It’s such a refreshing, sweet treat, but every time you make yourself a cone or a bowl, your dog barks when you eat ice cream and refuses to quit. Why do they have to act like this? Why does your bark when you eat ice cream? Are they even able to have any? Can dogs eat ice cream? Can dogs eat plain cones?

By the time you finish this article, you’ll know the answers to all of these questions and also the one you’re most interested in: how to stop your dog barking when you eat ice cream. Won’t it be nice to enjoy your dessert in peace? Keep reading below for our article “My Dog Barks When I Eat Ice Cream!”

How to Stop Dog Barking When I Eat Ice Cream

To stop dog barking when you eat ice cream:

1. Teach your dog the “quiet” command to use whenever they bark when you eat ice cream or at any other time you need them to become silent.
2. To accomplish that, take your dog somewhere you know they’ll want to bark like the park with plenty of small treats.
3. Once your dog begins barking, say “quiet” in a calm, positive voice. If they listen and become silent while also focusing on you reward them with a treat and praise right away.
4. But if your dog continues to bark or soon resumes, then hide a treat in the palm of your hand.
5. Put your hand right next to your dog’s nose. They’ll still be able to pick up the scent even inside of your fist and will quit barking to investigate it.
6. Once they’ve quit barking and are paying attention to you, again say “quiet,” and then open your hand to reward them with praise and a small treat.
7. If they keep being silent and are paying you their full focus, keep rewarding them with praise and treats.
8. But if they again resume barking or are not giving you their attention, repeat the steps of placing a treat within your fist, placing it near their nose, and waiting until they stop their barking and pay attention.
9. Be sure to always pause until they’ve stopped barking and are paying you all their attention, and then say “quiet” before you reward them with any treats or praise.
10. This creates a positive connection with your dog with the “quiet” command, and with staying quiet and focusing on you.
11. With consistency, repetition, and patience, you should be able to get them to respond just with the “quiet” command, and you’ll no longer have to place your hand near their mouth.
12. When your dog is doing well with just the command, then you can begin increasing the duration of time you wait before you give them any rewards.
13. Begin by waiting for 1-2 seconds, then as they do well increase that to 5 seconds, and so on.
14. Soon, it will no longer be necessary to reward your dog with food and praise, and they will become quiet and give you their focus just by you giving the command.

These steps should help you make a lot of progress with getting your dog to stop barking when you eat ice cream, but you still need to address the fact that they ever thought this was an appropriate response to any feelings of dominance (feeling like they are the head of the household) they were experiencing.

Currently, your dog is showing that they think they are in charge through what is known as demand barking. That’s what is happening each and every time that they bark uncontrollably, refusing to stop until they get what they want. Unfortunately, while you get silence, your dog also gets reinforcement of their beliefs of dominance over you.

Before we can talk about controlling your dog and showing them that you are the one who is in charge, we must first talk about what makes them function deep down. You’ve probably 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 when you eat ice cream, they are without a doubt showing you that they don’t respect you in this leadership role.

If they did, they wouldn’t bark when you eat ice cream and then refuse to be silent until you’ve given in. They wouldn’t engage in any other types of dominance-related disrespect or misbehavior. And they would obey your commands at all times — happily — and they would do so immediately.

Make it clear to your dog that you are not just their pack leader, but one worthy of respect, and you’ll make all of these great changes your 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 worry and confusion that their dominance issue is currently placing on them every single second of every single day.

Sounds terrific, wouldn’t you agree?

“Yes, definitely, but how am I supposed to do this?”

You should watch a tremendous 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 absolutely everything in ways that are very easy to understand and teach to your own dog, and he gets right to the point so that you can start seeing these critical changes in your dog in no time.

Start watching Dan’s free training series now by clicking here. And 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 Bark When I Eat Ice Cream?

Your dog barks when you eat ice cream because they’re learned that it works. They’re engaging in what is known as demand barking which is when your dog knows that if they just bark long enough, you’ll eventually give in and let them have some too. This is a common misbehavior seen in dominant dogs.

Basically, your dog has come to believe that they are the one in charge of you. And really, it’s not that surprising because you’ve been listening to their orders and confirming their dominant beliefs each and every time that you’ve relented and given them what you’re eating.

While you may enjoy sharing the foods you love with your dog, you can’t do so when they’re demanding it from you. Doing so just works as positive reinforcement to keep misbehaving like this. You need to begin working on correcting their dominant beliefs and disobedience immediately, or things are only going to get worse.

Their barking and other poor displays will get even more frequent and aggressive. Your dog will bark when you’re eating chips, bark when you’re eating chocolate, bark when you’re eating popcorn, and bark when you’re eating pretzels. In some cases, they might not even actually want the food — they’ll just want to prove that they’re the one in charge.

But the good news is that you can correct all of this much faster than it took to get to this point. If you’d like to find out how to end their dominance problem, while also learning how to stop your dog barking when you eat ice cream — or anything else — immediately, go back to the first section now where we’ll teach you the exact steps to follow.

Can Dogs Eat Ice Cream?

Dogs cannot eat ice cream. Though they’ll normally be okay with a very small amount (note: never give them any amount of chocolate ice cream or ice cream that contains chocolate toppings), it’s still best to not give them any. Dogs do not digest milk well, meaning eating ice cream could lead to a stomach ache, gas, bloating, vomiting, constipation, or diarrhea.

Ice cream also contains very high levels of sugar which is bad for your dog’s health. Sugarless ice cream is not an acceptable option either, as they frequently contain a sugar substitute known as xylitol which is toxic to dogs. Instead, avoid the worry and stick to sweet treats specifically made for dogs.

Can Dogs Eat Plain Cones?

Dogs can eat plain cones as long as they only contain natural ingredients. Before giving your dog a plain ice cream cone (do not let them have any actual ice cream), check to make sure that it doesn’t contain an ingredient known as xylitol. This is a sugar substitute that is known to be toxic to dogs.

I’m sure you’re looking forward to enjoying an ice cream cone without your dog going crazy, so I’ll let you begin now. Best of luck, and we hope you found our article “My Dog Barks When I Eat Ice Cream” helpful!