Dogs bark. Unless you have a “barkless” breed – barking is what they do. It’s how they communicate. It gets them the attention they want. And it’s their instinct as part of “protecting” their territory.

But your dog’s barking can also be incredibly annoying and inappropriate. Like when they have to let you know about every leaf blowing down the street.

Change is possible, but not easy

No one ever told us that it’s simple to get the things we really want in life. Changing your dog’s barking behavior is no different. It’ll take some time, some patience, and persistence. And you’ll have to accept that the longer it’s been allowed, the longer it’ll take to change. Habit, not love or gravity, is the most powerful force in the universe.

The first thing to look at is how you’ve reacted to the annoyance of your dog barking over time. If you’ve always yelled at your dog to “shut up!,” chances are he thinks you’re barking too. He may think the two of you are having a lovely conversation. Dogs don’t really distinguish between kinds of attention – as long as they’re getting some, even if it’s negative, they’re probably okay with that.

What’s first

So, if you can’t yell at your dog to be quiet, what do you do? 

Come up with something else:

• Turn away from your dog and speak in a whisper
• Leave the room
• Squeak a toy and toss it the other way
• Ask your dog to do something else – sit, down, spin, any “trick” he knows
• Close the drapes/blinds

That last one is a biggie if your dog is one to sit by the window or door and comment on everything happening in the neighborhood. It’s the first step in modifying behavior – take control of the situation and shape the situation so learning can happen.

What’s next?

Once you understand what’s going on, how your dog is manipulating you (we’re all well-trained by our dogs!), and what you can do to change it, you’re on track for a happier, quieter life for everyone. 

We’ve recently been going through this with Hope’s yard-barking French Bulldog, Torque. We have neighboring dogs that bark at ours. One even charges the fence. Torque became pretty obsessed with “patrolling” the yard, looking for the interlopers. He even began barking to lure his “enemies” into range.

Unacceptable barking

Keeping Torque on leash and just managing the situation wasn’t improving it. We want to be able to enjoy being outside (after the weather warms up – January isn’t ideal). We want our dogs to be able to wander the yard, sniff around, be dogs, without annoying us and the rest of the neighborhood.

The key to changing the behavior is figuring out what’s more valuable to the dog than being “naughty.” It’s easy in Torque’s case – he loves toys. He also loves treats, and he adores training sessions with Hope.  Because Torque gets super-excited with toys, Hope opted to use treats to teach him better neighbor-manners.

She felt very brave, taking him out without the “security blanket” of the leash. Sure enough, Torque took up his station staring through the chain-link fence into the next yard. And gave a bark. And Nikko, the Husky who lives there, appeared around the corner of the house. 

Of course Torque spotted him, too. And started barking. Hope moved into his line of sight and quietly said his name. As soon as he glanced at her, he found a treat in his mouth. Surprise! Good boy! Hope moved so Torque, facing her, was angled slightly away from the fence. He turned a bit, then back and barked. 

Again, Hope moved so Torque had to see her. He looked at her and found another treat in his mouth! Good boy! And she moved away from the fence, talking to him and keeping his attention. 

Just then Nikko “woofed.” We think he realized he was losing his audience. But by that time, Torque realized that he was in the middle of a game with his “mom,” and chose her. Win!

Not fixed yet

The behavior isn’t “cured” in one session. It will be many more before we can be sure that our dog will “mind his own business” in the yard rather than looking for trouble. But it’s a start we can build on. 

As with all behavior modification, it will be a “two steps forward and one step back” progression. There will be days when we don’t feel like doing it. And days we don’t have the time to work on it. That’s okay. We have a start, and a plan. 

Help is available!

If you’d like more insight and help understanding your dog’s behavior, be sure to check out 2-Minute-Trainer.com. As a member of our group you’ll learn how to meaningfully communicate with your dog and live your best lives together.