How to Quiet Your Barking Dog

By Grant Madden

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

A barking dog
A spray bottle of water
A small dog treat
Time and patience

Step 1:
Identify what causes the dog to bark. Dogs usually bark as a reaction to their environment. They pick up visual cues, are bored or frightened. Once you know what may be causing the barking, you can react to the noise.
Step 2:
Remember that barking when people arrive at the door can be rewarded. When a friend or neighbor comes to the door, encourage the dog to bark. When the barking announcement is sufficient give the dog a voice command to cease. After he has responded reward the dog with a treat. Each time their is an arrival lengthen the time before giving the treat.
Step 3:
Know that the majority of times barking is seen as a nuisance or undesirable behavior. It then becomes a matter of disciplining the dog to bark. The use of a spray bottle of water will serve as a negative reinforcement for the unwanted behavior. Always give a command to cease barking before spraying the dog.
Step 4:
Remember that the use of both positive and negative reinforcement over a sustained period of time will bring about a change in the dogs behavior.
The goal is to adjust the behavior of the dog for when you are not at home to an appropriate level.

Tips & Warnings

Obedience school training can aid in limiting barking while teaching other skills.
The use of a spray bottle is not designed to harm the dog. Never use caustic substances or other chemicals which may harm the dog.

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