28 Apr How to Stop Dog’s Barking

Dogs are beautiful animals and ideal companions. There are several reasons why dogs bark and show suspicious behaviour. All of them are annoying. The first step in calming down and preventing your dog’s barking is to find out why he’s making noise. In this article, we will refer to various methods to prevent dogs from barking. Noise and barking may be the only behaviour your dog knows how to get your attention. Dogs usually bark for a different reason. First, you should find the reason for the barking, then find a proper solution for it. Here is various barking reason with their training.

Wanting something

• Some sounds are for getting your attention or to ask for something. These sounds are usually problematic for dog owners. The first step in silencing dogs is not to respond to their requests. Try to distinguish between your dog’s sounds. If you find the dog’s voice is to get your attention, don’t pay any attention to him. It doesn’t matter how long he wants to continue. Let him get bored and give up. If you pay attention and respond to his request, all your efforts will be wasted.
• Noise may be the only behaviour your dog knows how to get attention. Even if a lot of time has passed since you trained the dog, it may still break the norm; be patient because it takes a while to stop these habits. If you still encounter your dog’s barking, instead of punishing him, ignore him and not pay the slightest attention to him. Making noise and barking to get attention stays in your dog’s mind. If you lose your patience, your dog will start doing it again. If your dog is very aggressive and noisy, don’t yell, put another pet next to him, give him anything he wants or look at him at these moments. The best way is to keep yourself busy with books or newspapers and not pay attention to your dog until he is calm.
• Reward your dog when he stops barking. It’s essential to encourage the dog in these situations. By doing this, your dog will learn that you will reward him by being calm and obedient. When your dog’s barking stops, reward him immediately. Be careful not to be late; otherwise, there will be no progress in your education. At these times, say to him: “Good dog!”. This sentence is very effective in the process of training dogs. As your dog learns, being calm brings rewards, and making noises brings neglecting, you should gradually increase the reward time. For example, every time you give the prize immediately, postpone the award for a few seconds until this time interval reaches 1 to 2 minutes.
• One of the best educational methods for stopping an undesirable behaviour is replacing it with a desirable one. In this way, your dog learns instead of doing destructive behaviours, behave well to get your attention. Teaching desirable alternative behaviours can be a bit time-consuming, but it’s the best way. For example, instead of responding to your dog’s voices, encourage him to play. Teach him to bring his favourite toy to you and place it on the floor. You need to eliminate the situation in which your dog may be barking. Continue the training until your dog’s barking stops for getting your attention. Eventually, your dog will learn not to bark and be patient to get what he wants. He’s also calm in dealing with other animals and doesn’t bark to eat or play.

Separation of his owner

• Anxiety about separation from the owner is present in many dogs, and the most common symptoms are disruption of the house or apartment, barking and making noise. These behaviours usually occur when the dog owner leaves the house. If your dog is generally aggressive, you won’t tell if his barking is due to separation or something else. These symptoms include:

1. Follow his owner from room to room. It doesn’t matter how short this pursuit is.
2. The dog is shaking, panting and crying when you’re ready to leave the house.
3. Urinating and defecating indoors, when no one is home, and the dog is alone.
4. Chewing on household items and messing them up when the dog isn’t at home.
5. Scratching and digging floors or walls while alone.
6. Neighbours’ complaints about the dog barking.

• Fighting things that threaten your dog is a treatment. In the case of fear and anxiety of separation, the dog is scared of being alone. To deal with this threat and stress, you need to train your dog to do what he enjoys, not feel alone. When you plan to leave the house, please keep your dog busy with his favourite toy or food. Choose something that will keep your dog occupied for at least twenty to thirty minutes. During this time, he forgets that he’s afraid of your leaving. When you get home, hide the toy and only give it to him when you leave the house. Note that using toys only works for dogs with mild fears, and this trick doesn’t work for dogs with moderate to severe anxiety.
• If your dog has moderate to severe separation anxiety and fear, you can’t treat him overnight. The best way is to get him alone and teach him that leaving home doesn’t mean being alone. This trick is a bit slow and takes several weeks, But it can be effective in the long run. Be sure to include signs for your dog in dog training. For example, show the coat you wear when leaving or the house key at any time of the day. Be careful; even if you don’t intend to leave the house, you still have to do it. Before leaving, play with your dog for a while, pet him and then leave the room; So that he doesn’t notice you’re going. When the dog sees you, close the door on him. When training your dog, let him be alone for a while, but let him know that you’re at home. Gradually increase the time your dog spends alone in the room. After a few weeks of this training, the next step is not to leave from the main door that the dog knows; For example, go out from the back door.
• It takes a long time for your dog to get used to this training. So you have to be patient with him in the end. Anxiety and fear of separation behaviours usually occur in the first 40 minutes. So you have to focus on these 40 minutes. During your dog training sessions, increase your absence time by a few seconds each time. Get rid of anything that might upset or scare your dog during your absence. A dog that can stay home alone for 90 minutes without any hassle or bark can stay alone for 7 or 8 hours without any problems. However, don’t let him be alone for more than 4 hours early in his training. Do these exercises at least twice a week on holidays. Not all dogs are the same. You may fully train a dog within a month, but it may take longer to train another dog and require more sessions. 
• If your dog doesn’t calm down with these methods and the neighbours complain about you, you should change your plan. Assess the situation. Take your dog to work if you can, and your boss will allow it. You can have someone else whom your dog loves and feels comfortable with when you are away so that the dog doesn’t feel alone. This method is very effective and helps you a lot. You can put your dog in his box and leave the house. Of course, some dogs don’t like to stay in the box. So be careful not to use this method for those dogs. If none of the methods work, use a professional dog trainer. He knows how to treat dogs and train them.

