Dogs bark to relay a message to fellow dogs and to their human companions. “Barking is one type of vocal communication that dogs use, and it can mean different things depending on the situation,” WebMD wrote in one of their articles. Aside from body language, dogs also use vocal communication, but if your dog uses its voice too much, then it might be a problem. “Puppies bark when they play, to greet you, or defend against scary or intimidating interlopers,” Amy Shojai wrote in her article for The Spruce. For you to make your dog stop from barking excessively, you have to identify its reason for barking.
Why Dogs Bark Excessively?
Territorial or Protective
When your dog sees that a person or an animal approaches a place it considers as its territory,
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It will take time, practice, and consistency for it to learn to bark less. WebMD suggested that you should avoid shouting at your dog while it is barking because it may think that you are joining it. So, you have to be calm and firm when speaking, but you should not yell. Also, you should make your dog understand the command “Quiet.” because, even if you ask it to stay quiet but your dog does not understand what it means, the command will not work.
1. Don’t bark back.
As mentioned earlier, you should avoid shouting at your dog. Shojai said that you should talk to your dog with the tone of your voice and body language.
2. Remove the audience.
Every time your dog barks and you come back to ask it to stay quiet, you are rewarding your dog even more. Your dog does not want to be alone, so it is calling you to come back. If you are already in the same room with your dog and the barking does not stop, you should turn your back and leave your dog. This will make your dog realize that it did something wrong. Once your dog stays quiet, go back inside the room and praise your dog, and give it a treat.
3. Give your puppy a bark limit.
You may give your dog a specific number of barks it can do for the whole day. For example, you have given your dog a chance to bark five times, you should praise it and give it a treat, then ask for it to be quiet.
4. Relieve the
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You may also hand your visitor treats, so when your visitor enters, he can give your dog a treat and sooner it will not see visitors as a threat.
Also, you may ask your dog to stay in a certain spot inside your house where it can see the door and the people who will enter. Pick a spot inside the house, then ask your dog to stay there, but do not open the door yet. Once it learned that it has to stay there, you should try to open the door. You may ask someone to enter your house while your dog is its spot. It will learn to stay in one place when the door opens and guests come in. Moreover, when your dog barks to greet you, you should pet it, and avoid eye contact. Once your dog stays quiet, acknowledge it and praise it for being quiet.
You should always remember that you should never reward barking. Once your dog learns that it can get whatever it wants through barking, it will continue doing the action until it becomes a habit. The barking of your dog is also helpful because it keeps you alert for strangers and threats. But, when it comes excessive that it the time where you should control