It’s something that we all have to deal with at some point as dog owners, but the good news is that learning how to get your dog to stop barking is not quite the impossible mountain it may seem like right now.
All of the ways to stop dog barking you’ll find in this article have been proven to work, but it may take some experimenting on your part before you find just the right solution for you and your dog.
So don’t give up hope, because there is hope just around the corner! Keep reading to learn about all of our tips to stop barking and you’ll have a more peaceful, obedient relationship with your furry family member in no time.
Stop Dog Barking Tips
Now, let’s get into some quick and highly effective ways to stop your dog from barking.
1) Get a Dog Walker
Taking your dog on walks is fun and good exercise for you both, but this is obviously not an option when you’re out. Giving them a healthy outlet for all that energy is a fantastic way to tire them out so they’d rather sleep than bark their heads off.
After all, dogs are cursorial mammals, meaning it’s in their nature to want to run and go crazy.
Keep them active when you’re not around by having someone walk your dog. You can have members of your household take turns based on everyone’s schedules, or use a trusted service like Rover to give your dog all the exercise and attention they need whenever you’d like.
2) Don’t Yell Back at Them
It’s normal to get annoyed or upset when your dog is barking and will not stop. But the last thing you want to do is to give in to your emotions and start yelling or getting animated towards them. Your dog does not know how to interpret this.
What most dogs will see when you do this is that you’re barking right along with them. By getting loud or screaming to stop it, they view it as validation to continue the barking or even to amp it up a bit. (Think of how obnoxious that could get if your dog is barking in the car!)
3) Remove the Motivation
Is your dog going crazy every single time someone passes by your house or comes near your backyard? Remove the motivation to bark by closing your blinds or bringing your dog inside until they’ve quieted and calmed down.
Once you’re confident they’ve relaxed you can reopen your blinds or put your dog back outside to play. Be consistent with removing what makes them bark and they should quickly learn to stay quiet even when it appears in the future.
4) Just Ignore It
If you’re staying home and don’t have to worry about annoyed neighbors, an effective option to get your dog to quit barking can be just to ignore it. While it will be a bit aggravating, it usually has quick results so the temporary noise is worth it.
Giving your dog attention every time they bark is teaching your dog that this behavior gets them rewarded. Teach them that this is no longer true by not giving in. They’ll usually tire out before long once they realize they’re not getting the desired result.
5) Try Different Areas
Dog barking is often a sign of anxiety which is frequently caused by separation anxiety. Click the link for more help in that area, but just in terms of dog barking you can sometimes fix the problem just by changing their environment.
Many dogs will do better being left outside, while others might somewhere that feels more closed-in and safe, like a crate. Finding the right spot will take some experimentation, but if you find a place that works obviously it will be worth the effort.
6) Feed and Water
You obviously know that dogs can’t communicate in the ways that we can, so recognize that sometimes their barking isn’t just them showing annoyance, anger, or fear, but rather “I’m hungry” or “I’m thirsty!”
If your dog will not stop barking, offering them their food bowl or checking to ensure they have fresh water will solve the problem more often than you’d think. Be sure that they’ve got somewhere warm and comfy to rest, as well.
7) Exercise
Sometimes when your dog is barking a lot and won’t stop, it’s simply because they’ve just got too much pent up energy for which they don’t have a healthy outlet. Let them work out their energy in a healthy enjoyable way by getting them some exercise.
Anything both you and your dog enjoy can work. It can be as simple as tossing their ball across the room and letting them retrieve it, or taking them for a walk down to their favorite dog park for a fun afternoon. When they’re done, they’ll be too tired to bark.
8) Give Them Toys
Boredom is one of the most common reasons why dogs bark. It will how itself most often when you’ve left the house, so do yourself (and your neighbors) a favor by making sure they’ve got some toys to keep themselves occupied while you’re gone.
A distracted, happy, and eventually tired dog is not going to have much interest in barking their heads off. You probably already know what would be best for your dog, but toys like KONGs are great since they’re specially designed to keep dogs busy for long periods.
9) Television and/or Music
Dog going crazy while you’re gone and none of the tips to stop dog barking we’ve gone over so far are helping? For many dogs, stopping their barking can really be as simple as leaving the TV or some music on while you’re gone.
It sounds almost too easy to be true, but if your has become accustomed to noise and activity while you and others in your household are at home, removing this can stress them out which they release by barking. Put on some tunes and you could solve the problem!
We all love our dogs so much that many have established little goodbye rituals whenever they head out the door. You’re probably thinking of your own hugs and pets routine right now. But this could actually be causing your dog more stress, odd as that may seem.
How can that be true, you ask? Making a big production of things every time you leave only causes your dog to realize you’ll be gone for a while, and starts the anxiety building. Give them a quick pat and goodbye 10 minutes or so before you leave, then head out calmly and quietly a bit later.
Whichever of the tips to stop dog barking from this list you ultimately find works, making the results last will all depend on consistency. You won’t see any long-term success if your dog is getting mixed signals from you or others in your household.
Once you’ve found what has success with your dog, ensure that everyone they will interact with is on the same page and understands what to do so that your dog is getting regular and consistent positive reinforcement.
12) Be Your Dog’s Pack Leader
If you want to stop your dog’s barking for good, you need to leave no doubt in your dog’s mind that you’re in charge — that you’re the pack leader. You run the show! To teach them this, I’ve found it’s best to learn by watching rather than just reading.
I tried many times to write out how to be your dog’s pack leader before deciding it was better to just link the video series that explains it. Doggy Dan is one of the world’s leading dog obedience trainers and has an excellent video series where he teaches you how to put an end to your dog’s barking and all other misbehavior using his very 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 methods he teaches in his videos and you’ll never have to spend another second worrying about your dog barking their head off again!
Remember that until you fix this issue your dog’s barking and other behavior issues are going to continue forever. They will not simply wake up one morning a changed dog, so you need to take action now so that you and your dog can have a loving, stress-free relationship.
Good luck, and be sure to pin this article in case you need to check back in on this article for any reason.
