Does Your Barking Dog Drive You Mad?
For some people it is an offence to have a barking dog around them, they think that dogs should be seen and not heard. This is slightly unfair given that the bark is a dog’s voice and like yourself it uses it to communicate.
Of course barking is your dog's way of talking and many owners would feel there is something missing if their dog was silent and of course there is the guarding duty many owners expect their dogs to perform. In most cases your dog is just trying to talk to you, perhaps he is just happy about something, dog obedience training will help you to find this out for sure.
The problem is that the language barrier between barking dogs and humans is well nigh impenetrable. Therefore, you are forced to resort to the facts of the situation in which your dog is barking and try to understand from its body language just what it is trying to say.
Apart from that many people ask just why do dogs bark? Deciding what is going on here is very tricky, if only dogs could talk a language we understand.
Naturally they will bark when they are happy about something such as greeting you on your return or perhaps they are happy about running around in the park.
Some dogs having barking bred into to them such as toy dogs or sporting breeds where they are trained to bark in order to notify their owners of the presence of a particular quarry being hunted. Other dogs like the guarding breeds are trained only to bark when a threat is perceived.
Other than the above common reasons for dog barking might include, boredom, hunger, being lonely, something is wrong, the presence of other animals or perhaps she just needs the toilet.
Again the context of the situation will help you to decide the likely cause. But of course it is not fair for you to try to shut the dog up. She may be communicating for a very good reason, you just need to spend some effort in understanding her.
However, dogs are not stupid animals there are situations where they realise that they can use their bark to annoy or force their owner into a particular action. Bullying by barking is something you should never allow your dog to do.
For instance you dog may have decided that it is time to play and continues barking until you give in and drop what you are doing to amuse her. The problem here is that the dog then learns that all she has to do is to bark whenever she wants something and you will oblige.
This can get very wearing after a quite short period of time. The best approach would have been to show the dog that it cannot get its own way by giving it the cold shoulder.
Turning your back on your pet is a great way to show you are unhappy at its behavior and shows it you are serious in your training. After repeated actions your dog should eventually get the message.
Naturally play and walks are an essential aspect of owning a dog, but you go when you want to go, play when you want to. This teaches your dog respect and hopefully makes for a quieter household with limited barking dog problems.
Consult a good book on dog obedience training like SitStayFetch to solve many of the problems you will encounter when you are training your dog.
Last 5 posts by Otto Mattick
- Curb Irritating Dog Barking Behavior - January 9th, 2009
- Essential Dog Training for All Dogs - January 8th, 2009
- Free Yorkie Puppy - January 7th, 2009
- Your Purpose in Dog Training Essentials - January 6th, 2009
- Training an Australian Shepherd Dog - January 5th, 2009
