Stopping the Barking Habit in Your Dog

Title: Stopping the Barking Habit in Your Dog
Author: Patrick Carpen

Stopping the Barking Habit in Your Dog
All dogs will inevitably succumb to annoying habits. Most
of these habits are habits which affect you, the dog's
owner, and not everyone else. However, if you have a dog
who continuously barks, day in and day out, this is
definitely a habit that will affect many more than just
yourself. This is a habit that may come to such an
out-of-control point in which your neighbors may become
quite perturbed, and this habit may even lead to some
run-ins with your local police force, which is definitely
not something you want to have to deal with.

Initially, people began domesticating dogs in order to use
them as security or alert systems to give protection to the
family who owned them. Now, such habits can become quite
bothersome, especially in a dog who barks all of the time.
The best time to teach your dog when and where barking is
appropriate is when your dog is still a puppy, and before
the barking becomes completely out-of-control.

There are many reasons why dogs bark. They bark if they
are full of energy, if they are worried or tired, if they
are alerting you to something or someone, and they also
bark at strangers and other animals. Think of it this way.
We, as humans, can say, "I'm tired," or "I'm scared," but
dogs have no other way of vocally communicating, so this is
their way of doing so. The key is to teach your dog other
ways of communicating with you.

One of the main reasons dogs bark is for attention,
especially dogs who are left by themselves for long periods
of time, and then ignored when their humans return. Many
dogs, such as terriers, are naturally lively and energetic
dogs, and these breeds tend to bark far more frequently
than others. Dogs, like humans, need interaction, love,
attention, and relationships with their human owners.
There is no point in owning a dog if you are simply going
to leave it out in the dog house all day, only to feed it
and yell at it when it barks too much. However, due to
work or other circumstances, it is understandable that many
dogs are left at home by themselves for long periods of
time during the day or even night. This is okay if you
find a way to interact with your dog when you are around.
There are a few, easy ways of doing this.

First of all, try to help your dog get used to the idea
that you do have to leave, but that you will always return.
Start by leaving for short periods of time, and upon
arrival each time, give him a minute or two of undivided
attention, such as petting or playing. As your dog becomes
used to this, gradually extend the periods of time in which
you are gone. If you get your puppy the day before the
weekend, for example, you could use the entire weekend to
do this so that, come Monday when you have to go to work,
your puppy will know that, although you will be gone for a
while, you will come home.

Another idea is to keep your dog from succumbing to the
tediousness of being along. Leave him with playthings,
such as balls, squeak toys, stuffed animal companions, or
something stuffed with kibble. All of these things will
help to keep your dog busy during his day alone, and this
will surely help to stifle some of the "boredom" barking
that can be a result of loneliness.

About the Author:

Patrick Carpen is the designer, writer and owner of the
website http://dogtraining.infobay.ws/
Infobay.ws is a content based, consumer oriented website
that provides professionally researched, and up to the
minute content on selected subjects.

.

__,_._,___