How To Cure Dog Barking Problems
One of the most annoying problem behaviors that a dog can exude is its barking problem. There are so many reasons that can make the dog start barking and a lot of these reasons need to be analyzed so the dog barking problem can be stopped or at least minimized.
The barking is always triggered by something in the environment. The dog might be trying to assert dominance over another dog or animal that it is around. It may be trying to stake out its territory or it may be just barking for the fun of it. There are some dogs that have a barking problem because they are not socialized to other dogs and others that are barking to get what they want from their owner.
Curing The Problem
A lot of owners unknowingly make the barking problems worse when they reward their dogs in any way, even attending through it negatively. The dog needs to understand that barking is not an acceptable conduct and should never be given any rewards by the owner. A dog owner should know and understand that when he/she yells at the dog for its barking problem, he/she might think that by doing so, this can pacify the barking problem but its actually the other way around as the dog might take the yelling as a sign of attention.
When the owner lets a barking dog outside her/his house in, this is also reinforcing a negative behavior and will go on and escalate. Another factor that may reinforce the dog barking problem is when the owner comforts the dog when it barks by giving him a treat so it would calm down.
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 would be useful for the training if the dog is made familiar of the doorbell and the phone rings so that he will be able to see that a reaction is not needed when those sounds are played.
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 barking when the owner is away, he should not be greeted when getting home, only being greeted when he has calmed down. When the dog is not barking, he should be praised and when he is barking, there should be a negative association created with the barking, such as a loud noise or a bark collar.
