22 May Training to Stop Dog Barking

Dog barking is their way of communicating. But in many cases, this barking becomes annoying and uncontrollable. Unfortunately, many dogs were abandoned and lost their homes because they barked a lot! But dog barking isn’t an acute behavioural problem, and by doing some simple training, you can prevent your dog from barking and enjoy your relationship more. This article will talk about overcoming barking dogs’ habit and explaining the different training methods in this regard.

Dog barking reasons

Barking is considered the instinctual behaviour of dogs and a kind of communication and dog tongue. Dogs can bark for various reasons, and to solve the dog barking problem, you must first understand its reasons.

Among the reasons for dog barking are:

• Drawing attention
• Fear
• Loneliness and separation anxiety
• Playing, having fun and mischief
• Curiosity
• Warning of a danger
• Pain and disease

If your dog barks at other dogs or new people, there will be a lot of problems. For example, you can’t easily go to the park or walk with your dog. You may think that this is an aggressive behavioural problem. Dog barking is normal but should be controlled. To stop the habit of barking at other dogs, you should use different methods to train the dog to do it again.

Training to stop dog barking to other dogs

Step 1: Stand with the dog in a place away from other dogs.

Tie a collar to your dog and go to a place where there are many other dogs. To calm your dog, be in a place where your dog can see other dogs but be far enough away to not bark at them. First, you may make mistakes in choosing the right place; But with patience and over time, you can find the best place. For example, if you go to the park, choose the corners, not somewhere in the middle of the park.

Step 2: Giving a treat

Give your dog a treat when he notices other dogs but doesn’t bark or show teeth. Instead of giving the dog a complete treat, give him just a small piece so you can continue to do so for a longer period of time. These continuous encouragements aren’t just to encourage the dog not to bark, but you’re distracting him from the dogs who are approaching or possibly passing in front of you. But be sure to reduce your dog’s food that day according to the number of treats.

As your training session progresses, begin to substitute verbal encouragement instead of a treat. After repeating this step, you can see the power of encouraging that work like a miracle. They treat you give to the dog can be edible or even simple encouragement and can be given by the trainer or the owner. Notice the signs of the dog’s reaction to the presence of other dogs (gnashing of teeth, wagging tails, paying attention to the presence of other dogs, etc.) The method is to encourage the dog before he starts barking to stop doing it. After a lot of practice and repetition of these training sessions, when your dog sees a dog and doesn’t bark, it immediately looks at you and waits for a treat or verbal encouragement.

Step 3: Repeat a specific sound.

Repeat a specific sound or word each time before giving the dog a treat. For example, say, look at me. Use these words every time the dog notices the presence of another dog to distract you. You and other family members must use this special word several times during the day in different situations to prevent your dog from barking. So he learns it well and realizes that saying this word means that he shouldn’t bark when he sees another dog.

Final step: Take the dog closer and closer

Over time, hold dog training sessions closer to the other dogs (for example, closer to where the dogs play). If you get too close and the dog starts barking and reacting, step back a little. Every time he doesn’t bark, give him a treat. Daily exercise is essential to stop the dog barking habit. To keep your dog bored, keep training sessions short (for example, 10 minutes). Practice sessions should be full of different types of encouragement for the dog (food, verbal encouragement and petting).

Training to stop dog bark at home

The dog may bark at home because of the sounds he hears, people passing in front of the house or attracting your attention or any other reason. But you can control and stop it too.

Step 1: Learn the commands “be quiet” and “Call”

You can teach your dog who is allowed to bark and who isn’t. It is better to practice the command “to be quiet” in a quiet place so that your dog isn’t distracted. When he learns well, you can do the exercise in crowded places and the presence of other people or dogs. Never shout the commands. If you yell, the dog thinks you are barking too! To teach the command “be quiet” and “call,” you can do the following:

• Tell him to call. Then do something that you know the dog will bark at (like making a toy or ringing the doorbell)
• If he starts barking, hold a delicious treat in front of his nose to smell it.
• After he stopped barking for smelling, you can give him a treat.
• When your dog learned the meaning of the “call” command and acted on it, you must teach the “be quiet” command.
• To teach him this command, tell your dog to call; when he starts barking, command him to be quiet.
• Hold the treat in front of his nose and give it to him whenever he is silent to smell it.
• With a lot of practice, the dog learns to stop barking when you command to “be quiet”.

Step 2: Distract the dog

When a situation arises where you know your dog is starting to bark, do different things to distract him. so he can’t focus on the stimulus. These distractions include:

• Giving his favourite toys
• Start playing exciting games with him
• Ask to follow the instructions he knows and encourage him
• Giving treat or chewing bone

The final step: drain the energy

The most important thing that affects the dog’s destructive behaviours, such as barking, is energy depletion. Many dogs bark because they want to drain their excess energy. Maybe your dog has become accustomed to barking, or you couldn’t take him out to play and walk. Remember that a tired dog is a happy dog ​​and a happy dog ​​rarely bark. Here are some ways to drain your dog’s energy:

• Going for long walks
• Exciting games with high physical activity
• Meeting other dogs
• Playing with intellectual toys

Keep in mind that different dog’s breeds have various amounts of energy. So depending on their energy level, you may need to spend 1 to 3 hours a day to drain their energy! Socializing and training a dog from an early age can help to prevent many destructive behaviours in adulthood.

