In this article, we would look at several methods and tips on how to train a puppy to stop barking. You see, barking is natural for dogs; it’s the sound they make. However, it’s not normal for your dog to bark all the time.
Puppies, most especially, bark a lot as they grow into adulthood as they are still learning new things and how to behave around you. Barking can cause a lot of noise and cause problems with neighbors if you stay near others. Therefore, you should know the steps you need to take on how to teach a puppy not to bark. Here are some tips that can help you achieve that.
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Discourage The Barking Behavior
You can discourage your pet from barking by ignoring your pet when it barks. Animals especially dogs, need love, care, and attention and will do anything to get it. Most of the time, puppies bark to draw their owner’s attention. When he succeeds and gets your attention, he’ll continue to do it.
To discourage your dog from barking, follow these steps:
- Avoid your pet whenever he starts barking to get you to notice him. You can look the other way or leave the room.
- Even if he walks towards you, move away from him.
- Only go and attend to him when he’s calm.
Following these tips will help your puppy understand that he doesn’t have to bark at you if he wants your attention.
Don’t Shout Around Your Puppy
Just like little kids, puppies try to learn from everything happening around them. Barking is to dogs as talking is to us, humans. If you constantly shout at others around your pet, he might want to imitate the sound you make by barking.
This problem will become even worse if you’re shouting at your pet. For example, your puppy is barking, and you’re shouting to stop. You could get your dog scared, making your puppy bark, even more, scratch, and show other forms of aggressive behavior to protect himself.
Whenever you are around your puppy or want to speak to your dog, use a low-volume, calm voice.
Remove All Barking Triggers
There could be specific reasons why your dog barks a lot. Some dog breeds just bark more than others. Breeds like Scottish Terrier, Chihuahua, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Cairn Terrier, American Eskimo, Miniature Schnauzer, West Highland White Terrier could be noisy dogs.
Other times barking is triggers by an action. For example, your puppy could bark whenever you step or walk in through the door from work, when he sees other pets, when he sees a particular person or thing, etc.
Most of the time, dogs will bark if they sense trouble or when they are very excited. By removing these triggers, even if temporary, you’ll minimize the rate at which your pet barks. With time, your dog will drop the act.
However, to be accurate in identifying these triggers, you’ll have to study your pet for a few days or a week, identify the triggers, and then remove them.
Give Your Puppy Pet Treats To Prevent Barking
You can use treats to stop your puppy from barking unnecessarily. If your pet acts good and stays calm when the trigger is present, reward your puppy with treats, and your puppy will be encouraged to keep up the act.
If, for example, your puppy barks when he sees someone or when you return from work. You can offer him a puppy treat and tell the other person to offer him one too.
Such an offer will make your pet understand that the person has no ill intention towards him. With time, they could become friends, and then your pet won’t bark anymore.
Spend Quality Time With Your Pet
As mentioned earlier, one of the reasons why puppies bark is to draw their owner’s attention. In other words, if he had your attention already, he wouldn’t be barking.
So, if you want to be successful on how to train your puppy to stop barking, you should make time to be with your pet. It’s not easy when you come home tired from work but at least, you should engage your puppy in play sessions of 15 to 20 minutes. Playing can also wear out your puppy so that your dog will even be too tired to bark.
Aside from that, you need to be around your pet for two to three hours a day. Spending this time with your puppy will ensure your puppy doesn’t miss you and reduce puppy separation anxiety.
Use A Dog Training Collar To Stop Barking
Some people think dog training collars are harsh and can cause serious problems by shocking their dogs. However, what they don’t realize is that training collars for dogs come with various modes and settings, including sound beeps, vibration, and more, not just shock. You have the choice to use what mode you prefer to train your dog.
The advantage of using dog training collars is that it is very effective in stopping barking. This is because it provides immediate feedback, which is not possible for you to administer round the clock as you are not always with your dog.
Once your dog starts barking at a certain volume, the collar can vibrate, or beep and your dog will stop the behavior. After a while, your dog will understand that the barking is what is causing the annoying beep and stop the behavior altogether. You can now be at peace, and your dog can be happy too.
Therefore we advise that you save this post and try all the techniques here, and if you are unable to stop your puppy barking, then view our list of the best dog training collars and see various dog collars that can help quickly and easily. You can also go right away and see our newest post on the best stubborn dog bark collar as it’s great for barking problems and dealing with stubborn dogs.
Do take note that training collars should only be used on puppies from 11 weeks of age and above.
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How To Use Puppy Toys To Stop Barking
Do you know that some dogs bark because they are bored? Yes, it’s true. If you’ve tried every other technique on training a puppy to stop barking and you are not getting good results, try using dog toys to keep your dog busy and distracted.
Dog toys are designed to get and hold your pet’s attention. They are also a great way to show you love and care for your puppy. Depending on the toy, you can also train your dog to obey your command like come, quiet, or perform certain actions like tricks. If your puppy doesn’t have any toys, try to give your puppy some today.
See our list of the best toys for puppies here to help you pick a good toy. The list contains high-quality best-selling toys that are great for any puppy, and they also come in various sizes, so you can choose a size that’s right for you.
Be Consistent And Involve Others In Puppy Training
Whenever it comes to dog training, consistency is always important. Doing something once or twice won’t make your pet learn. You have to repeat the training steps until your dog understands clearly.
In this training, it’s not just you. Your pet may not even bark at you but other family members or housemates.
Therefore, you should inform everyone around you that you are training your pet to stop barking and seek their cooperation in the tactics you decide to use so they do not unintentionally cause setbacks in your puppy training.
See A Vet For Non-Stop Barking
In some cases, your pet’s excessive barking can be due to a medical problem. Pets can’t speak, so they are unable to tell you what is wrong with them or if they have a health issue.
For example, dog barking can be caused by pain from an injury or illness. In such situations, you can only get your pet to stop barking by treating the problem your pet is dealing with.
So, take the time to try out all the methods mentioned in this article. If you don’t get any results, take your puppy to see a vet. The veterinary will examine your dog and help rule out any medical causes. If you prefer, you can also do this first before trying other tips mentioned here.
Watch the video below for a few more tips to help you train your puppy to stop barking. You can also see our article on crate training a puppy at night if your puppy barks a lot at night for more tips.
Conclusion
According to various experts, it is necessary to know why your pet is barking as it’ll help you handle the problem better. By following the tips mentioned here on how to train your puppy to stop barking as outlined above, you’ll be able to get your little dog to behave better and become happier as a result.
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