Based in Kissimmee, Fla., Barb Nefer is a freelance writer with more than 20 years' experience. She is also a mental health counselor and travel agency owner. Her work has appeared in such magazines as "The Writer," "Animal Wellness," "SuperVision," "Bird Talk," "SpeciaLiving" and "Twins."
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Dog TrainingOverview
Puppies are cute and adorable until they start barking incessantly. If your puppy is a constant barker, you'll soon be desperate to get it to stop. You must use proper methods and carry them out consistently in order to train your puppy not to bark. The following steps will help you do it in the right way.
Step 1
Figure out the exact reason that your puppy is barking and whether it is appropriate. Barking is the way in which a puppy alerts its owner to certain needs, such as thirst, hunger or needing to go outside to potty. Puppies should be trained not to bark for inappropriate reasons, such as boredom or demanding immediate attention. When your puppy is barking, assess the situation and make sure there is really a need for training/correction. If the barking is appropriate, simply take care of the puppy's need to stop it.
Step 2
Do not give the puppy what it wants if it is barking for an inappropriate or unacceptable reason. If it is barking frantically because it wants attention and you give in and start to pet or play with it, you've just reinforced bad behavior. The puppy learns that if it makes enough noise, you will give it what it wants. If it barks due to boredom and you give it a treat to quiet it or pull out a new toy, it learns that barking excessively will result in something good. Never reward unwanted barking or the problem will be even harder to get rid of later.
Step 3
Stop the barking through a method that doesn't give the puppy direct attention and that isn't linked directly to you. If you shout and yell at the puppy and touch it in some way, like closing its muzzle with your hand, you've actually rewarded it because you gave it attention. Even negative attention can be more desirable to the animal than none at all. If you hit the puppy, you will only make it afraid of you over time.
A good detached disciplinary method is to put some pennies in a metal soda can. When the puppy barks, rattle the can loudly and say "Quiet!" once, in a firm voice. The sound should startle the puppy into silence without terrorizing it, and it will learn to associate the word "Quiet!" with this reaction. Another popular method is using an automatic citronella collar. These collars, which can be found at many pet stores, spay a small, harmless amount of the substance at the puppy's face when it barks. Dogs dislike the odor of citronella, and most puppies are smart enough to quickly associate barking with the spray. They will learn to be quiet in order to avoid it.
Step 4
Eliminate the root causes of problem barking. If your puppy is always desperate for attention, you should provide it with things to do so it learns how to be comfortable without constant attention from you. Give it chew toys, balls. and other playthings that are available at all times so it has alternatives if you're not available to play. Set aside a certain amount of time to play with your puppy each day so it learns that it can count on you at specified times. This will help it feel more secure because it is getting regular attention and won't develop an excessive need due to being ignored.
Step 5
Be consistent. You can't use the penny can to stop your puppy's barking one day and then give it a biscuit to keep it quiet the next day. This will only confuse the animal, and it will never learn to stop the inappropriate barking.
TIPS AND WARNINGS
- TIP : If you puppy continues to bark excessively despite consistent efforts to train it to stop, take it for a visit to the veterinarian. There could be an underlying physical problem that a professional needs to diagnose.
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