Whether you are dealing with a puppy with shrill little yelps or with an older dog with a baritone bay, you’ll discover that you are going to need to work on getting your dog’s barking under control! Dogs bark by instinct, but you’ll find that there are definitely things that you can do to halt this behavior.

There are different things to keep in mind when you are working to stop your dogs barking behavior. There are many different methods and you may have to try more than one. It just takes time and work to find what works.

First, make sure that you know why your dog is barking. Dogs never bark for no reason, though the reasons that they do bark might surprise you. First and perhaps most useful to owners is the alert bark, which tells you that they see something or someone strange or alarming.

Many dogs,but especially puppies, will bark for attention, while some dogs will also bark if they are startled. The kind of barking that many people deal with is bored or lonely barking, where your dog feels that he is alone and needs company. When a dog is bored, for example, he or she might bark because they need an outlet for their energy.

It is helpful to understand what kind of barker your dog is. Think about their habits. Has your dog always been a barker? In an older dog there may be more to think about. Do keep in mind that it is not impossible to retrain an old dog and stop his barking. It just takes commitment.

Although your first instinct might be to shout at your dog, resist this at all costs. Shouting will only terrify your dog or make him think that it is a game. Pick a word that your whole family will use to command your dog to stop barking and make sure that your whole family uses it. A word like enough or quit can work fairly well. You may choose to lightly spritz your dog in the face with water. This tends to make your dog quiet with surprise and it can help him associate barking with something unpleasant.

Is your dog feeling alone? Barking is often a sign that a dog is feeling lonely. You should make it a routine to involve your dog with your family and spend enough time with him. You want him to be happy and to feel secure so that when he is alone he knows it will not be for long. He will be happier which will lead to less barking due to loneliness. He needs to feel like he is part of the pack because dogs are natural pack animals. Make him feel secure and that can help reduce lonely barking.

When you just can not figure out why your dog is barking then you should contact a veterinarian or animal specialist. They can lead you to answers that might not be obvious. You can stop your dog from barking, just be patient.

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