It’s so strange and aggravating. Your dog just can’t stop barking at the ground, floor, or carpet. They might even be doing it at all three. What is going on here? Why is your dog barking at the ground? Why does your dog keep barking at the floor? Why does your dog bark at the carpet? Are the reasons all the same or completely different?

Today, we’re going to answer every question you have about these issues, regardless of whether your dog is barking at all three of them or just one. And of course, we’ll cover how to stop your dog barking at the ground, floor, or carpet. This will all be behind you soon! Keep reading below for our article “Dog Barks at Ground, Floor, or Carpet? Here’s How to Stop It!”

How to Stop Dog Barking at Ground, Floor, or Carpet

To stop your dog barking at the ground, floor, or carpet, they need to learn to become quiet on command. To do so, take your dog somewhere you know they’ll want to bark such as the park, with plenty of dog treats. Leave them on their leash and stay a good distance away from the other parkgoers.

As soon as your dog begins to bark, say “quiet” in a calm, positive voice. If they give you their attention, then reward them right away with a small treat and praise. But if they quickly resume barking again or never quit at all, then you should place a treat inside your fist.

Place your hand right by your dog’s nose. Your dog will still be able to detect the treat even within your hand and will quit their barking to investigate the scent. Once they’ve become silent and are also paying their complete attention to you, again issue the “quiet” command and then open your hand to give them their praise and a treat.

If your dog continues staying silent, keep rewarding them with a treat and praise. But if they start barking again, regardless of whether it’s at you or at something at the park, repeat the steps of placing a treat in your fist, putting it next to their nose, and then pausing until they’ve silenced.

Be sure that you’re waiting until your dog has gotten silent before you give them any rewards. This creates a positive connection in your dog’s mind with paying attention and getting silent whenever you say “quiet.” Reward them with treats and praise immediately when your dog is doing what they should.

With patience, repetition, and consistency, your dog will become silent just by you giving them the command, and it won’t be necessary to put your hand near their mouth. You should then begin increasing the amount of time before you give them any rewards. Start with just a few 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 and you can get your dog to stop barking at the floor, ground, or carpet or at anything else just by giving the “quiet” command.

These steps will get your dog to stop barking at the floor, ground, or carpet, but it’s important to remember that the underlying behavioral issues (anxiety, dominance) that were causing all of this to begin with will still be present. And until you address those, any positive changes you see are only going to be temporary.

“Okay, how do I make these changes last then?”

By getting your dog to truly choose to follow your direction, that’s how. I tried many times to write out how you can do that before deciding it made more sense to just link you to the free video series that explains it better than I’d ever be able to.

The series is by a man named Dan who is one of the world’s leading dog obedience trainers. In it, he teaches you how to put an end to things like when your dog barks at the ground, floor, or carpet and all other misbehavior using his fast and easy-to-follow methods.

In the first video, Dan will reveal to you why the two most common methods of dog training only doom you to failure. You can watch the video now by clicking here. Follow the proven system he’ll show you in his series and you’ll never have to spend another second worrying about your dog barking at the carpet, floor, or ground ever again!

Why is My Dog Barking at the Ground?

Your dog is barking at the ground because they’re detecting something such as a mole, shrew, or vole under the soil. Dogs have incredible senses of smell and hearing, so while it may seem impossible, they are able to pick up on animals underneath the dirt or grass. They see this as an invasion of their territory, and they feel it’s their duty to warn this threat to stay away.

The problem only arises when your dog barks at the ground and then ignores you when you tell them to stop. This would be a clear sign that they are feeling dominant over you. A dog who respects your authority will still attempt to protect the family territory, but will listen when you tell them to quit because they’ll trust that you know what’s best.

Continuing to bark is a definitive display that they do not have that type of trust in you, and that they see themselves as the leader and sole protector of the family. They feel that only they can determine what is a threat, and when that threat has been thwarted.

Allowing this to go on would be a huge mistake because it gives your dog tacit approval to bark whenever they want, and gives them the impression that they are in fact in charge of the family. Their behavior will then only become more aggressive and more frequent, and you’ll find them barking and acting dominant much more often.

Your dog will then get worked up and start barking when they’ve got even the slightest hint of a critter in the area. You’ll find your dog is barking at the corner of your room, barking at your walls, and barking at your ceiling. Every tiny little sound or scent will be enough to set them off, and there will be nothing you can do to stop them.

I’m sure you can see how unpleasant this would make your life, so it’s important to get a handle on things right away. To learn how to stop your dog barking at the ground while also teaching them to respect your authority, go back to the first section now where we’ll give the exact steps to make that happen.

Why Does My Dog Keep Barking at the Floor?

Your dog keeps barking at the floor because they are hearing or smelling a critter underneath your floorboards. Dogs can pick up on all sorts of things that we would never detect. They then bark because they see it as their responsibility to warn this unseen threat to leave the family’s territory.

If your dog barks at the floor and ignores you when you tell them to stop, however, then they are displaying dominant behavior. A need to protect the home but not respecting your ability to decide when there is actually a threat is a clear display of this. To learn how to get your dog to stop barking at the floor while regaining your position as your dog’s leader, go back to the first section now.

Why Does My Dog Bark at the Carpet?

Your dog barks at the carpet because they’re detecting the scent of insects or critters that passed through but left behind their scent. It’s also possible that they’re picking up on something which is beneath the carpeting. Dogs have a very acute sense of smell and will be able to detect the aroma of even very small insects long after they’re gone.

This causes them to get very stressed and anxious, while also feeling dominant and needing to protect their territory from this unseen intruder. While this is not necessarily an inappropriate response, if they ignore you when you tell them to quit, they are disrespecting your authority and your ability to determine what is and what is not a threat to the home.

This is a display that they feel that they are in charge in your home and needs to be handled immediately or their disrespect and misbehavior will only get worse. Go back to the first section now and we’ll teach you how to get your dog to be quiet on command while also learning to respect that you are their leader.

I’m sure you’re ready to not have this strangeness in your life anymore, so I’ll let you get going on things now. Good luck with all of this, and thank you for checking out our article “Dog Barks at Ground, Floor, or Carpet? Here’s How to Stop It!”