You’d love to be able to take your dog to pet-friendly eateries, but every time you do your dog starts barking in the restaurant and you have to leave before you can enjoy your meal. Why does your dog bark in restaurants? Is your dog barking at waiters or something else? How do you keep your dog calm in a restaurant so everyone can relax?

Well, no worries, because this frustrating issue will soon be behind you! Today, we’re going to answer all of the questions you have and most importantly, we’ll tell you how to stop your dog barking in restaurants. I’m sure you’re eager to see these changes in your life, so without further ado, let’s get to our article “How to Stop Dog Barking in Restaurant!”

How to Stop Your Dog Barking in Restaurants

To stop your dog barking in restaurants, first start by taking them for a long walk to get some exercise beforehand. A tired dog is a quiet dog. Next, bring something small they can chew on (not squeaky) to keep them occupied. When they are being quiet and calm, reward them with pets, praise, and a small treat.

Your dog should quickly make positive associations with behaving and not barking in restaurants. Still, you’ll need to address what was causing their problem in the first place, or you’ll only have more problems develop down the road which will be even more difficult to handle.

Whether your dog barks in restaurants due to anxiety, aggressiveness, or just wanting attention, they all root back to the same problem: not respecting you.

How does that work, you’re wondering?

Well, let’s first talk for just a second about what makes dogs tick to begin with. You’ve probably heard before that dogs are pack animals, and that in every pack there will be a pack leader. This is you, but since your dog is not respecting your commands your dog is showing that they don’t respect you in this role.

If they did, they would sit quietly in restaurants and obey your commands at all other times as well.

Show your dog that not only are you their pack leader — but a capable one worthy of respect — and you’ll be able to achieve all of this. And the best part? Your dog will be better off too. That’s because you’ll be lifting all of the stress and worry that pack leader confusion causes off their little shoulders.

You’ll both get a huge sense of relief, and you’ll both be happier and better off. Sounds terrific, doesn’t it?

“Well, yeah, but I have no clue how to do any training or anything like that.”

And that’s okay! Nobody is born knowing how to do these things, but you’re already a step ahead by seeking out the information.

I’d recommend watching an excellent free video series by a renowned trainer named Dan that will show you everything you need to know to be an effective pack leader. It’s geared towards people just like you, with everything being very easy to understand and teach to your own dog. Best of all, Dan gets right to the point so that you’ll start seeing results in a hurry.

Start watching Dan’s free training series now by clicking here. And no, you won’t have to be mean — in fact, you’ll never even have to raise your voice. Dan uses only 100% humane and loving methods at all times. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s the only way to achieve fast, permanent results with your dog.

Why Does My Dog Bark in Restaurants?

Your dog barks in restaurants because they’re anxious and full of nervous energy. They might be worried because of all the noises and new smells (dogs can smell up to 100,000 times better than we can), or they could be barking at waiters and other people in the restaurant. Either way, the new environment and all the things going on there make them nervous.

Your dog is untrusting of all these unfamiliar things, so they bark as a warning to stay away from the both of you. In the future, it will help to take your dog out for a nice long walk or some exercise beforehand. A tired dog is a quiet dog. Still, you’ll need to address their issues with anxiety that are causing them to bark.

While you may be able to get them to quiet down at restaurants by wearing them out before, their underlying inability to handle anxiety will still be present. If you don’t address things now, the problem will only grow and escalate, and soon they’ll also be barking at birds, barking at fireworks, and barking at the postman — all without listening to your commands to stop.

Obviously, none of these are things you want to deal with, so you should work on them right away through behavioral training. You can go back to the first section of this article now, where we went over how to do that.

Why Does My Dog Bark at Waiters in Restaurants?

Your dog barks at waiters in restaurants most likely because they’re afraid the person could be dangerous. They see the waiter as a stranger and a possible threat, so they bark to try and scare the person away from the both of you. Other dogs might bark at waiters not because they’re scared, but because they want attention from them.

You can tell which is the reason your dog is barking at waiters by looking to them for other clues. If your dog is wagging their tail, you can safely say they just want attention, and to meet the waiter. If your dog is focusing intently, remaining steadfast, and maybe even growling, then obviously the waiter worries them and they are warning them to stay away.

If you see your dog potentially getting aggressive with the waiter (or anyone else at the restaurant), you should leave right away. Your dog is not ready to be eating out if they are getting so close to attacking a stranger, so you need to work on things through behavioral training before you attempt to take them again. We covered that in the first section of this article.

How Do I Calm My Dog Down in a Restaurant?

To calm your dog down in a restaurant, teach them using positive reinforcement. When your dog is being nice and calm and quiet, reward them for this by giving them pets, praise, and treats. They’ll quickly learn that they should continue this so that they keep getting the things they enjoy.

If your dog is already being anxious or aggressive, leave right away if you feel like it’s already escalated. If they’re still relatively calm but seem uneasy, pet your dog while speaking to them in a soothing, quiet voice to relax them. If they settle down, give them more praise and a small treat.

I’m sure you’re ready to see these wonderful changes in your dog so that the two of you can eat out in peace, so I’ll let you get started. Good luck with everything, and thank you for reading our article “How to Stop Dog Barking in Restaurant.”