A certain amount of barking from your pup is totally natural; this is simply how they communicate. But when there’s too much of it, it can get pretty annoying (as well as disturbing your neighbors). But on the bright side, barking too much is usually due to something particular.
Why Is My Dog Barking a Lot?
This could be caused by a number of reasons such as:
- Boredom/lack of activity/need for mental stimulus
- Alert barking at strangers, other animals, cars passing by the house
- Anxiety or fear, associated with being left alone/separation anxiety, etc.
- Attention-seeking behavior, if the dog got used to receiving your reaction to it
- Territorial nature of the dog, particularly with regard to its home
- Excessive excitement when somebody comes home or it’s time to take a walk
How to Identify the Cause?
Look for the following patterns:
- If it happens only when you leave your pet alone → It can be associated with anxiety
- If it happens each time a person or another animal passes by → Alert or territorial behavior
- If it happens when the dog has nothing to do while you’re away → This is boredom
- If it stops as soon as you start paying attention to it → Attention-seeking behavior
Once you have established the cause, solving the problem will become much easier.
Some Techniques to Reduce Barking
- Provide enough exercise to your pet both physical and mental.
- Do not provide any kind of attention to your dog, in case it barks because of seeking attention.
- Ensure that your dog does not see any object that may lead it to alert barking.
- Train your dog on “quiet” command.
- Be consistent otherwise your dog will find it harder to be trained.
- Deal with your dog’s anxiety issues separately in case barking is caused by them.
What Not to Do?
- Don’t yell at your dog – for it this will sound as if you join the barking chorus
- Don’t use bark collars as they don’t address the underlying issues and may suppress natural behavior of the dog
- Don’t use different approaches to handling this problem for different family members as this will confuse your pet and make training slower
When You Should Turn to Professionals
In case your dog barks constantly, or if it is fear/anxiety driven, or if training does not produce results – professional trainer can help in identifying the cause and developing a suitable approach for your dog.
Conclusion
As a rule, barking is never accidental; it always has some background. Once you know what causes it – quieting it down becomes much easier. Patience and consistency are key here.
