Dogs are masters at noticing which tricks work to get the attention of two-legged friends. Once your dog figures out that there are treats or food if he just barks enough, he will repeat this behavior over and over again. Because it made him successful. Since he only has limited means of communication at his disposal, he will definitely try barking as a means. If you are inattentive here or get involved, it will be very, very difficult to reprogram the behavior.
Train from a Young Age
In the imprinting phase of your puppy, you lay the foundation for whether a dog will bark or not. Here are the best ways to influence the behavior you want. Desired behavior is rewarded with praise and treats, for example. Misconduct and undesirable behavior will be corrected. Be sure to bring up the subject in your puppy school and have them explain in detail the possibilities of stopping a puppy from barking.
Keep Your Dog Busy
A dog that is kept both physically and mentally busy is often less likely to bark. A normal walk is rarely enough.
- For the head: In addition to small search games, such as hide treats or the popular sniffing carpet, sports such as mantrailing are suitable for mental exercise. Changing the walk route also creates new impressions and stimuli that have to be processed first.
- For the body: Depending on the health of the dog, a lot can be arranged to keep your four-legged friends busy, from agility to dog scootering to training as a rescue dog.
- An exhausted dog is happier and less likely to bark. Sometimes it is simply exhaustion that lets him lie still.
Train Your Dog
The more you work and spend time with your dog, the greater the chances he will bark less. If you’re not sure how to proceed and my tips don’t give you enough input for practicing, visit the local dog school.
Many trainers offer anti-bark training. Under the guidance of the trainer, you will receive numerous directly applicable tips & tricks to stop your dog from barking.
There are also online dog training courses for dog training that help you to get your behavior back on the right track. Here you learn the exercises via video on the PC or mobile phone and can improve living together with a dog lesson by lesson. Part of the process is getting rid of barking.
Train Barking
If you want your dog to stop barking, teach him to bark. Teaching barking is not as difficult as it sounds right now. The Quick Guide: Find a situation where your dog barks. For example, you can hide your favorite toy and let your dog look for it. If the dog is annoyed to find that the toy is gone – it may start barking. At that moment you say “Give loud” or “Bell”.
With a bit of practice, it will eventually go away on its own. Other situations such as doorbells or barking yourself can also be a good trigger. If you already work with clickers, you can also use the clickers. In the barking learning video, you can see the whole thing again up close.
Stop Barking
Once your dog can bark on command, you can use this situation to end it. During the exercises, give your dog a sign to stop barking. Use your abort commands like “close” or “off”.
Keep Calm
When the dog barks, there is often excitement. If you now lose your composure and become hectic and loud yourself, you amplify the problem. Remain calm and relaxed so that the dog can relax again.
Enable Social Contact with Dogs
Dogs learn from dogs. The more contact they have with other dogs, the more dogs can learn from each other. Critical situations that the dog couldn’t handle alone without barking are suddenly completely harmless in the pack. Therefore, regular dog meetings are also helpful and support you in your goal.