Teach the dog to bark by pointing and hand movements

You can add a hand gesture to your command and create a symbolic gesture between yourself and your dog. Of course, this step isn’t one of the main and necessary steps in teaching barking to dogs, and you can complete the training without pointing movements. But we explain this part for those who like their dog to start barking with a gesture. Once your dog has mastered your command without any error, you can add hand signalling to the training. Hand movements can be anything, but the common sign for this training is:

•  Keep your hand open with the palm facing the dog.
• Then open and close your fingers 4 times and bring them to your thumb (as if you were showing barking by hand)
• Now, while saying the grammatical word to the dog, do the hand movement as well. Because the dog learns the command well, it gradually learns the connection between the command and hand movement. Then he knows that these two have the same meaning.
• So after a while of training, just by moving and pointing your hand, the dog will start barking!

Avoid barking dogs at night.

One of the first problems dog owners face is the barking dog’s habit during the night. This can cause a lot of problems, especially for those who live in apartments. Reasons for a dog barking at night can be due to various reasons such as loneliness, clumsiness, attention, alertness and danger, or pain and illness. 

Barking puppies at night 

This barking is a normal subject. Puppies bark in the dark and at night because of loneliness and fear. The new puppy has been separated from his mother, sister and brother, and suddenly has met a new person in a strange place; So especially at night when it gets dark everywhere, he’s scared and wants to call you by barking. In puppies, it’s necessary to teach them to be alone over time with proper training. The puppy should understand that every time you leave him alone, you come back to him, and there’s no need to be afraid and worried.

Inadequate sleeping area 

If your dog sleeps and barks alone outside at night, it may be best to bring him in. In many cases, the problem of the dog barking at night is solved.

Barking for attention 

If your adult dog barks at night to get your attention, ignore him. Even if you tell him to be quiet, calm or fight with him, it’s a kind of attention. So next time, your dog will bark again!

Please don’t give your dog a treat to make him silent.

Many dog ​​owners give their dogs a treat and food to calm them down sooner! It’s very wrong, and the dog thinks that ” Every time I bark, Mom and Dad give me delicious food, so I have to bark again!”

Punishment and shouting are forbidden.

We know how annoying it can be to wake up because of your dog barking, but please never yell at your dog or fight with him. Not only is this useless, but the dog thinks you’re barking too. So he’s encouraged to bark! In addition, body punishment and fighting have a very negative effect on your relationship with the dog and isn’t recommended at all.

Barking because of clutter 

In many cases, the dog barks because of clutter and boredom to entertain himself! If you give your dog enough time during the day, take him out for a walk and play with him, the dog will be completely depleted of energy; He sleeps very quietly at night! Remember that a tired dog is a happy dog!

Dog barking control tools (spray, collar, audio, etc.)

We emphasise using training to stop dog barking. However, many dog ​​owners are looking for quick and immediate solutions, and it’s where dog barking control tools come into play. These devices silence the dog by spraying, generating sound and electric shock. We don’t recommend these tools, but you need to know enough about them.

Dog anti-barking spray

This spray comes in a small container that fits easily in your pocket. You can silence the dog by spraying it whenever the dog starts barking in the wrong position. The loud and sudden sound of the face spray and its unpleasant odour causes the dog to become conditioned over time and bark less.

Anti-bark spray collar

This type of collar contains a spray chamber that sprays on the front of the dog’s nose as soon as it barks. The sound and the smell of spray, which is usually unpleasant for dogs, cause the dog to become silent. Gradually, the dog becomes conditioned and realizes that he will encounter the unpleasant sound and smell of the spray every time he barks.

Shocking anti-bark collar

This collar is sensitive to sound and vibration, giving a slight electric shock to the dog as soon as he barks. This shock is painful for the dog anyway, and he gradually realizes that if he stays silent and doesn’t bark, there will be no shock!

Audio anti-barks collar

This collar creates an ultrasonic sound (inaudible to humans) by a dog barking. Dogs have a much stronger hearing than humans, and this sound is annoying to them. For this reason, over time, he notices the connection between barking and this sound, so he barks less.

Barks training for home dogs may be fun but is very important and necessary for guard dog breeds. In fact, it’s one of the main training for a guard dog. By training the guard dog to bark, you can teach him to start barking when he sees an intruder or a thief in your house or garden area. So he can escape the thief and warn you of this danger. Mishka grooming specialized team with a collection of skilled and experienced groomers will accompany you along the path of training, grooming and cleaning your dog. So you can enjoy the company of this furry friend with peace of mind.