In many cases dogs bark because they have nothing else of interest to do, a lack of attention can sometimes cause the barking. A lot of the time we give in to our dogs in order to make them behave, this only teaches them that barking will get them what they want which encourages more bad behavior. It’s important to learn and understand the most effective dog training techniques so that you can effectively deal with this type of behavior.
Initially dogs nee to understand that barking just for the sake of attention is not acceptable. In many cases dogs will prefer “angry attention” over “no attention”. This is not the ideal way to train them however. What you should be doing is saying what you want to say, and then backing that up by an action - typically something that the dog doesn’t like.
If you tell him to be “Quiet” and reinforce it by using a spray of water, this action is known as negative reinforcement, where the dog learns to associate the words with an action. So if you do this he will come to expect that that word will be followed by an action he doesn’t like or no more barking. Later on he will learn to keep quiet on his own; when that happens you can praise him to let him know the quiet action was acceptable.
If the barking comes with a lot of growling and aggression, its not advised to use the negative reinforcement approach. Instead get your dog to his vet as soon as possible as their may be a medical problem that needs to be attended.
If your dog barks when you leave the house, make sure you do everything you can to minimize the barking. Ensure your dog has a comfortable place to rest and plenty of food and water. Make sure your dog doesn’t see other people as this may only excite him and cause more barking.
Another way to stop the barking is to stop praising the dog when he has done nothing to earn it. When you teach him something but praise him for everything, that activity means very little. He knows you are going to praise him anyway. When he does what you have instructed, simply pat him and let him know that you think he was a “good dog” but don’t go overboard in your praise. This teaches him that in order to earn that praise he has to do more of the activity you praised him for.
Also you will want to give him something fun to do when you leave, give some food, some chew toys and make sure he can’t see others while you are away. Use negative and positive reinforcement with you dog, starting with the negative. Then when he has learned the activity and does it, then you can calmly praise the action.
To get more information about how to stop a dog barking, as well as a wide range of dog training tips and tricks, visit http://www.dog-solutions.com
