How do I prevent my dog from barking?

Dog barking is completely normal and natural. However, excessive barking, both day and night, can often ruin the lives of dog owners and daily life of their neighbours. By reading this article, you're probably hoping to find a solution to stop your dog from barking altogether.

First of all, it is essential to know the origin of your dog's barking. Once you know this, you can take action to prevent it.

Why does my dog bark constantly?

It is important to know that dogs rarely bark for no reason. Just as when humans talk or shout, our dogs bark to express themselves.

Barking is the result of several emotions, which can be more or less noisy and recurrent depending on the dog.

Boredom

Your neighbors have informed you that your beloved doggie barks all day long? It's probably because your dog is bored. It's not uncommon for dogs to bark in reaction to their solitude.

Stress

Yes, dogs can be stressed and anxious too. This stress can be caused by several events: moving, car ride, change of routine, new smells or the arrival of a new pet or baby…

If your dog has been barking regularly since such an event, he is certainly upset and in need of reassurance from familiar objects and/or his owners.

Excitement

Our dogs don't only bark for what we would judge as negative reasons. A happy dog barks too! Have you noticed that your doggie is noisy when you come home from work, when you pick up his bag of kibble or when you put the leash on him before going out? Your companion is just excited and wants to let you know!

Fear

Another reason, which in a more exceptional way, can provoke the barking of your doggie is fear. Dogs use their barking to protect and defend themselves when they are scared. This can be especially the case when they meet other animals or people they don't know yet.

Bad habits

Very often, noisy dogs are noisy for many reasons and not just one: boredom, stress, excitement… Indeed, if they have not been used to good manners from a young age, some dogs do not understand that barking repeatedly is not a good thing. It is therefore very important to educate them as early as possible.

What are the solutions to prevent my doggie from barking?

Depending on the cause of your dog's barking, an adapted solution will be able to provide a more or less effective answer to your problem.

Learning to behave properly

This is the first step and it is inevitable. If you haven't already done so, you need to teach your dog not to bark, by making him understand that his behavior is not adapted.

To begin, you must teach your dog to bark on command. Observe him and when he is about to bark, say “bark“. Praise him and offer him a treat when he does so. With practice, your dog should be able to obey this command.

Once this first step has been successfully completed and assimilated by your dog, teach him to keep quiet. To do this, say “quiet” in a firm tone. This method allows your dog to be distracted by your voice and move on. In the long run, your dog should assimilate the command “quiet” to not making noise. When he doesn't bark at the command, praise him with a small treat.

Channel his energy

Exercise is recommended for dogs for a variety of reasons. In addition to taking care of their physical fitness, sport allows them to release energy and potential stress they may have accumulated.

To prevent your dog from barking, it is strongly recommended that you allow him to get as much exercise as possible on a daily basis. Offer him at least once a day an outing during which he can run, play and possibly meet his fellow dogs.

Anti-bark collars

As a last resort, anti-bark collars are designed to prevent dogs from barking. There are different types of collars, and their effectiveness varies from dog to dog…

Beware, these necklaces are only to be considered in the short term since they can be very unpleasant for our beloved doggies. Anti-bark collars therefore act as a support to your dog's education to stop being noisy. They should allow you to accelerate your dog's learning to obey the “bark” and “quiet” commands we talked about earlier in this article.

At DogsPlanet.com, we don't like anti-bark collars. We therefore advise you to privilege the gentler methods before testing this one.

In conclusion

Dogs are animals that express what they feel. It is not a question of depriving them of this freedom, but of teaching them to channel this energy and limit noise nuisance, especially indoors.

As you will have understood, there are different methods to prevent them from barking. Now it's up to you to find the one that suits you best.

Beware, some dog breeds are more likely to be noisy than others. Before adopting a dog, be sure to check his barking behavior.

We can also recommend a visit to the vet when you have a dog that barks a lot, or if your dog starts barking overnight, to check if he has an underlying problem, such as an illness or disability.

If despite all your efforts, your dog's barking persists, turn to a dog trainer who will be able to help you regain peace and quiet.