It’s so strange and concerning when your find your dog barking at the ceiling. What is going on when they do this? And what if they seem upset? Why does your dog bark and growl at the ceiling? Is it age-related? Why does your older dog bark at the ceiling? And what if just started? Why does your dog bark at the ceiling all of a sudden?

Today, we’re going to answer every single question you have about this worrying behavior. And we’ll of course cover how to stop your dog barking at the ceiling. Soon, you’ll know exactly what’s going on and the perfect way to handle it. Keep reading below for our article “Dog Barking at Ceiling? Here’s How to Stop It!”

How to Stop Dog Barking at Ceiling

To get your dog to stop barking at the ceiling, they need to learn to become quiet when instructed. To make this happen, bring your dog somewhere you know that they like to bark like the park, with plenty of dog treats. Leave them on their leash and stay far away from the other people at the park.

When your dog begins to bark, say “quiet” in a positive and calm voice. If they give you their focus, then immediately reward them with praise and a treat. But if they quickly start up barking again or never stop at all, then you should hide a treat inside of your hand.

Put your hand very close to your dog’s nose. Your dog will still be able to smell the treat even within your fist and will quit their barking to investigate the scent. Once they’ve become silent and are also giving you their complete attention, again give the “quiet” command and then open your hand to reward them with praise and a treat.

If your dog continues being quiet, keep rewarding them with praise and a treat. But if they begin to bark again, regardless of whether it’s at you or at someone at the park, repeat the steps of placing a treat in your fist, putting it right next to their nose, and then pausing until they’ve become silent.

Make sure that you’re pausing until your dog has become silent before you give them their rewards. This creates a positive connection in your dog’s mind with giving you their attention and getting silent any time you say “quiet.” Reward them immediately with treats and praise when your dog is responding well.

With patience, practice, and repetition, your dog will get quiet simply by you giving them the command, and you won’t need to put your hand near their mouth. You should then begin lengthening the amount of time before you reward them. Start with just a couple of seconds, then increase that to 5 seconds, and so on.

It won’t be long before the praise and food rewards won’t be necessary anymore and you can get your dog to stop barking at the ceiling or at anything else just by giving the “quiet” command.

This will get your dog to stop barking at your ceiling, but you’ll still need to do something about their misbehavior which was rooted in their underlying issues with anxiety and dominance. Not doing anything will just lead to your dog continuing to think that they are in charge and that they make the decisions, and things will only get worse for the both of you.

And to do that, we must first discuss what makes dogs tick and has for thousands and thousands of years now. I’m sure you’ve heard before that all dogs are pack animals, and that in every pack there is a pack leader.

But every time that your dog barks at the ceiling and then refuses your commands to stop, they are without a doubt proving to you that they don’t respect you in this leadership role.

If they did, they wouldn’t bark at your ceiling. They wouldn’t display any other types of dominance or anxiety-related misbehavior or disrespect. And they would obey your commands as soon as they’re given, and they would do so happily.

Show your dog that you are not just their pack leader, but a capable one worthy of respect, and you’ll make all of these wonderful things a reality.

You’ll win for obvious reasons. But your dog will be the real winner here because you’ll have freed them from all of the confusion and worry that their anxiety and dominance issues are currently placing on them 24/7.

That sounds great, right?

“Absolutely, yeah, but how do I do this?”

You should watch an incredibly useful free video series by a renowned trainer named Dan which is on this exact subject: how to be your dog’s pack leader. In Dan’s series, he explains all you’ll need to know in ways that are very easy to follow and teach to your own dog, and he gets right to the point so that you can start seeing these important changes in your dog before things escalate any further.

Start watching Dan’s free training series now by clicking here. And don’t worry, because no, you’re not going to have to be mean or yell at your dog. Dan uses only 100% humane and loving teaching methods at all times. Not just because they’re the right thing to do, but also because they’re the fastest way to achieve permanent changes in your dog’s behavior.

Why Does My Dog Bark and Growl at the Ceiling?

Your dog barks and growls at the ceiling because they’re sensing something up there, and their territorial dominance makes them feel that it’s their responsibility to handle this threat. Not being able to get at it also makes them very anxious and stressed, which will make them act even more aggressively by barking and growling.

While you may not hear anything or see signs of any pests, remember that your dog has an incredible sense of hearing and smell, so very tiny animals or insects could be detected by them. It’s not necessarily even something that would require a visit from a pest control company, as your dog is capable of noticing the presence of even small, common bugs in your ceiling.

But when your dog is barking and growling and the ceiling and then ignoring you when you tell them to stop, their dominance issues are getting severe. This is a clear display that they see themselves not just as the sole protector of the home, but also as being in charge of you. That’s why they feel free to ignore you when you give them commands.

This false belief of theirs needs to be addressed immediately or you will give them the impression that they’re right, and then the problem is only going to grow and escalate. You’ll soon see your dog barking at all sorts of times, and getting quite aggressive while doing so.

You’ll see that your dog barks at the ground, floor, or carpet, barks at the corner of the room, and barks at the walls. Every little sound or critter they detect (or think they detect) will set them off into a fury that you won’t be able to stop. I’m sure you can see how this could make things very unbearable.

To learn how to stop your dog barking and growling at the ceiling while also regaining your respect from them, go back to the first section now where we’ll give you the exact steps to follow.

Why Does My Older Dog Bark at the Ceiling?

Your older dog barks at the ceiling because they are sensing something up there that they can hear but you can’t and they feel that it’s their duty to scare it off, or because they are having age-related health issues such as cognitive dysfunction.

You should first rule out health problems. Other signs of cognitive dysfunction in dogs include disorientation, confusion, anxiety, restlessness, irritability, decreased desire for attention or play, excessive licking, and an inability to follow their normal routines or routes. If you’ve noticed any of these, take your dog to the vet for a check-up right away.

But if you haven’t noticed any of these symptoms, then your older dog is barking at the ceiling because they’re hearing a critter up there. And if they don’t listen when you tell them to stop, then they are showing that they feel dominant over you. To get them to quit barking on command while also teaching them to respect your leadership, go back to the first section now.

Why Does My Dog Bark at the Ceiling All of a Sudden?

Your dog barks at the ceiling all of a sudden because they’ve just started hearing a critter up there, and they feel that it’s their duty to scare this threat away from your home. While you may not be hearing anything, dogs have much better senses than we do and will pick up on even very small insects or pests.

I’m sure you’re looking forward to having this issue solved and handled properly, so I’ll let you get started on things now. Good luck with all of this, and thank you for checking out our article “Dog Barking at Ceiling? Here’s How to Stop It!.”