Control Barking With Respect
Your dog looks to you for leadership and must respect that leadership in order to be a well behaved and a happy pet. If a dog barks until you give in, there is no respect being given by your dog. You are being harassed into giving your dog what he/she wants. Giving into your dogs barking demands by reacting (punishing or rewarding) you are reinforcing your dogs barking behavior. By reacting, whether it is to discipline your dog for barking or to give them what they want, you have effectively trained your dog to make noise and keep it up until you respond.
Affection and play-times are obviously necessary aspects of life with a dog, but they have to be doled out on your own terms. If she learns that she can get what she wants by barking, then your house is going to become a Noise Pollution Zone (and this is not going to endear you to your neighbors, either).
You can prevent this type of pushy, demanding behavior and eliminate this form of communication between you and your dog, by simply proving to him/her that you will not be manipulated. The best way to do this is by ignoring the unwanted behavior. I am not taking about turning a blind eye to the misbehaving, I am talking about using a more active role with your body language, making it clear that barking at this time will not be tolerated.
Ignoring your dog in the right way is the most effective way to end the barking manipulation. Simply put, give your dog the cold shoulder. When he/she tries to manipulate you with their bark, turn your back to them. Don't look their way, turn your head and eyes away and present your back to them. Don't even say"no!' to them. This will likely dumbfound your dog and cause the to bark louder and harder. This is especially true if you have given into them before and reinforced the barking behavior. Expect the barking to get worse before it gets better. Remember if you give in at anytime, the dog wins and you reinforce its behavior.
As with any dog training, you must remain consistent. Giving in half way though the lesson will only teach your dog, "the more persistent I am the more I will get what I want." If it used to take five minutes of barking to get a walk out of you and now it takes ten minutes, be sure that you have just trained your dog to bark for ten minutes to get a walk out of you. Now, what can you do if your dog is not the manipulative type, and you just want then to stop the noise? You can safely and humanely, quiet your dogs barking by using your hands. No, I don't mean beating your dog until they shut up, no matter bad you may have wanted to do this in the past. No, this is a pain free method of getting your point across, that right now is the time for peace and quiet.
You can do this by:
It is best to allow for dog to calm the barking it's self. (it is kinder and more effective if your dog is allowed to express him/herself before asking to be quiet.) If he/she does not stop barking in a reasonable time, reach out and clasp your dogs muzzle gently, but firmly, in your hand. He/she may try to shake you off or pull away, so it helps to also grab the collar with your other hand for more control. This method works for two reasons: One, it automatically stops the barking(because a dog can not bark with its mouth shut.) Two, it make things perfectly clear that you are in-charge and should be listened to without hesitation.
Hold onto your dogs muzzle and collar until they stop trying to break free: only when your dog stops trying to break free does it mean that they have accepted your authority. When your dog has become still, hold for one or two seconds longer then let go and praise them. In addition to this short term method, lets take a look that some things we can do to reduce the amount of barking altogether.
Unwarranted or excessive unwanted barking(repetitive barking directed at nothing) can usually be calmed by more attention and exercise. Most dogs respond best to at lease 90 minutes of exercise a day. This can very depending on the dog, it's breed, age and health. If you feel you exercise your dog as much as you possibly can, but your dog still barks too much and shows signs of an agitated demeanor(fidgeting, acting more aggressively than you'd like, restless or destructive) chances are your dog needs more exercise to burn up that energy.
The good news is you can fix this problem fairly easily: you will just have to exercise your dog a little more. Try working in an extra half hour of exercise a day, that 30 minutes a day can make a world of difference. If this is impossible, you may consider hiring some one to walk your dog for you. If this is still impossible, you may have to except the fact that you are going to have a loud, frustrated and agitated dog until things change.
The second leading cause of excessive barking can be traced back to, too much 'alone time'. Dogs by nature, love to be social: they need a great deal of attention, interaction and communication. A dog that lacks these social activity can become anxious and restless. Just because you are at home does not mean you are giving your dog enough attention. If you find that your dog is spending a lot of time barking at nothing it might be time for some love and attention. - 29895
Your dog looks to you for leadership and must respect that leadership in order to be a well behaved and a happy pet. If a dog barks until you give in, there is no respect being given by your dog. You are being harassed into giving your dog what he/she wants. Giving into your dogs barking demands by reacting (punishing or rewarding) you are reinforcing your dogs barking behavior. By reacting, whether it is to discipline your dog for barking or to give them what they want, you have effectively trained your dog to make noise and keep it up until you respond.
