Dog Barks at Vet? Here’s How to Stop It!
It’s no secret that they don’t enjoy going there, but your dog barks at the vet like the world is ending! Why do they act like this? Why does your dog freak out at the vet? Can a vet stop a dog barking or is there something else you need to do? What command do you give a dog to stop barking at the vet?
Well, worry and wonder no longer, because today we’re going to answer all of these questions for you. Most importantly, we’ll cover what you’re really interested in: how to stop your dog from barking at the vet. Very soon, you’ll no longer have to worry about this. Keep reading below for our article “Dog Barks at Vet? Here’s How to Stop It!”
How to Stop Dog Barking at Vet
To stop dog barking at vet:
- If your dog barks at the vet, teach them the “quiet” command and they’ll become silent on demand.
- Practice by bringing your dog to a place you know they’ll want to bark like the park with plenty of treats.
- Once your dog starts barking, say “quiet” in a calm, positive voice. If they listen to you and get silent while also focusing on you immediately give them praise and a treat.
- But if your dog keeps barking or quickly resumes, then hide a treat in the palm of your hand.
- Put your hand right by your dog’s nose. They’ll still be able to pick up the scent even inside of your fist and should pause their barking to investigate it.
- Once they’ve quit barking and are giving you all their attention, again say “quiet,” and then open your hand to give them praise and a small treat.
- If they continue to be silent and are paying you their full focus, keep rewarding them with treats and praise.
- But if they again resume barking or are not paying attention, repeat the process of putting a treat within your fist, placing it next to their nose, and waiting until they quit their barking and give you their focus.
- Always make sure to wait until they’ve quit barking and are giving you all their focus, and then say “quiet” before you give them any praise or treats.
- This forms a positive connection with your dog with the “quiet” command, and with staying quiet and paying attention to you.
- With practice, time, and patience, you should be able to get them to behave solely with the “quiet” command, and you’ll no longer have to put your hand near their mouth.
- When your dog is doing well with only the command, then you should begin lengthening the duration of time you wait before you reward them.
- Start by pausing for 2 seconds, then as they do well increase that to 5 seconds, and so on.
- It won’t be long until you won’t need to give your dog any praise and food, and they will be silent and pay attention to you solely by you giving the command.
This will get your dog to stop barking at your vet, but you’ll still need to do something about their misbehavior which was rooted in their underlying issues with dominance and anxiety. 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.
For us to go over that, we must first talk about what makes dogs function deep down. You’ve probably heard before that dogs are pack animals, and that in every pack there is a pack leader.
But every time that your dog barks at the vet, they are without a doubt showing you that they have no respect for you in this leadership role.
If they did, they wouldn’t bark at the vet and ignore you when you tell them to stop. They wouldn’t engage in any other types of dominance or anxiety-related disrespect or misbehavior. And they would obey your commands at all times — happily — and they would do so right away.
Show your dog that you are not just their pack leader, but a deserving and capable one who they must respect, and you’ll make all of these wonderful changes your reality.
Obviously, you’ll win. But your dog will be the even bigger winner here because you’ll have freed them from all of the confusion and worry that their dominance and anxiety problems are currently burdening their little shoulders with 24/7.
Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
“Absolutely, sure, but how do I actually do this?”
You should watch a tremendous free video series which is on this exact subject — how to be your dog’s pack leader — by a renowned trainer named Dan. In the series, he explains all you’ll need to know in ways that are very simple to follow and teach to your own dog, and he gets right to the point so that you can start seeing these crucial changes in your dog before things escalate any further.
Start watching Dan’s free training series now by clicking here. And don’t stress, because no, you’re not going to have to yell or be mean to your dog. Dan never uses those types of methods. Not just because loving teaching techniques are 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 Freak Out at the Vet?
Your dog freaks out at the vet because they’re experiencing a lot of anxiety due to it being tramautic for them there. The vet’s office features a lot of strange sights and smells. There are other animals there that may not be friendly. They may be used to going there when they’re sick or injured and that brings back memories, and they’re often going through painful and scary procedures.
But while these things can all be very troubling and scary to your dog, them reacting by getting aggressive or barking at your vet is not acceptable. It may be easy to just write these behaviors off as normal for dogs that are visiting the vet’s office, but that reaction is a big mistake because it gives your dog tacit approval to continue acting this way when confused or worried.
Your dog will then misbehave in this way more often, and they will become even harder to control at those times. You’ll likely soon find that your dog is barking at the groomers, barking at the babysitter, or barking at the dog walker. I’m sure you can see now how they could quickly become out of control if you allow this to go on.
That’s why it’s important to get a handle on this issue of your dog’s immediately. To learn how to stop your dog from barking at your vet while also teaching them to be respectful of your commands and those of the people you trust them with, go back to the first section now where we’ll give you the exact instructions to follow.
Can a Vet Stop a Dog Barking?
A vet cannot stop a dog barking. If you’ve already properly trained them yourself, then they should also respect the commands of your vet, but you should not expect your animal practicioner to teach your dog to be quiet when instructed. Teaching your dog the quiet command takes time and patience, and your vet has other responsibilities to be addressing when your dog visits.
You don’t want to take up your vet’s precious (and expensive) time when they’re doing a check up on your dog’s health, so you should learn to get your dog to respond to commands to be silent on your own time. But we have the exact instructions you need to make that happen; go back to the first section now and we’ll teach you the quiet command.
What Command Do You Give a Dog to Stop Barking at the Vet?
You give a dog the “quiet” command to get them to stop barking at the vet. This will take patience, repetition, and consistency, but once your dog has learned this command you’ll be able to get them to stop barking at the vet (or at anyone or anything else) simply by giving the command. It’s likely they’ll never even start to begin with.
It’s quite a powerful command, and will serve to enforce your dog’s trust and respect in you, so the payoffs are much more immense than merely getting them to be silent. It will make all dog training easier, and your relationship with them will never be better. If you’d like to learn the command now, go back to the first section where we have the exact instructions for you.
I’m sure you’re sick of your dog barking at your vet every time you take them, so I’ll let you get started now. Good luck with everything, and thank you for checking out our article “Dog Barks at Vet? Here’s How to Stop It!.”