Doggy Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘dog barking problems’

Do you have dog barking problems? Having a dog that howls and barks all night keeping the neighborhood up or one that insists on continuing to bark at guest even after you’ve told him it’s alright, is one of the worse things there is for a dog owner.

Excessive dog barking can be a real problem but before you give it up as a lost cause, listen to these ideas for dealing with your problem. First, you need to be able to answer the question of why your dog is barking.

There are many different reasons why a dog will bark. These may include:

· Hunger

· In pain

· Fear or anxiousness

· Wants to play

· Warning to you

· As a greeting to humans

· As a greeting to other dogs

· As warning to other dogs

· Warning of an intruder

· In boredom

· To release stress or pressure

· Curiosity/ alertness

The type of bark your dog lets out can also tell you a bit about what the bark means. The pitch, tone and frequency of the bark can tell you a lot about what your dog is trying to say. It’s a lot like a baby’s cry and the way a mother can usually tell what the cry means (hungry, needs changing, etc).

The first thing that you need to do is make sure your dog’s basic needs are being met. Then you will also want to rule out any medical or physical problems that could be causing your dogs excessive barking. You’ll need to help your dog feel safer and secure in his surroundings if he’s barking out of fear or self defense when there is no real danger around.

All dogs bark and it’s necessary for you to understand this. Barking is how dogs communicate and it would be unnatural to try and prevent them from doing it. There are also times when you want your dog to bark such as in warning to you or when playing together. The biggest problem involved in taking care of your dog barking problems is teaching him when it’s suitable for him to bark and when he should not.

One of the best ways to do this is by teaching your dog to bark or “speak” and then giving him a reward for doing it when he is suppose to. You should then teach him when it is not ok to bark and you need to be in a position of authority with your dog so he will listen when you tell him no for barking at the wrong time.

Now you know how you can resolve your dog barking problems. This very well could be one of the most important things you ever learn about caring for a dog. The relationship between you and your dog can also be improved by doing this. Your bond will grow stronger which will help you with future issues with your dog as well as your own well being.

I got out of bed with dog barking on the brain this morning. I guess that is because last night I angrily  laid awake listening to my neighbor’s pack of unruly dogs barking at coyotes throughout the night. This of course allowed me lots of time to do nothing but think about all the nearby dogs with various types of serious barking problems. It became apparent that my normally peaceful neighborhood,  has more than its share of occasional dog barking madness.

Below I have listed several of the very common reasons your dog may have a problem with excessive barking behavior . You will have some work to do with your dog to correct the problem if he suffers from this behavior-actually I think we suffer a lot more from the barking than they do. It is too bad, but this barking problem isn’t going away without some work by you.

• One very common reason that a dog will start barking is when it sees another dog or a stranger somewhere within its visual range.This behavior is easy to understand, because it is very natural for a dog to want to protect its family and territory from others. This becomes problem barking  when a dog just won’t stop the barking even after it has made its point. He gets a form of positive reinforcement when the other dog or human has moved away because in his mind he has scared the dog or person away.

• Many times the problems start when dogs start having a long-distance conversation with other neighborhood dogs that just goes on way too long.  If your dog likes to engage in this type of excessive barking, you can train him to cut it out. The issue of problem dog barking should be corrected, because it affects your neighbors as well as you.

• Stressed out and insecure dogs are likely to bark for insignificant reasons. Because they just aren’t feeling secure in their surroundings they will bark out of nervousness. Unless they are with their masters, this kind of dog barking problem can happen throughout the day or night. My good friend’s dog was such a nervous Nellie that it would bark if a leaf fell down form a nearby tree. Obviously this dog was the epitome of nervousness. It doesn’t take a big leap of imagination to realize that this dog barked all the time-for nothing.

• A dog that is really lonely and bored may just start barking out of frustration-he wants to tell the whole world all about it.  Dogs that are left all alone most of the time without attention and interaction are the obvious candidates for this barking problem.