Affection and play-times are obviously necessary aspects of life with a dog, but they have to be doled out on your own terms. If she learns that she can get what she wants by barking, then your house is going to become a Noise Pollution Zone (and this is not going to endear you to your neighbors, either).
You can prevent this type of pushy, demanding behavior and eliminate this form of communication between you and your dog, by simply proving to him/her that you will not be manipulated. The best way to do this is by ignoring the unwanted behavior. I am not taking about turning a blind eye to the misbehaving, I am talking about using a more active role with your body language, making it clear that barking at this time will not be tolerated.
Ignoring your dog in the right way is the most effective way to end the barking manipulation. Simply put, give your dog the cold shoulder. When he/she tries to manipulate you with their bark, turn your back to them. Don't look their way, turn your head and eyes away and present your back to them. Don't even say"no!' to them. This will likely dumbfound your dog and cause the to bark louder and harder. This is especially true if you have given into them before and reinforced the barking behavior. Expect the barking to get worse before it gets better. Remember if you give in at anytime, the dog wins and you reinforce its behavior.
As with any dog training, you must remain consistent. Giving in half way though the lesson will only teach your dog, "the more persistent I am the more I will get what I want." If it used to take five minutes of barking to get a walk out of you and now it takes ten minutes, be sure that you have just trained your dog to bark for ten minutes to get a walk out of you. Now, what can you do if your dog is not the manipulative type, and you just want then to stop the noise? You can safely and humanely, quiet your dogs barking by using your hands. No, I don't mean beating your dog until they shut up, no matter bad you may have wanted to do this in the past. No, this is a pain free method of getting your point across, that right now is the time for peace and quiet.
You can do this by:
It is best to allow for dog to calm the barking it's self. (it is kinder and more effective if your dog is allowed to express him/herself before asking to be quiet.) If he/she does not stop barking in a reasonable time, reach out and clasp your dogs muzzle gently, but firmly, in your hand. He/she may try to shake you off or pull away, so it helps to also grab the collar with your other hand for more control. This method works for two reasons: One, it automatically stops the barking(because a dog can not bark with its mouth shut.) Two, it make things perfectly clear that you are in-charge and should be listened to without hesitation.
Hold onto your dogs muzzle and collar until they stop trying to break free: only when your dog stops trying to break free does it mean that they have accepted your authority. When your dog has become still, hold for one or two seconds longer then let go and praise them. In addition to this short term method, lets take a look that some things we can do to reduce the amount of barking altogether.
Unwarranted or excessive unwanted barking(repetitive barking directed at nothing) can usually be calmed by more attention and exercise. Most dogs respond best to at lease 90 minutes of exercise a day. This can very depending on the dog, it's breed, age and health. If you feel you exercise your dog as much as you possibly can, but your dog still barks too much and shows signs of an agitated demeanor(fidgeting, acting more aggressively than you'd like, restless or destructive) chances are your dog needs more exercise to burn up that energy.
The good news is you can fix this problem fairly easily: you will just have to exercise your dog a little more. Try working in an extra half hour of exercise a day, that 30 minutes a day can make a world of difference. If this is impossible, you may consider hiring some one to walk your dog for you. If this is still impossible, you may have to except the fact that you are going to have a loud, frustrated and agitated dog until things change.
The second leading cause of excessive barking can be traced back to, too much 'alone time'. Dogs by nature, love to be social: they need a great deal of attention, interaction and communication. A dog that lacks these social activity can become anxious and restless. Just because you are at home does not mean you are giving your dog enough attention. If you find that your dog is spending a lot of time barking at nothing it might be time for some love and attention. - 29895
About the Author:
To learn more about dog training basics Stop by Matt Closson's site where you can find out all about leash training a dog and how you can get a free 6 day training course.
