Stop Dog Barking Before You Drive Yourself and Your Neighbors Crazy
Most of Us Have Had to Deal With Barking Dogs
One of the biggest problems that homeowners and dog owners face is the absolute relentless, nonstop barking of a nearby dog.
Maybe you are currently dealing with this annoying problem. It may be your own dog or it could be the neighbor’s. Either way, a dog that won’t stop barking is not only a nuisance but a danger to your well being.
Barking dogs have been at the center of many arguments between neighbors and have even led to physical altercations with either the dog or its owner being threatened with harm if they don’t shut up.
Hopefully, you haven’t reached that point yet.
The first thing that should be realized when it comes to dogs is that barking is their language. It is simply what they do to communicate. Unfortunately, they aren’t able to speak english and tell us what’s wrong with them. Therefore, it is not a good idea, or in your best interest, to silence your dog every time it starts to bark. Instead, you should strive to find out why he is barking and see if you can solve the problem.
Why Does My Dog Keep Barking?
One of the first steps to stop dog barking is to figure out why your dog is barking in the first place. It could be any number of reasons. Some of them may be important and others not so important. One of my dogs would literally shake the house and garage with his daily barking. Why? Because he used to enjoy sliding his dog dish all over the garage floor and once it flipped over (which it always did) he would get frustrated and start barking.
One of the obvious reasons for a barking dog could be your personal safety and someone or something invading his territory. Most dogs are very protective of its owner’s property and this applies to big dogs as well as smaller dogs. Before you tell your dog to “shut up,” you might want to find out if he is barking for a legitimate reason.
Some of the reasons for constant barking are…
- Perceived intruder in their territory
- Another dog in the area
- Animals in the area
- Wanting to go outside
- Wanting to come inside
- Hunger
- Health issues or pain
- Loneliness
- Desiring attention
- Jealousy
- Wanting to play
- Bad Weather
- Passing Vehicles
- Loud Music
- Doorbells
Obviously, this is just a partial list of the many possible reasons a dog might start barking. However, if you pay attention, it should not take long to pinpoint what the problem is with your dog so that you can address the issue.
Another key point to remember when dealing with your barking dog is that he may be barking at something that you are unable to hear, see, or sense as a human. In your eyes, he is barking for no good reason. However, there could be a very legitimate reason as to why he won’t stop barking like a sound you can’t hear or a vibration you can’t feel.
“My Dog Hates Red Birds…”
Some of our friends share their personal stories about excessive dog barking.
“My dogs are what you would call out of control dogs…not by me because I like their spirit…but my friends think so. My wired haired fox terrier, Hannah barks at red birds…when she was a puppy one of the red birds in the backyard would bomb dive her. I guess she was fuzzy and looked like a threatening cat…anyway she hates FREAKING RED BIRDS!…
…She knows their bird calls and chirps and when she hears then she starts barking immediately, much to the amazement of normal people. I have to explain why she is barking when they do not see or hear anything unusual in the area.
She will also bark if you do not pay any attention to her when you are eating pizza, chicken or spaghetti. She does truly love these foods. She sits and waits for a bite……by now she is salivating and she can’t control it any longer. She will start pawing me, but if that doesn’t work, it is time to bark.
I know it is my fault with the food. As I look at her, she gives me the “PUPPY EYE” with her “M&M” eyes and black licorice nose and I just give in. She is just too cute with her eyebrows and whiskers…Am I a bad owner???”
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“I have a dog named Winston he is a rat terrier (but he prefers to be called a rodent terrier…because he hates rats and squirrels!) He is scared to death of thunderstorms and when there is a storm coming in he starts to bark…I can’t even hear the thunder yet but he does. He won’t stop barking until it is gone.
What do you think I should do about this? I know the little guy is just scared. I have tried holding him, talking to him but NOTHING seems to work.”
There are many readers that are going to relate to some of the stories shared above and hopefully they will give you some insight on why your dog may be barking.
If you need additional help to stop dog barking, check out the stop barking tips at the SitStayFetch website.
