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How to Stop a Dog from Barking

Sometimes a dog barking can be extremely helpful to his safety or to its owners safety; for example, barking when an unexpected visitor approaches your home. However, most of the time we don’t want our canine companions to bark at every visitor. Especially troublesome for owners who live in an apartment or condominium building and have been the unfortunate recipient of neighbor complaints. There is hope with training techniques and products to help stop your dog from barking.

First off it’s important to realize that many dog’s barking stems from his boredom. Proper exercise can cut down on barking. Even negative attention is better for some dogs than being continuously ignored, and barking gets people’s attention quickly. Ensuring that your dog has been properly exercised is a good first step toward stopping their unfortunate barking problems.

This first technique owners will want to try in training your dog not to bark: immediately address the dog when he is inappropriately barking by going to your dog, tapping it on the nose, and saying “no” in a “I mean business” tone of voice, then immediately leave the dog or continue with your walk and not playing with the dog after punishment. Spraying a dog with water instead of verbally chastising it might work better in some situations, though many dogs don’t mind being wet. Behavior training is always helpful when owning a dog and this issue can be addressed in class.

Anti-barking products can also help break your dog of their bad barking habits. These products include: electronic collars, citronella collars, sound-emitting collars, remote sound-emitters, muzzles, debarking surgery, and medication. Some of these items can also be used in conjunction with training to help make sure the dog gets the message. Finally, you might pursue professional help - many trainers and kennels offer late night training sessions, which would let the owner and pet both come to understand how to solve the problem.

Taylor writes on a variety of other subjects, including how to select a large dog bed.