. NOT a shock collar, there are
several that emit a loud beep when the dog barks. There can be
some issues though with other noises setting them off, including
other dogs if you have them. I have never had much success with
ones that emit smells or sprays, but some results with the
beeping ones.
If your dog reacts to outside noises then leave a background
noise like a radio or TV on.
If your dog barks a lot for attention, you must learn to react
better yourself. When the dog is yapping away, turn away, feel
like you are cutting the dog off from you mentally and that is
how you will look. Don't just "ignore" it, you can look too
relaxed. Make no eye contact, fold your arms. If you are
standing up when this happens, turn away, leave the room, if the
dog has no audience there isn't any point continuing. Don't keep
staring at the dog shouting this is what it wanted in the first
place.
Never stroke or pat a barking dog. This is not reassurance, it
is praise and makes it worth doing because it gets attention. If
you think your dog is afraid or nervous generally, get some help
to deal with this so the dog lives a less anxious life. You will
never cure it by loving the dog more or petting it persistently.
Some dogs bark out of boredom. Make sure your dog has enough to
do when you are out. Gathering up the toys the dog has access to
all day isn't enough. Swap toys away regularly. Leave a juicy
chew or bone, fill a Kong or activity ball with treats so the
dog has a long period of entertainment. Tire the dog with a
decent walk or even a play in the garden. If your dog gets bored
alone, think about hiring a dog walker to break the day up.
Don't respond to demands from your dog that involve barking.
Throwing a toy because your dog brings it and barks at you is
not good. It teaches the dog that barking controls you and that
it gets a response. Don't allow the dog to bark at animals or
people outside, not only is this dangerous and annoying to other
people, it again teaches the dog that it can get a reaction.
Join a good class and get some practise around other dogs and
people if necessary but do take this seriously. A lot of people
have been forced into rehoming their dog because it barked too
much.
About the author: Debbie Connolly
Debbie Connolly is the founder of SafePets UK and features in
the BBC series "Dog Borstal". She writes for various
publications and gives media interviews about dog issues. More
information is available on her website www.safepets.co.uk
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