Practical Ways to Stop Dog Barking

Dog barking can be helpful especially if people with bad intentions attempt to break into your house. But if your dog continuously barks even at his own shadow, that's not healthy anymore, and you need to do something to stop it.

First of all you should know the common causes of dog barking. It can help you find the appropriate solution to stop your pet's unpleasant behavior.

Here are some of the reasons why dogs bark:

1. Territorial or defensive barking
2. Alarm barking
3. Barking to attract attention
4. Greeting Barking
5. Frustration Barking
6. Compulsive Barking
7. Barking due to illness or injury

Most of the causes of barking mentioned here are natural, and it makes no sense to stop them. However, if the barking is compulsive and excessive, it becomes a nuisance and you'd surely want to find a way to stop it. Here are a few practical ways to stop your dog from barking excessively:

1. Find out what triggered the barking.

Finding and eliminating the cause of the dog's extreme barking habit can greatly help to put a stop to your pet's unpleasant behavior. To be able to determine these causes, you will need to identify:

The times of day your dog usually barks;
Any particular object that triggers your dog to bark; or
Any specific occurrence that makes your pet bark

Dogs are instinctively territorial. They will surely bark if their turf is threatened by any intruder, and it's hard to stop. You should be able to determine if your dog's behavior is triggered by something such as a territorial threat. This will enable you to remove the threat and put your pet to rest.

Prevent your dog from becoming territorial by letting him know that you are the Alpha dog of the house. Do not allow him to claim the whole place as his territory. Another way to minimize territorial barking is to reduce your pet's capability to see incoming threats. If your pet lives indoors, drawing blinds on windows can help.

2. Determine if your dog has anxiety issues.

If your pet barks because of anxiety issues, you should treat it in a different manner because his barking is not the real problem. It is just a manifestation of a much deeper issue. If you notice that your pet barks uncontrollably each time you depart from your house, you should ignore him. Giving him your lavish attention during this time only reinforces negative behavior. You should do the same technique every time you arrive. Ignore your pet while he is still busy barking. Only attend to him when he becomes silent and calm. This will surely help your dog to develop positive traits.

Excessive dog barking is a nuisance especially to your neighbors. You should avoid this by preventing your dog from becoming extremely territorial and by keeping him free from anxiety. If it doesn't work, you can try other means such as the anti-bark collar. But be sure to consult a professional before using it.