How to Get Your Dog to Stop Excessive Barking

The longer your dog has the habit of excessively barking, the longer it will take to change it. 

 

Here are some solutions to help:

If he’s barking at passersby, don’t yell and shout at him.  He’ll think that you’re barking right along with him.  Just ignore him until he stops barking and then praise him and give him a treat. If it takes an hour, then wait the hour.  If you don’t wait, then he’ll bark for over an hour the next time.  If you give him any attention at all, including yelling, he’ll look for that the next time. It will be worth waiting for him to stop.  

If he’s barking outside, bring him in.  Don’t leave your dog outside all day and all night.  He’ll really be looking for that attention.  When he quiets down, again, praise him and give him a treat.  The idea is for him to catch on to being quiet and that’s the way he’ll get attention and praise and also a treat.  An easy walk harness is always a great idea for control and it won’t hurt your dog.  You can easily steer him in the direction that you wish.  Take a look on FurryPetStore.com for your harness.

                                                    

Another way is to actually teach him to bark on command.  Teach him the command to “speak” or bark in his language.   Have someone knock on the door.  This is sure to get him to bark.  Put a couple treats in front of his nose.  Wait for him to bark 2 or 3 times and give him the command along with a treat.  Keep doing this until he barks when you say “speak”.  Then teach the word “quiet”.  Be in a very quiet and calm situation.  Tell him to speak, place the treats in front of his nose, then say “quiet”.  When he stops barking, give him the treat.  Repeat this until he is quiet when you say “quiet”.  Practice this by having someone knock on the door.  When he barks, that’s fine, but when you say “quiet”, give him the treat when he stops and is quiet.  

Always stimulate your dog by having him exercise or walking him every day.  As they say, a tired dog is a good dog!  Play with your dog and make him run and sometimes it will take longer depending on how much energy he has and his age.  Make sure you are consistent with whatever you are trying to teach your dog.  Everyone in the household has to do and say the same things to him.  This is very important, otherwise he will get mixed messages and will not learn the trick or command. 

Happy training!