A Few Secrets to Stopping a Dog’s Barking
While dog barking can be a sign of aggression, dogs may bark for different reasons. Dogs tend to bark if they are bored or afraid.
No matter what reason a dog is barking, excessive dog barking can be problematic for the dog owner. There are secrets to stopping the dog’s barking.
If the dog is barking when it is left home alone, the dog barking may be due to boredom. Some dog toys are designed to keep the dog mentally stimulated to minimize barking and destructive behavior.
Some dog owners contributed to a dog barking problem by teaching the dog to bark on command. The common dog command “speak” is not necessarily a good command to teach a dog.
Not all barking as bad. Some dog owners feel safer because their dogs bark when a stranger approaches the home. Teaching the dog to a “quiet” or “stop barking” command can give the dog owner some control over how much the dog barks.
When teaching the dog the “stop barking” or “be quiet” command, the dog should be rewarded with a treat or a clicker when it stops barking. The dog owner has to be careful not to reward the barking, but to wait a few seconds after the dog is quiet before giving the dog a treat.
To begin training a dog to stop barking, the dog owner can present a treat in front of the dog while it is barking. When presented with a treat, most dogs will stop barking.
As soon as the dog stops barking, the dog owner should praise the dog for being quiet. After the dog has been quiet for a few seconds, the dog owner should give the dog a treat and use the clicker is a clicker is to be used. If the dog starts barking again, the dog owner should repeat this training.
By using a clicker at the time the treat is given, the clicker becomes a positive reward for the dog. After pairing the treat with the clicker, a treat should only be given occasionally along with the use of the clicker to reward positive behavior.
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