Dog barking can be extremely irritating, to say the least. Not only does it bother you, but it can bother your neighbors as well and get you in trouble with the law. But it's a completely natural thing. You can't stop a dog from barking. That's what dogs do. They use barking to communicate, just as you and I use verbal communication. You can control their barking, however.

There are several reasons why your dog may be barking:

1. Being left alone for long periods of time. Dogs who are left home alone all the time tend to get bored and bark just for fun to keep themselves entertained.
2. You may have trained your dog to bark without knowing it. Humans tend to be very inconsistent with their training, rewarding bad behavior accidentally and/or not punishing bad behavior on a consistent basis.
3. Loneliness, fear, boredom, and defending their territory are common causes of dog barking.
4. A dog may bark if they have a health problem causing them pain.

How do you get your dog to stop barking? Easy, just teach them to bark. Yes it sounds counter productive, but it's effective.

Here's what to do:

- When your dog barks, let him/her bark a few times. Then praise them for barking.
- Then, say 'No Bark' or 'Stop Bark' (or whatever you want your stop phrase to be), and show your dog a yummy treat to distract them and silence their barking. After a few seconds of not barking, let them have the treat.
- Practice this repeatedly, each time increasing the amount of time they have to stay quiet before getting the treat.
- If they bark after you've said the stop phrase, shout NO loudly. This will startle them. If it doesn't startle them enough to stop the barking, find something that makes a loud enough noise to disrupt the barking for at least a second. Follow this noise with the stop phrase again, and immediately give a treat before the barking starts again.

This process will work if you have persistence. You can't expect to do this a few times and have the problem be solved. After consistent training (consistent being the key word here) with the stop phrase, your dog will soon learn what it means and you will be able to stop your dogs barking fast - at anytime - by using the stop phrase.

Visit my website for more tips and tricks! I cover everything from paper training your dog to solving dog chewing problems at DogBehaviorExpert.com

categories: stop dog barking, stopping dog barking, dog barking control, excessive dog barking, dog barking problems

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The Safe And Effective Way To Solve Your Barking Dog Problem! Whether it's your own dog or your neighbor's dog, we have the environmentally safe and humane way to control barking. Using high-frequency ultrasonic sound waves which automatically turns on when barking begins and off when it stops...

Written by Ana Walsh using tags: dog barking control, dog barking problems, excessive dog barking, Pets, stop dog barking, stopping dog barking