November 12, 2020 Sharon No Comments

Dogs express themselves in many different ways. However certain dogs are more vocal than others. My dog, Mimi Lee for one, is a barker. Whether it’s a passerby or falling snowflakes, she will make her presence known and voice her opinion. Don’t freight, try the tips provided below to combat the unwanted barking behavior. The key is to be consistent where everyone in the household has to participate in order to curb the behavior.

1. Desensitize the stimulus

Dogs by nature, communicate with other dogs with barks and postures. When a perceived threat is on the radar, your dog needs to learn that the stimulus is actually not a real threat.

• present them with the stimulus from a far distance (Stimulus is anything that triggers the barking behavior). At this time, your dog will be looking directly at the stimulus. Start by distracting your dog with treats as the stimulus gets closer in proximity.
• Have the stimulus slowly walk away from your dog. While doing so, continue to feed treats to distract your dog from barking.
• Practice this several times until your dog makes a positive association with the stimulus. This method will help to desensitize your dog to the trigger.

2. Do not yell at your dog

Dogs don’t understand human commands unless you’ve spent time connecting the dots for them by using positive reinforcement. When you scream or scold, it either causes them to fear or they simply think you are just barking with them. Words are not as powerful as actions. Therefore, an owner must have the patience to slowly guide their dogs to proper behavior.

3. Guest and doorbell barkers

Many dogs are often triggered by doorbells or guest entering your premises. As the protector, they felt that its mission is to alert you, the pack leader, of any potential threats. However, as a pack leader, you need to guide your dog to not overreact to friendly visitors.

• Have a friend or a family member ring the doorbell. As soon as the doorbell rings, give your dog a different command like sit or go to bed. Lure them in with a treat to obey these commands.
• Next, have a person ring the doorbell again, give your dog the command to sit or go to bed and open the door. If your dog starts barking, close the door and try again.
• Repeat the exercise

4. Exercise and burn out that energy

I cannot emphasize this enough, a tired dog is a well-behaved dog. Most dogs spend hours at home in a resting state waiting for their owners to return. A well-rested dog who is consumed by boredom is a dog that can have many behavioral issues which include barking. With regular exercise, you will see less and less undesirable behaviors. This method will help to ease the barking situation.

If you don’t have time to exercise your dog, you can find a team of dedicated dog walkers at Pet24Care. The pet24care walkers will surely burn out your dog’s energy and return a happy, satisfied, and tired dog back to you.