How to Stop Excessive Barking

There are several ways in which dogs can communicate. They move their tale, howl, chew and most importantly, they bark. It is ok for a dog to bark sometimes, as a matter of fact sometimes we buy dogs for that reason. We want them to bark so they can scare away the bad guys, but excessive barking can be extremely annoying. There are dogs that literally bark all day long, but you shouldn't try to make them silent forever, you must only train them to control the excess barking.

You are not up to an easy task. Barking is written in the dog's genes, so it is very hard to train it for this; you will need a lot of patience and perseverance. Dogs can bark at several things, and for several reasons, so identifying them could speed up the training process. Your dog can be barking because it wants to play with the kids on the street or chase an animal, fells hungry, lonely, jealous, or because it wants to protect its territory.

Once the possible reasons for barking are identified, the next step is to identify the breed of your dog because some breeds bark more than others. Once you know the breed of your dog, it is time to establish a hierarchy. Dogs are pack animals that are instinctively ruled by a rank among them, so you must portrait yourself as the leader to control your dog. It is important for your dog to see you are the leader AT ALL TIMES, inconsistency will make you a weak leader and your dog might attempt to take over.

You must also concentrate in the physical needs of your dog, especially the physical exercise. Make sure your dog exercises in a regular basis; this is one of the most effective ways to keep it under control, because the lack of exercise can lead dogs to surface their frustration in wrongful conducts such as barking, or sometimes even chewing or aggressiveness.

Walking your dog is not always sufficient to satisfy its physical needs and portray yourself as a leader. You must train your dog for obedience, as well as for command. Encourage your dog by offering him a food treat; this way, your dog will relate food to the particular commands and orders you issue to it and will speed up the learning process. You must avoid overdoing things. Dogs have limits, so train your dog for command for about 30 min to an hour daily, and 10-20 min for obedience. This shall be enough.

These strategies would be the ideal since they don't punish your dog, instead reward it for good conduct. But if they do not work try using shock collars. Only use them when the barking is excessive and unnecessary, and only for short periods of time.