• Sometimes a dog just wants your attention, and will continue to bark at you until he gets it-he doesn’t care if you are busy doing something else. A dog that has respect for his master and sees him as the Alpha dog, wouldn’t be doing this. Unfortunately if you give in to this barking, you are in a way training your dog to boss you around. I have been through this with my Lab-she liked  to bark at me when she was bored and wanted to play-she was trying to train me, and did a  good job of it too-until I learned better and stopped responding.

Try out these tips, and it should help you control your dog’s barking excessively problems. Check out my full review of what I consider to be the best dog obedience training program on the internet. Secrets to Dog Training Review

Click here to get your copy of Secrets to Dog Training.

Last night my neighbor’s dogs kept me awake with their constant barking. There was a full moon out, and so were the area’s coyotes-yipping and howling and disturbing all the dogs that live around her. My own dogs barked when the coyotes first started in, but stayed quiet the rest of the night after I quieted them with a command. Unfortunately for me, my neighbors must be the world’s deepest sleepers, because I have never heard them quiet their dogs at night.

As I thought about the all night barking, it was obvious that even though dogs may start their barking for a good reason sometimes, when it is out of control it is a problem just like any other form of barking.Really, the problem lay more with their owner’s lack of respect for everyone else in the neighborhood than with the dogs themselves.

As a dog owner, it is up to you to be responsible enough to keep any type of barking, whether it starts for a good reason or not, under control. There are some very good reasons my dogs will bark, and I would not want to change that.

Check out these more acceptable reasons for your dog to start his barking. You can see that these reasons for barking are just part of a dog’s communication and are not derived from any behavior problems.

• The most obvious good reason your dog will bark is when he wants to warn you that something (maybe another dog or a stranger) is approaching. When your dog does this type of barking, it is to warn his master, and this is a good thing you won’t want to stop. Given that, you should still be able to quiet him with a command to stop. For example, when someone parks in front of your house, and your dog warns you about it, you should be able to quiet him once you see the visitor is not a threat. On the other hand, if it is someone you want to discourage from coming onto your property (for example,maybe some over-zealous religious types), well then, you can let the barking continue a little longer. Protection barking is “good barking”-just make sure you can always control and stop the barking quickly with a command.

• Another common reason your dog will bark is because he is happy and excited about something. When I play with my dogs, they bark at me and at each other-but all in fun. That is just the dog’s way of saying he is having a great time, and wants more of the same. I only quiet my dogs if one of them gets to barking excessively from over-excitement, or wanting more attention.  Some playful barking is jut fine, but when one of them gets too into the barking, that has to be stopped. That’s because one consequence of too much barking when playing is that it can become a habit for your dog, and at that point it is a problem-so try to keep the barking while playing at a reasonable level.
• Often dogs will start barking when their master comes home. This is a very common since your dog is excited to see you again, and this is acceptable as long as the barking is very brief. I like to be greeted at the gate by my dogs, and I don’t mind a couple greeting barks at all. If the dogs keep the barking up ,even after you’ve greeted them back, then it is not such a “good barking” anymore. This barking is a problem if it is excessive, and should be controlled.

• Another common time that your dog might bark is when he wants you to play with him.  However, some dogs will try to use their barking as a way of bullying you into playing with them. My dog had me pretty well trained through her bullying, so I know what this is like first hand. Actually, you should be the one to initiate the play or at least decide when to play. If your dog does not see you as the boss of the relationship, all your training attempts will be made very difficult. You have to be the Alpha dog in the relationship between you and your dog, so don’t let your dog’s invitation to play become a bullying act.

I think you’d agree the above barking behaviors are not troublesome-unless they are out of control. However, most of the other reasons dogs  bark create a disturbance and should be corrected.

To read more about dog barking problems, and some tips on how to solve them by clicking here. Tips to Stop Dog Barking Problems.

To learn more about obedience training your dog at home using the best on line dog training program available check out Secrets to Dog Training.

