Dogs are beloved members of our family; they bring us laughter, joy, and unconditional love. Despite this, they can sometimes have annoying habits, and barking is often one of the worst of them.
It’s one thing for your dog’s barking to bother you, but it can become a stressful situation if you share walls with neighbors who don’t take kindly to your dog making noise. Luckily, dogs can be trained not to bark.
We’ll help you teach your dog to quiet down by sharing information about why dogs bark, as well as going over training methods to reduce or eliminate problem barking. The right training method will depend on your situation, but by the end of this article, you should have a better sense of how to address your dog’s barking habits.
Before you can work on training, you should try to understand why your dog is barking. There are several different reasons why a dog might bark, but problem barking often falls into five common categories. Once you figure out which category your dog fits into, you’ll be better prepared to train them to stop.
Some dogs view your home, the street in front of it, and possibly even surrounding yards as their territory. Thus, they may bark at anything that enters their territory, whether it be a person or animal.
Dogs that seem to bark at every single noise are likely alarm barking. Sometimes, they may feel threatened by sounds they don’t understand, and they feel the need to alert the household to the presence of the noise.
Some dogs will bark because they want attention, especially if they have learned in the past that it works. It does not matter if the attention is negative (getting admonished for barking); attention is attention.
Dogs can be compulsive barkers. They bark excessively and repetitively, and you may even see them making repetitive movements such as pacing.
This can be one of the most difficult types of barking to address as there may not be an easily identifiable cause. Often, it is best to seek professional help for this type of barker.
If your dog only barks when they hear other dogs barking, whether that be dogs in your home or dogs down the street, then this can be considered socially-initiated barking.
Separation anxiety can be a serious problem in which dogs are beside themselves with anxiety and fear when left alone. This can cause barking, but such barking cannot be solved with common methods used to train dogs to be quiet. Instead, the separation anxiety itself has to be treated.
Before we get into the training methods, let’s talk about a couple of steps you should be taking to set your dog up for success. These steps are actually very important to the training process and should not be skipped.
You may be surprised to see this, but problem barking can often be reduced by exercise. All types of barkers can benefit from exercise, but it can be especially helpful for attention barkers and compulsive barkers.
Attention-seeking behaviors are often a sign that your dog is not getting enough physical and mental enrichment. Spending more time exercising, playing with, and challenging your dog’s critical thinking capabilities through training or puzzle toys can help reduce this type of barking.
As far as compulsive barkers go, increasing exercise will help get rid of excess energy and reduce boredom. You may still need to contact a professional to address the barking, but even then, making sure your dog gets enough exercise will almost always be part of the training plan.
In terms of exercise, we would recommend you be active with your dog. While letting them out in the yard is better than nothing, taking them for a walk with you provides many more benefits.
Prevention is a huge part of training dogs not to bark. This is because barking is a self-rewarding behavior, so if we can prevent the bark, then we are preventing the reward. The more your dog gets rewarded for barking, the more they will want to do it.
Prevention is especially important for territorial dogs, as they sometimes have the tendency to obsessively stare out the window and bark at anything they see. You should cover the windows or keep the dog in areas of your home where they don’t have access to the window.
Sometimes, sound can also be an issue. Even if your dog cannot see anything, they may bark when they hear something (this is especially true of alarm barkers). Figure out what the noisiest areas of your house are and try to keep your dog away from them.
You’ll also want to use white noise to your advantage. If your dog is in a quiet room, it’s even easier to hear errant noises. So, try to keep music or other white noise playing, especially when you’re not around.
Until you have successfully desensitized your dog to whatever triggers their barking, it is best if you can prevent them from experiencing that trigger. Otherwise, it may make training more difficult and time-consuming. We know some triggers are completely out of your control, so just do the best you can to dampen or prevent them.
Now that you understand the reasons dogs bark as well as how to set them up for success, it’s time to finally look at training techniques. Today, we’ll be explaining two techniques. One focuses on desensitizing your dog to sounds that trigger them, and the other focuses on how to teach your dog to be quiet on command.
