Dogs bark to communicate with other
dogs and to express themselves. Sometimes, though, they can get a little too expressive. If your dog's barking is out of control and you feel like you are constantly trying to quiet him then you may be in need of some help. Dogs should be allowed to bark, but not excessively. Their barking should not annoy neighbors, wake up the kids or cause you headaches. When your dog's barking starts to be too much, you need to get control over it or things will only get worse.
Some Breeds Are Barkers
Certain breeds do bark more than other breeds, but this should never be an excuse to let barking get out of control. Even the yappiest breeds can be taught when barking is appropriate and when it is not. It is all about proper training and reinforcement. With breeds that are prone to being barkers, it may take more time and patience but it is possible to get their barking under control.
Stay Calm and Avoid Yelling
When your dog barks the first instinct you have is probably to yell for him to be quiet. This is actually a huge mistake and is making the problem worse. Your dog sees you yelling as barking. He probably thinks you are talking to him so he will keep barking to talk back to you. He may also think you are barking at whatever he is barking at. In any case, yelling is a bad thing. It encourages more barking and won't solve a thing, so don't yell.
Instead try to stay calm and remove your dog from the situation. You want to put him somewhere that does not encourage barking, like his crate or just inside the house. Do not pay attention to him. Just lead him inside or to the crate and leave him. If you pay attention to him then he will see this as praise and it will encourage the barking.
Praise Quiet
When your dog is not barking, you should play with him and give him attention. Once barking starts you ignore him. This will teach him that being quiet gets a reward. He will be more likely to quite down when he sees you because he knows you won't give him attention when he is barking.
Remove Stimulus
If at all possible, remove whatever it is that makes your bark from his sight. In some cases this won't be possible because a dog may react to something you can't remove, like a dog in a neighbor's yard. If you can't remove the stimulus than go back to the idea of removing your dog from the situation.
It can be a slow process to stop a dog from excessively barking. It is well worth it in the end, though. You just have to follow some simple rules. Don't praise barking and avoid the situations that cause your dog to bark. If you can do these things then eventually just your presence will stop your dog from barking, no matter what it is that he is barking at.
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