Barking is a natural doggie activity just like talking is to humans. Trying to stop your dog from barking altogether would be like trying to stop someone to talk forever! It’s impossible and it’s not exactly a nice thing to do. But we have to admit, excessive barking (just like excessive talking) is totally irritating—not just to you but to your family, your hot neighbor, the children at play, the mailman, and every one else who can hear it.

Even if barking shouldn’t be stopped—after all, it’s very useful when your dog uses it for proper reasons like warning you, warding off trespassers, or telling you something of importance—it must be controlled. If you want to maintain peace in the neighborhood and between your neighbors, controlling your dog’s barking habits is important.

Many people and dog owners don’t know much about trying to stop dogs from barking .

These days, busy dog owners tend to run to these things called anti-barking collars. They’re convenient as they don’t seem to require much time from the owner. What’s so appealing about collars is that they can help the owner supervise incessant barking while the owner isn’t around. As of late, there are basically three different types of anti-barking collars available in the market.

One is the sonar collar. Sonar collars are discreet things. Whenever the dog barks, it releases a sound with a certain frequency inaudible to humans but irritable to dogs. This in turn will get them to think that the irritable sound is a punishment to their barking and will (hopefully) get them to stop.

Another one is the citronella collar. The citronella collar sprays a scent that dogs don’t really like. Whenever they bark, the collar would spray this scent so that, just like the sonar collar, the dog would find the scent as a punishment for their incessant barking. Many say that dogs have already found a trick to outwit this collar, though.

One anecdotal report states that their dog would just keep on barking until the collar runs out of citronella. Then he’ll just go on barking for the rest of the day. Other dogs find other ways, like making a face (that probably gets them to hold their breath somehow) when the collar sprays and then barking again.

The third variety is the shock collar. This collar gets a lot of people iffy. Whenever the dog barks, it shocks the dog with electricity. The strength level of the shock can be changed from 1 to 6, 6 usually being the highest.

Many people regard this collar as inhuman and condone it. Come to think of it no decent person would want to do that to their own child (or anyone they want to discipline for that matter) so doing it to their own pet sounds insane, illogical and altogether cruel as well. This collar is to be avoided at all costs.

Although they may all seem very practical, easy, and promising, collars are at most, simply a supplementary solution to incessant dog barking.

The best thing to do is to find out first why exactly your dog has that kind of habit. Take your dog to a veterinarian behaviorist. A veterian behaviorist basically observes a dog’s environment and circumstances to figure out what exactly triggers their socially unacceptable behavior. And then based on their findings, they give training solutions to eliminate the behavior problem.

Some reasons as to why a dog would bark are things like the lack of things to do (meaning they have so much energy with nothing to use it with) or frustration (perhaps they’re being bullied by another dog in the family or by the people around them) to name two.

If you can’t pinpoint what exactly triggers their undesirable behavior, call a vet behaviorist near you to help you find out what’s bothering your dog. A vet behaviorist will also teach you what to do. They might recommend you to get an anti-barking collar but only to support training.

Barking dogs are just sometimes extremely bored with so much energy to waste. If you think your dog might just be bored, then it’s time to spend time with him playing—take him for walks, play catch with him, and let him socialize with other dogs. If you’re always out, put them in the care of someone else while you’re out—like a relative or a friend or a dog walker or a doggie daycare. Especially when you’re alone in the house, when you’re out, like humans, your dog feels lonely and bored and he will do anything to use all his energy.

You can also use other tricks like the “QUIET” command, which you will have to implement whenever he barks senselessly. If your dog sees you as the alpha of the pack, then you wouldn’t have much trouble teaching the “QUIET” command. If the barking is much of a nuisance and is already getting in the way of your chances with the neighborhood hottie, then using an anti-bark collar might be acceptable, but only temporarily or only as a training supplement.

If you’re seriously considering a collar, get the sonar collar as it is more efficient and humane. Never forget to tackle the problem with hands-on solutions and obedience training as well. Training your dog to respond to obedience signals is still the best and lasting way to tone down incessant barking but still maintain his freedom to do what he naturally does.