An End To Excessive Barking
Posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
It is an inconvenient, yet universal, truth that dogs love to bark. Dogs will bark for any reason; it can be for joy, for annoyance, or in the – often misguided – attempt to protect their home or owners. Whatever the cause, the simple fact is that many dogs indulge in barking because they enjoy it in some way – and the hardest bad behaviour to erase is that which a dog enjoys.
The first thing that must be remembered when it comes to a dog barking is that, sometimes, barking is unavoidable. The only way to truly mute a dog would be to remove their vocal chords; something no one would ever do, and something that could also be detrimental in that barking is occasionally useful (such as when alerting to an intruder). If your dog barks, before your embark on a training regime, you must allow for some element of barking in a dog’s life. It’s what they do! So be realistic, and only when barking becomes truly excessive should you seek help. Never look to eradicate a dog barking entirely, merely to make it manageable. Realism is an absolute key to halting excessive barking.
When trying to halt excessive barking, you will need to curb your natural instincts just like you’re hoping your pooch will learn to do. When your dog barks, what is the first thing most people do? That’s right: they yell at their dog, often saying “shut up!” or similar.
However, this is quite simply the worst thing to do. By reacting in such a manner, you are giving the dog the attention they want and zoning in on this bad behaviour. Just think – how many dogs have you actually seen stop barking when they’re yelled at to do so? Not many, and it’s because by yelling, you are simply reinforcing the dog’s point of drawing attention to a situation.
There are many different training ends, some of which are extremely expensive, that are designed to curb excessive barking. Yet the most effective is also the most simple, and the cheapest: ignore the barking. This is an utter ignorance of the act of barking – don’t move, don’t look, don’t respond. Quickly, the dog will learn that their barking – for whatever reason – isn’t getting the attention it deserves and they will desist. This solution takes a lot of patience and it may be best to warn your neighbours and seek their approval before embarking on this course, but it is arguably the most effective.
