Stop Nuisance Dog Barking

Dog barking is both natural and handy and yet it is likely to be the reason for so many problems in the home and out. From falling out with the neighbours, to driving you crazy at home, non stop barking gives dogs a bad name!

On the up-side, many of us are quite happy to have a dog that barks because it makes us feel safe during the night and lets us know when anyone is approaching the house.

But on the disadvantage, too many dogs just don’t know when to stop. They’re a bit like a defective car alarm, just about anything can set them off and it can take a long while to get them to stop. Add into that a little bit of dog anxiety and you have some significant dog barking problems.

Nuisance Dog Barking

In nature barking works and you don’t find dogs barking without cause. Their barking has 3 main functions; The 1st is to let the remainder of the pack know where you are, the 2nd is a to alert the remainder of the pack to possible risk and the third is an agressive alert to keep away.

Nuisance dog barking arises when dogs try and apply a system that works very well in nature, to a human world they do not understand.

Thats when virtually anything could be a threat to a dog (think postman, fone, Television, plastic bag blowing down the road…) and the more delicate the dog, the more threats it might feel the urge to bark at. And naturally they will keep barking till they are sure that the threat has gone away.

Dog Barking when Left Alone

Dogs will bark from time to time when left alone “again that’s only natural as they may respond to whatever noises they can hear outside of the home.

Nonetheless if a dog barks incessantly, particularly shortly after you leave the house, it’s more likely to be triggered by dog anxiety. Sadly, some anxious dogs will literally bark on and off for ages.

Of course, this is exactly the kind of barking which has your neighbours in an uproar and threatening you with dog barking laws, complaint letters and council action.

In that situation the presumption is often that dog lovers are neglecting their dogs or leaving them for too much time. But that’s not often the case. When you are handling separation anxiety in dogs, more attention and less time away will not get rid of their anxiety as they will feel it whether you leave for a half hour or 5 hours.

How Do I To Stop My Dog From Barking

Excessive dog barking when you’re in the house can be stopped with just two small words. We already realise that shouting ‘Shut Up ‘ will not work, but what about the words ‘Thank You ‘ or ‘Good Boy ‘ or ‘Good Girl ‘?

It’s may seem counter intuitive, but amazingly thanking your dog can work! Here’s why.

In nature one of the roles of a dog pack member would be to alert the pack leader to any potential danger. Once alerted the pack leader would make the decision regarding whether any action was required, so that would suggest joining in the barking if they thought there was a real threat, or doing nothing if they made a decision there was no threat to the pack, so the barking would stop.

Move that that into the home and if your dog is barking and you roar at them, you raise your anxiety levels, so that the dog will sense that something is truly wrong, and you sound like you are joining in, which explains why your dog will bark rather more desperately when you do raise your voice.

By positively thanking them, you can’t sound annoyed, and you don’t raise your anxiety levels and your dog should naturally stop. If they carry on, you can go and take a look at what they are barking at and thank them again. If continue, put them in another room alone till they stop.

The aim is to set up a system that your dog understands. They will be the one to advise you of something first as their hearing is miles better, and by staying calm yourself and thanking them, you make them aware there is nothing to fret about.

Dog Anxiety Can Cause Dog Barking Problems

However, it is not a system which you can use when your dog is at home alone. Instead you have to to deal with the source of your dogs separation anxiety which is most likely to be a leadership issue.

If your dog has placed themselves as head of the pack, they have also made themselves responsible for decision-making and keeping the pack safe and they can’t do that if you lock them in at home and go out.

The non-stop barking is a noise beacon to let you know where they happen to be and where to return home to. In the wild that noise would carry a good way, and dogs have no idea that our hearing isn’t as good as theirs.

Unfortunately, as long as they have anxiety, they’re going to have barking problems. It’s their nature and the only way you can change their mind and stop the dog barking is to show your dog that you are leader of the pack, not them. That way they do not have to worry.

The author has experienced dog anxiety and dog barking problems with her recent rescue dog and used these systems to successfully stop hisdog barking when left alone.