Stopping Your Dog From Barking at Night
by Evan Davis, Admin
Filed under Dog Talk Tips
You are exhausted. Your neighbors are annoyed all the time. You have a constant headache. You are exhibiting all the symptoms of a frustrated pet owner and now you wish to find out how to train your dog to stop barking at night. Just like cat’s meow and rooster’s crow, dogs communicate thru barking, and it’s prejudiced and impractical to expect your dog to never bark. However, it’s actually possible to coach your dog when it is suitable and inappropriate to bark. Controlling your dog’s bark needs to be an obedience command rather than an unpredictable reprimand for something done wrong.
Whether you know it or not you are probably in some measure accountable for your dog’s barking problem. There are potentially times where you tell your dog no, other times where you ignore him, and potentially other times where you have even encouraged him to bark. This leaves your dog confused not knowing if barking is good or bad.
When your dog starts barking, dangle a treat in front of him after the first couple of woofs and let him know “stop barking”. Most dogs will stop immediately when they see the treat.
After a few seconds of no barking, praise the dog and give him the treat. Steadily work with your dog and increase the quiet time with each repetition before handing over the treat. With a little patience, you are going to be able to get to a couple minutes of quiet time and your dog will start to understand what the command means. Just remember that breaking an old habit can be tricky, so you will need to work on this training habitually if your dog is in the practice of barking at unimportant things.
If you need to coach your dog to stop barking at night, then it could be necessary to bring him indoors while you work on his training. Sometimes placing a radio near your dog can help in keeping it from being alarmed and barking at every slight noise it hears. Ensuring your dog gets lots of exercise and attention during the day can help too. A very content, relaxed dog is less sure to bark than a restless, concerned one. Eliminating a bad barking habit will take time, but stick with it. It’s going to be worth it.
For more information about training aggressive dogs, visit Stop dog aggression.
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