You love your dog. You love spending time with him.  If only you knew why he barks so much.DSC_0594 The question is why does your dog bark so much but you neighbors dog never utters a sound? Both dogs have great homes. Both dogs are healthy. It doesn’t make sense.  Well, maybe it does. Most dogs bark for a reason. If you have a dog that barks constantly, that may not seem like a good explanation, but it’s true.  They bark to warn us, they bark to let us know they’re hungry, they bark to let us know they need to out to potty, they even bark because they are bored and want to do something. In the wild, dogs would bark to alert the pack or frighten prey into flight. Surprisingly, they remained silent most of the time. Their silence meant survival.  So what happened? Why do domesticated dogs bark so much? We did that. It has been said that humans wanted dogs to be a warning system. We wanted to take advantage of a dogs keen senses to alert us of looming dangers.  Over the millennia, dogs figured out that we humans responded to their barking more that their usual method of using body language to get their point across. In short, we created a monster. That doesn’t mean that we can’t tame the monster. There are many ways to quiet barking, but we’re only tackling two of them now.  One is to figure out why your dog is barking and satisfy his need.  The other is to train the dog not to bark. It may take a little observation, but it’s not too hard to figure out why a dog is barking.

  • Alerting
  • I want to go out
  • I’m hungry
  • Hold me
  • I want to play

Figure out what your dog wants, do it, and the barking stops.  Easy, right? Well, yes and no. Small dogs that are accustomed to being held will be more likely to bark because, when held, they are protecting their space. They will also be more likely to bark to get back up in that space. Unfortunately that is a genie that may be difficult to put back in the bottle.  Socializing your little dog while cutting back the time spent in your arms can go a long way to make a less anxious and more tolerant dog. Make time to play with your dog. Go for a walk. You’ll be surprised that a tired dog can be a quiet dog. Dogs that alert, to passing cars, people walking by, other dogs, are doing a job that has been in their DNA for ever.  There is a way to stop the barking that works in many dogs. It copies what wild dogs do to quiet their pups because barking could alert predators to the defenseless pups.

 The procedure worked out by wild canines to stop barking is really quite simple. The pack leader or the puppy’s mother places its mouth over the offender’s muzzle, without actually biting, and then gives a short, low and breathy growl. The low growl will not be heard very far, and it is short in duration. The mouth over the muzzle is not actually inflicting pain, so there is no yelping or attempts to escape. Silence usually follows immediately.

 Humans can mimic this behavior to stop barking. With your dog sitting at your left side, slip the fingers of your left hand under the collar at the back of your dog’s neck. Pull up on the collar with your left hand, while your right hand folds over the top of the dog’s muzzle and presses down. In a quiet, business-like and unemotional tone, you simply say “Quiet.” You repeat this silencing maneuver whenever it is necessary. Depending upon the breed, it may take anywhere from two to a couple of dozen repetitions to associate the calmly stated command, “Quiet” with an end to barking.

 Be sure, however, that you only use this procedure to stop a dog from barking when barking is unnecessary, as in an obedience class or a public place. Remember that we specifically bred dogs to bark, so if your dog sounds the alarm at the approach of stranger, or even at the sight of a cat outside of your window, don’t correct him. If there is no cause for any action, just call him to your side and give him a quick pet or a rub. By barking your dog is only doing the job which we designed him to do thousands of years ago.

With a little observation and a little more work, you can have a quieter dog.