Is Your Dog Always Barking?

A barking dog may be desperate for exercise, attention or playtime. Or, the dog may be stimulated by some sound or activity that you can't control, like a neighbor out doing yard work. Exercise, playtime and isolation from stimulation can help with excessive barking. But what if you've walked for an hour, played fetch until your dog is exhausted, isolated your dog in her crate and she still won't stop barking?

Barking can be self-reinforcing, meaning one bark can be exciting enough to your dog that she will bark again and again. It's enough to make even the most patient dog owners go crazy. Trust me, with two highly reactive dogs, I've been there. In these situations, teaching quiet on cue can really save your sanity.

Some trainers recommend teaching a dog to bark on cue in an attempt to control the barking. While barking on cue is a great technique, it can be intimidating to a new dog owner who is more worried about keeping the dog quiet.

Another technique that you can use to control barking is to teach quiet on cue. I will discuss how to teach barking on cue in a future post. For now, here are some easy steps to help your dog learn to stop barking and be quiet at your command.

1. Pick a hand signal that means quiet. This will be your cue to the dog to stop barking. I use two fingers up in a peace sign. While using a word as a cue is easier if your dog is across the room, I find that many dogs, especially toy breeds, learn faster with a hand signal. You can add a word after your dog learns the hand signal.

2. Get some really yummy treats that your dog doesn't normally get, such as bits of cheese, tiny dabs of peanut butter or cut up pieces of a hot dog.

3. Show your hand signal to your dog and give her a treat for being quiet. Praise your dog a lot as well.

4. Introduce this new behavior when your dog is already being quiet. For example, make your hand signal and treat for quiet 3-5 times per training session. Try to do 2-3 training sessions spread out over each day for about a week.

5. After practicing for a week, start offering your hand signal when your dog is actively barking. Again, treat and offer tons of praise each time your dog stops barking at your cue.

6. Like any new behavior, it may take your dog a bit of practice to catch on. Your dog may only be quiet on cue for a few seconds at first. Take this as a sign of progress!!

7. Keep using a really yummy reward like cheese or peanut butter. Slowly increase the amount of time you ask her to be quiet. For hardcore barkers, you may have to increase the time intervals by only 5 seconds at first. Your dog will probably make mistakes, but if the treat is yummy enough and you keep praising, she will figure it out.

8. Once your dog consistently offers the behavior on your hand signal, you can add a word, such as quiet, and eventually phase out the hand signal.