The goal of this type of training is to teach your dog that certain noises are not mysterious, frightening, threatening, or anything other than mundane and inconsequential. Pairing a reward with noises will help dogs learn to be calm when hearing them.
Desensitization techniques can help many problem barkers, including alarm barkers, social barkers, and dogs with separation anxiety. While desensitization is a great tool for separation anxiety, we urge you to research beyond our article if you believe separation anxiety to be the main cause of your dog’s barking.
We’ll explain how desensitization works by using the example of a sound-based trigger — a knock on the door — but understand that it can be effective for many different kinds of triggers, including visual ones.
Think of all the noises that trigger your dog to bark. Common examples might be the sound of people walking or talking outside, the sound of the doorbell, the sound of knocking, or the sound of the door opening. Once you know what triggers your dog, you can work on each one separately.
To help desensitize your dog to a trigger, you need to expose them to it starting at a low intensity. For example, if your dog barks when someone knocks on the front door, take them away from the front door and quietly knock on something that isn’t a door. The floor or the wall can work.
Make sure your dog can see you knock so that they know where the sound is coming from. Reward them if they do not bark. Repeat this exercise a few times before increasing the intensity of the trigger. You want to work your way up to knocking on an actual door, and then the front door itself.
It may take many small steps, but going slow and steady can prevent your dog from barking, which is what you want. You want your dog to learn that the trigger is nothing to be worried about and that instead, they get yummy treats if they remain quiet while hearing that trigger.
If your dog ever does bark, go back to the last intensity where they were quiet, and repeat it. You may also need to add extra steps if your dog is struggling to move from one intensity to the next.
For instance, if your dog successfully remained quiet when you knocked on the bedroom door but barks when you knock on the inside of the front door where they can see you knocking, then you may need to slowly inch your way to the front door, knocking on floors, walls, and any other doors in closer proximity.
Since triggers like a knock on the door or the doorbell ringing are usually performed by other people, you can greatly benefit from help from friends or family members who do not live with your dog. So, let’s continue with the example trigger of knocking.
If your dog is quiet when you go outside, close the door, and knock on it, then they’re ready to experience others knocking on the door. Dogs are already more likely to bark at people who do not live with them, so this is where friends and family come in.
When your friends first arrive, tell them to text you instead of knocking. They should come inside and hang out for a while until your dog is calm in their presence. Then, you can have them help with training. Have them knock on the inside of the door and then on the outside of the door while still inside the house (open the door).
If your dog succeeds at this, have your friends walk out the door while your dog is watching, then close the door and have them knock quietly. Repeat this a few times and reward your dog if they’re quiet.
Hopefully, the next time your friends come over, they can knock, and your dog won’t bark. Of course, you may need your friends to come back and help for a few more sessions for your dog to become fully desensitized.
If you feel you have desensitized your dog to the trigger, then your next step is to have your dog experience it in real-time. Continuing with our previous example of knocking, in this instance, you’ll want to invite someone over and have them knock on the door.
Hopefully, your dog will not begin barking uncontrollably. If they do, it means you need to spend more time training.
If desensitization doesn’t seem like the best option for you, then you can try teaching your dog to be quiet on cue. Sometimes, this is helpful for dogs who bark territorially because outside of blocking the windows, there’s not much you can do to remove triggers.
There are two methods commonly used to teach the quiet command. The first involves teaching “speak,” and the second involves inducing a bark and then rewarding the dog when they grow silent. The “speak” method may be better for dogs who seem to never stop barking after experiencing a trigger, and so this is the method we will explain today.
Whether your dog is motivated by chicken or a squeaky toy, you need a reward that they are crazy about. Your dog will be ready to perform all sorts of actions in order to get the reward. If you feel your dog needs an extra incentive, you can always give them a small taste of whatever you have in order to show them how desirable it is.
There isn’t really a way to tell your dog that you want them to bark, and we’re trying to avoid using any stimuli that set them off. So, all you can really do is wait for your dog to figure it out themself.
