How to Deal With Problem Barking

Tiring your dog out helps eliminate problem barking.
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Dog owners and their neighbors can quickly become annoyed by dog barking. Dogs bark for many reasons; your dog may be lonely, bored or just seeking attention. If you respond incorrectly to your dog's barking, or if you yell at your dog in an effort to get it to be quiet, you may encourage its barking even more. To reduce your dog's barking, find out what triggers it to bark, and incorporate corrective measures to stop the behavior.

Incorporate the "speak" and "quiet" commands. Command your dog to "speak" and give it a treat when it starts barking. Once learned, teach your dog the "quiet" command. Order your dog to "speak" and once it barks, tell it "quiet" and hold a treat in front of its nose. Give the treat only when it stops barking.

Train your dog to be alone if separation anxiety triggers its barking. Gradually leave your dog alone for longer periods of time; leave your dog along for two minutes. When successful, increase the time apart to five minutes. Add another five minutes upon conquering this. Eventually your dog realizes that you always come back.

Provide sufficient entertainment for your dog, because boredom may trigger barking. Turn on the radio or television and give your dog a chew toy. A chew toy keeps your dog's mouth busy so it refrains from barking.

Crate train your dog. Allow your dog to sleep in a crate in your bedroom at nighttime to avoid problem barking. Knowing you're there, puts your dog at ease and it also associates its crate as a safe haven. Next time when you leave the house, place your dog in the crate to avoid problem barking.

Tire out your dog. Play outdoors with your dog and tire it out, so it lacks the energy to bark. Incorporate this anti-barking measure whenever you know you'll leave the house or if nighttime barking is a problem.

Keep triggers out of your dog's sight. If your dog barks at the mailman, at traffic or at other animals, close the window curtain, so your dog can't see outside. Not seeing outside helps eliminate problem barking.

Purchase an anti-barking collar. These collars give your dog a shock or spray it with air to make it stop barking. Some collars are activated by sound while others are activated by your dog's throat vibration.

Items You Will Need

  • Radio or television
  • Chew toys
  • Dog crate
  • Anti-barking collar