Even if youve got a pup from the Hound group (who is hereditarily hardwired to bark while hunting, such as a Beagle, you can still win this battle -- peacefully) practice both the long-term and short-term solutions here, stay consistent and practice daily, and you can solve this barking problem.
First and foremost, the thing to remember with a barker is the same thing with any other behavior issue:
When a behavior is reinforced, it will increase in frequency.
When a behavior is not reinforced, it will decrease in frequency.
Long-Term Bark Stoppers
These are to be practiced continually whenever you are not doing the short-term exercises.
§ Keep all departures and arrivals very low-key. This is very important. When you or family members come home from school or work, quietly let the dog outside and dont greet him in any way whatsoever until at least 5 minutes later. This is hard for kids or anyone owning a puppy, but its crucial to avoid emotional displays which announce your comings and goings. Making a big deal when you leave or come home will increase the likelihood not only of owner-absent barking, but bona fide separation anxiety
§ Ignore all barking unless you are certain that the barking is signaling something extremely important. Ignoring does NOT mean saying "Quiet Rover" when he barks - it means remaining quiet yourself when he barks!
§ Do not even look at your dog or turn your head toward your dog when he barks. Doing so reinforces the behavior! Hes just looking for some way to get your attention and believe me, hell notice your eyes moving because hes watching you.
§ Praise "Good quiet, Rover" and walk over to him to give him a little treat several times during the day when he is just sitting around not barking. He can be doing just about anything else, but if he is quiet, praise him and call it what it is. Believe it or not, hell figure out what hes doing right sooner than you think, and his "quiet" behavior will increase.
§ If you got a breed known for barking (Hounds such as beagles) accept it and modify your expectations. Be realistic about leaving him alone inside or outside when you cant hear him; if hes bothering the neighbors, you may have to get him into a daycare.
§ Exercise, exercise, exercise: 2 hours of brisk walking (or running) daily is a minimum for barkers, who need an outlet for their energy. He should be walked on a leash away from your home and/or run in a safe area away from your home. Not only does this tire him out, but it desensitizes him to the sights, sounds and smells of your neighborhood - rendering them less "barkworthy" than when they were unknown.
§ Playtime and obedience in your yard. If youre not playing with him for at least 30 minutes daily, start. Fetch, chase, tug, and hide & seek are all great games to play with your pooch and will tire him out and enhance your relationship.
§ If you have to leave your dog outside while youre gone, give him a digging pit, a wading pool, lots of toys and agility-type obstacles that will keep him busy and happy. Installing a stockade fence through which he cannot see will also reduce the barking.
§ Never leave your dog tied up outside. Youre just asking for noise (and possibly aggression) anytime anything happens in the vicinity.
§ When you can communicate with your dog and learn to give him attention for the good things he does, hell be less frustrated, more responsive to you, and much less likely to bark. Enroll in an obedience class at a positive reinforcement facility (see the Trainer Search at http://www.apdt.com for ones in your area).
If youve already taken obedience, try agility, flyball, tracking, or Canine Good Citizen to stimulate his mind and body.
§ Dont bother yelling at your dog for barking. Some dogs interpret this as your attempt to join in the barking chorus! And all dogs know that getting yelled at is getting more attention than they were getting before they barked!
§ Bring him to a cage-free dog daycare once or twice a week. The staff there are very likely to practice barking control, but more important hell learn quickly that proximity to other dogs is not necessarily reason to vocalize.
Short Term Bark Stopper: Put the bark on command
If you train your dog to bark on cue, youre in control of most of his barking. And if you can concurrently train him to Quiet on cue, youre happy! Youll need a helper for this exercise, and youll need to practice it several different times on different days , maybe 20 minutes each time. Your helper may be different or the same each time as long as they can follow your directions.
First, tell your helper to go outside your front door. Instruct him that in 5 seconds he should ring the doorbell. Close the door with you and the dog inside. Count to 4 seconds and command your dog to "Speak!". If your timings right, your doorbell will now ring, setting your dog up for his predictably barking frenzy. You have now started to associate the command "Speak" with your dogs barking.
After a few seconds of barking, command "Quiet" while holding a treat right in front of your dogs nose. He will stop barking in order to eat the treat. You may praise him "Good quiet" while he chomps on his treat.
Now youve not only associated the command "Quiet" with him ceasing to bark, but youve also associated being quiet with something yummy, along with your verbal praise which he also loves. This starts your dog on his long and happy relationship with being quiet when told to do so.
Repeat this exercise 5-10 times in each daily session. You should be in control of your dogs barking within only a few short days!
If you cant get him into a group class, order a good positive reinforcement training video such as Positive Puppy Training at http://www.dogdaysusa.com/positivepuppy.cfm and practice as much as you can.
For more great puppy and dog training and behavior articles, including jumping, chewing, separation anxiety and housetraining, go to http://www.dogdaysUSA.com
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