Dog’s barking warnings

• Barking at strangers and annoying people isn’t bad at all. This barking may save someone’s life. Some people, even neighbours, may engage in annoying behaviours, and a dog’s barking alerts you. You may not see the annoying person, but your dog hears his footsteps and reacts.
• The best way to stop your dog’s barking is to teach him the command to b quiet. This training, like other training, can be time-consuming and requires a lot of patience. But if you spend more time and effort on this, you can achieve the desired result in a shorter time, and your dog will learn good behaviour sooner. When your dog starts barking, hug and calm him for the first 3 or 4 times. This distracts the dog from the intruder and stops his noise, then release him. Be patient and continue this process so that your dog gets the necessary training. Use the phrase “be quiet” when trying to calm him down. Say it in a calm but firm voice. Repeat this process repeatedly so that your dog realises that the phrase “be quiet” is related to his silence. Eventually, at the end of all the training, your dog may still disobey at times, which is normal and doesn’t require much strictness.
• When you teach your dog the command to be silent in dog training, you must do this command in actual conditions. For instance, you can use one of your friends who have never been to your house, and your dog hasn’t seen him or make a noise outside the home. When you choose your friend for this test, even though you’re sure of your dog’s training, still expect him to make every possible move. He may use all his training, but first, he barks loudly and makes noise.

Anxiety and fatigue barking

• If your dog barks and makes noise for no reason, such as when he is in the yard, this barking may be due to fatigue. Dogs that bark alone may have other destructive behaviours in addition to making noise. Common symptoms of barking due to fatigue include:

1. Consecutive, repetitive and excessive barking.
2. Walking and fast forward and backward movements with barking.
3. Barking inappropriately, without feeling alone.
4. Barking at times when you don’t pay much attention to him.

• Increasing fun and training amount is the best way to reduce stuttering and to bark in dogs. Try to get your dog out for 10 to 20 minutes a day to walk, play and follow the ball. Exercise is excellent for your dog. At least 20 minutes of intense physical activity a day is good for your dog’s physical and mental health. It also helps to reduce anxiety and fatigue barking. Play with your dog every day. You can hide and encourage him to find you or vice versa. Follow or entertain him with his ball.
• Teaching your dog new tricks is one of the best ways to prevent anxiety and fatigue barking. This requires a lot of time and concentration, which can ensure your dog’s physical and mental health. Once you have taught your dog a few new games or tricks and learned them well, do those exercises every day. This will help your dog remember new practices well and keep his mind busy.
• In addition to exercising, create a distraction for your dog. This is an excellent way to control your dog’s aggressive behaviour. You can prepare an exciting toy for your dog or a puzzle or a delicious meal to keep him busy, or you can turn up the volume on the radio or television to distract your dog.

 Reducing dog’s barking and noise

• If your dog is hungry and doesn’t have access to food, he’s more likely to bark. There’s no training to prevent this, and it will even ruin all your previous activities. Make sure your dog has clean, cool water and adequate food at all times. Two to three meals are enough for your dog. Be sure to give him access to the house to return home and eat whenever he wants.
• Sometimes a dog’s barking or making a noise is due to a physical problem and indicates an illness. If you suspect that your dog is suffering from physical difficulty, be sure to take him to a veterinarian for an examination.
• The Calm or Silence trick we talked about earlier is very effective in controlling the dog’s barking. Whenever your dog barks at the sight of an intruder, stop training your dog and allow your dog to distract himself from the intruder. When your dog calms down and stops barking, say “be quiet” a few times. This will be very effective in your training process. Be careful before saying this command; your dog should stop barking and be completely silent when he hears your sentence.
• Fun is the best way to distract your dog and forget about barking. Some dogs are generally nervous, and you need to know more about your dog’s mood. Fun and games can reduce such anxieties. Depending on your dog’s age and physical ability, you can choose the right exercises and entertainment for him. For example, long walks are better for older dogs. On the other hand, young dogs are more likely to run and jump or play with different balls and toys.
• If your dog becomes restless when he sees or hears something outside the house and starts barking, the easiest way is to block him from seeing or hearing and restrict his access to the outside. For example, if he’s standing or sitting by the window, draw the curtains not to see people and other animals and be restless. In dog training, keep in mind that if you hear noise from outside the house, try to turn up the volume on the TV and radio so that your dog can’t hear outside sounds and be disturbed.
• There are many dog behavioural experts, each with their expertise. You can get help from them in various areas. Note that you must choose the right specialist. Your veterinarian can guide you well in this regard. Dog trainers often have a coaching card. But other people also work as animal counsellors or psychologists. Some coaches have a degree in coaching and work for a variety of organisations.
• Noisy collars are the last resort to deal with dog’s barking; it’s a painful method and shouldn’t be used in all situations. Many people oppose using these collars and believe that they should use the training methods to silence their dogs. Although training is the best way, they aren’t responsive, and we have to use these collars. Some of these collars can prevent dogs from barking by producing odours. These collars aren’t harmful to the dogs’ health and don’t cause any discomfort to them. Another type of collar has a sound that only the dogs can hear, silencing and preventing them from barking. Using these collars is unpleasant for dogs but doesn’t cause physical pain for them. The latest type of collar stops dogs from barking by creating a short-term shock. These collars have different settings that you can use to adjust the degree of shock and its duration. Since these shocks may harm your dog while training, you should set it to the shortest period, and the lowest degree will prevent any damage to your dog.

Dogs are lovable, companion creatures and great friends. But they need regular training, grooming and checking by skilled groomers, trainers and veterinarians. Mishka’s specialised team will be with you throughout your training and grooming of your beautiful puppies.