They may perform several trained behaviors like sit, lie down, shake, rollover, whatever they know. It’s natural for dogs to get confused or frustrated as they try to puzzle out how to earn a treat.
If your dog appears to think about barking, then reward them. You probably know exactly what your dog looks like when they’re about to bark; perhaps their ears go back, or their lips move forward.
If you can capture and reward these moments, your dog will be given insight into what you’re looking for. After you reward it once, your dog will be likely to repeat the action that gained the treat — from this point on, they might start adding in a low growl or even a tiny yip.
Reward these actions, too. However, if, after a few repetitions, they are not progressing from a growl to a bark, withhold the reward again until your dog makes more progress toward a bark. Then, continue rewarding progress until your dog finally barks.
Once your dog does bark, give them a jackpot reward (many treats instead of just one). As they continue to bark for a reward, add the cue, “speak.” Say the word as they are barking. Repeat it over and over until your dog can speak on command.
Once your dog can speak on command, stop rewarding barking. At this point, your dog should only be rewarded if you say the cue. This is where teaching “quiet” comes in.
When dogs realize they can get a reward for barking, they can get a little noisy. You can use this to your advantage and teach them “quiet.”
All you have to do is wait for a pause in your dog’s barking, a moment that they are silent. At this moment you should say “quiet” and give a reward. Just as with speak, you are rewarding progress toward the goal.
You can also ask your dog to speak and then when they grow silent, say “quiet” and reward. Every time your dog is successful, try increasing the amount of time they have to stay quiet before they receive the reward. You’ll want to keep practicing this. As you can tell by now, repetition is key in dog training.
Though the training techniques we explained previously are likely your best bet when it comes to dealing with unwanted barking, they take time. Here are some other things you can do to help reduce barking.
First, we want to talk about capturing, a dog training technique in which you reward your dog for something they do naturally. We like to think about this as catching your dog doing something right.
If your dog is being calm and quiet, you should give them a reward for this behavior in order to strengthen it. You can eventually even add cues to certain behaviors if you capture them often or if your dog begins repeatedly offering them in hopes of a reward.
It’s best if you can keep treats on hand around your home so that you will not disrupt the desirable behavior when getting those treats. For example, you want to give the treat while your dog is lying down calm and quiet.
Busy toys like the classic Kong or puzzle-type toys can help keep your dog engaged and distract them from anything that may make them bark. If your dog can safely use these toys while you are away, then they can be helpful in managing barking when you’re not home.
We especially like Kongs because they can be frozen. This makes the goodies inside last longer, and thus the toy distracts your dog for longer. If your dog needs more mental enrichment, feeding them their dinner via a Kong or puzzle toy is also a great use of these products.
If you’re unable to provide your dog with more exercise or if you’ve been receiving noise complaints, you may want to consider doggy daycare, pet sitters, or dog walkers. Doggy daycare is just as it sounds: you drop your dog off in the morning and pick them up on your way home from work.
Your dog will be interacting with multiple dogs, so it’s important that your dog is friendly. Of course, doggy daycares can accommodate dogs that are too old or aggressive to be with other dogs — usually, they keep them in a large kennel and bring them out separately for play or walks.
If doggy daycare isn’t for you, then pet sitting may be a great option. Pet sitters will come to your home and stay with your dog for however long you ask. Visits often include letting the dog out, playtime, and even administering meals or medications.
Most pet sitting companies also offer dog walking services. If your dog barks while you’re away, pet sitters can help by engaging your dog in play or taking them out for a walk.
Barking can be a frustrating habit for pet owners to deal with because it is, unfortunately, a rewarding behavior for dogs. A dog might bark for many different reasons, but once you identify that reason, you can work on training your dog to stop.
Some of the most effective methods for training your dog not to bark include desensitization and training the trick, “speak.” However, it is equally important to set your dog up for success by providing plenty of exercise and doing your best to prevent situations that trigger your dog’s barking habits.
With patience and consistent training, you can say “bye-bye” to barking and “hello” to a quieter version of your four-legged family member.