TAPF Articles

Amongst the many different problem behaviors that a dog has and is most annoying is the dog barking problem. There can be a lot of grounds as to why a dog might start barking and it is very important that the reasons are analyzed so the dog barking problem can be ceased.

The triggers for a lot of dog barking problems will always have something to do with the environment. It can be about domination of a dog over another animal or dog that is around. Another animal may try to be staking out its territory or simply barking for the sake of getting some fun out of it. Another reason that a dog has barking problems is because they were never exposed to other dogs and others just bark to get what they like from their pet owners.

Curing The Issue

One way of escalating or making the barking problem worse is by rewarding the dog for barking even if it done through a negative attention. The dog needs to have a clear understanding that barking is not an acceptable conduct in any way and that he should not be rewarded by the owner. If an owner yells at the dog for barking, it is only a sign of negatively implementing the behavior by giving it some interest.

When a dog is barking wildly outside the house and the owner lets it in thinking that he is addressing the issue, this is where the owner is wrong because the dog will think that he can get away with barking thus reinforcing the negative behavior. When an owner comforts his dog or gives his dog a treat to calm it down, this will just make the dog barking problem continue.

There are a lot of techniques in correcting a dog barking problem behavior. One is not reacting when you sense a barking issue such as when a dog barks at the doorbell or the ringing phone. The owner must not react to any of these things to show the dog that there is nothing to be stressed about and that everything is okay when these types of sounds happen.

It is helpful to ring the doorbell or the phone regularly when training the dog to get used to the noise so that he can see that there is not a reaction needed when those sounds are heard.

There are also ways to prevent the dog barking problem especially if it continues to happen when the owner is not home. One way would be giving the dog enough exercise and leaving him enough toys to play with so he does not get bored or strained out when left alone at home.

If the dog has been continuously barking when its owner is away, no greetings should be given to him by the owner upon coming home. He is only to be greeted when he has already calmed down. Praises should be given to the dog when he is not barking and that there should be a negative association created when he is such as a bark collar or a loud noise.