Dog barking is one of the most common complaints dog owners have. Not only is it extremely irritating to your and your family, but it also bothers your neighbors and can get you into expensive legal trouble if your dog is reported for being too noisy. Dogs bark to communicate, so it isn’t possible to ever completely stop a dog from barking. But, you can control their barking behavior. I’ll show you how in this article.

What causes a dog to bark?

1. A dog that spends a lot of time by themselves may begin a barking habit because they are so bored, they’re trying to keep themselves entertained. 2. It’s quite common for owners to accidentally train their dog to bark a lot, by being very inconsistent. Sometimes they reward their dog for barking – for instance, when there is a scary noise or a person getting a little too close to the house for comfort. In those cases, they make you feel safe, so you reward them. Then, other times, they annoy you by barking at things you don’t think are important, so you punish This is very confusing to your dog, and doesn’t teach them anything useful. 3. The most common reasons for a dog to bark are being scared, lonely, and/or they are defending their territory. 4. A dog with a health problem causing them pain will tend to bark a lot.

The most effective way to train your dog not to bark, is to first train them TO bark. I know, it sounds counter productive, but it works.

Here’s what to do:

- When your dog barks, let him/her bark a few times. Then praise them for barking. - Then, say ‘No Bark’ or ‘Stop Bark’ (or whatever you want your stop phrase to be), and show your dog a yummy treat to distract them and silence their barking. After a few seconds of not barking, let them have the treat. - Practice this repeatedly, each time increasing the amount of time they have to stay quiet before getting the treat. - If they bark after you’ve said the stop phrase, shout NO loudly. This will startle them. If it doesn’t startle them enough to stop the barking, find something that makes a loud enough noise to disrupt the barking for at least a second. Follow this noise with the stop phrase again, and immediately give a treat before the barking starts again.

This process will work if you have persistence. You can’t expect to do this a few times and have the problem be solved. After consistent training (consistent being the key word here) with the stop phrase, your dog will soon learn what it means and you will be able to stop your dogs barking fast – at anytime – by using the stop phrase.

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