How To Train Your Dog To Stop Barking So Much

As it is one of only a very limited number of ways dogs can vocally communicate, there are many reasons why they bark. It can be a greeting, a warning, a threat, an expression of frustration or excitement, or even just to seek attention. 

While we don’t want to stop our four-legged friends from communicating when they feel like something important is going on, unnecessary and excessive barking is something that should be discouraged as it can be annoying to owners and their neighbours. 

Barking cannot be entirely eliminated by any technique – and that should not really be the goal, either – but there are a number of methods which can help make your dog less noisy if you have the time and patience to let them work. 

Here are some training techniques that can help your dog to quiet down. 

Desensitisation

This works best when your dog’s barking is triggered by something specific that they see on regular occasions. This could be something like a cyclist riding past the house on his way to work each morning. The reason it is important for it to be something regular is that this technique involves you sitting with your dog just before it happens. 

As the cyclist or other trigger starts approaching, start speaking soothingly to your dog and giving them some treats. Stop the treats as soon as they bark. It may take multiple sessions of doing this for your dog to get the message, but eventually, they will figure out that they prefer treats to barking and they will start to ignore the trigger entirely. 

Commands

Teaching your dog to stop barking on command using a look, word, or gesture must be done in two stages and requires a lot of treats. The technique is taught in reverse, so the first stage is to teach your dog to bark on command. Use a different command and try to elicit a bark from the dog, rewarding them with a treat when they do. After a while, they will remember the command and no longer require the treat. 

Then, you can move to stage two. In this stage, you start off by making them bark, then introduce your command for them to stop. This may take many tries, but by rewarding them with treats when they finally do stop they’ll learn to associate that command with stopping. 

Bark Collars

A humane bark collar can come in handy if your dog is often loud when you’re not around, or if angry neighbours are demanding you do something about the noise right away.

Spray collars are one option. Your dog’s barking will provoke a small squirt of citronella from the collar. This is a harmless oil extract with a lemony smell that most dogs find a little unpleasant. The squirt should distract them enough to stop them barking immediately, and over time they will learn not to trigger the collar because they dislike the smell. At that point, the collar is no longer needed.  

Teaching a dog to bark less means fighting against its natural instincts. This takes a lot of patience, but with the right training techniques it is possible to make your dog less excitable.