• Post published:December 27, 2018

Certain breeds are more prone to barking, however, excessive barking can exist in any breed. There are also some dogs that just like to hear themselves bark.

Confinement to one small room or to a pen all day can cause a dog to become frustrated, bored, and lonely which can cause excessive barking. When a dog is not provided adequate exercise the energy is released through barking. Increasing the amount of exercise may help curb this type of barking. A confined dog should be supplied with lots of chew toys… Nyla bones, bones stuffed with treats, Kong toys stuffed with treats, also try one of the new educational toy for dogs like the “Buster Cube”. Make sure you have not inadvertently trained your dog to bark. Your dog speaks and you obey…”Woof” and you open the door to let him out, “Woof”again and you let him in, “Woof” and he gets a treat,”Woof” and he gets a tummy rub…you get the picture. Your dog has learned to get attention through barking. It’s an easy trap to fall into. To get this of barking to stop, you must not “obey” your dog. When he barks to get a treat, ignore him. You will praise him and give the treat when he is quiet. It takes time, but after a while he will learn that barking is not being rewarded.

If your dog is barking simply due to its temperament, there are a number of thing that you can try. If your dog is barking, DON’T yell or scream at him to be quiet. The dog will feel that you are joining in and could bark even more..

Squirting water in the dogs face can cause him to cease barking for a moment because he is startled — immediately praise him for being quiet. You must do this each time he barks until he learns that quiet is what is getting your praise, or try throwing a shake can NEAR the dog and praise him when he’s quiet. Praise the dog the instant he stops barking (even if he stopped from the shock of getting squirted or having the can fall near him)

For dogs that bark when you are gone, there are anti bark collars that the dog can wear. We recommend the type that spray citronella into the dogs face when he barks, or the collars that emit a high frequency noise whenever the dog barks.We do not recommend the type that gives the dog a shock — sometimes with these collars the dog can bark and set of the collar which causes the dog to yelp in pain which makes the collar go off again, and again and again.