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Is your dog known to ruin your peace with barking? Or your neighbour’s peace?

Use our expert strategies below to stop your dog from barking at everything.

Already know why your dog barks? Feel free to skip ahead the blog post to identify the right techniques to solving their specific type of barking.

Your furry companion doesn’t bark for no reason, it’s their way of communicating their feelings to you (Pongrácz et al., 2009). 

The bottom line is you have to understand why your dog is barking in the first place to decide how you’re going to help them. 

Why is my dog barking then?

There are six types of barks, each with its own purpose.

Here’s a guide to recognize these barks and understand the psychological reasons behind them

• Excitement Barking – Excitement barks are like a little doggy celebration when they spot a familiar face or a loved one! To identify this, look out for high-pitched yips, happy wagging tails, and soft ears. 
  
• Attention and Food Barking – Your sweet pup might bark to let you know they’re craving some attention, food, or a stroll! Spot these by their repetitive barking patterns and a laid-back, relaxed body posture.
  
• Boredom Barking – When was the last time you engaged in some playtime with your pup?They may be barking to get some quality playtime with you! You can identify these barks by their lower pitch, which sounds like a ‘harff’ or a low grumble, signaling a need for playtime and mental stimulation
  
• Fearful, Anxious or Territorial Barking – Defending territory is important for a dog, they often anticipate a threat during this type of barking. You can identify these by their deeper pitch, sometimes accompanied by growls, which indicates defensiveness or a potential threat nearby. 
  
• Pain Barking – In the wild, the point of this bark would be to indicate to the pack to come to their aid, but you can assume that they’re just in pain. You can identify these barks by their high-pitched sound, yips or “crying”. 
  
• Reactive or Surprise Barking – If your dog is not paying attention, they get startled just like a human would. You can identify these barks by their singular bark characteristic, though there may be continuous barking you’ll often notice a quick pause. 
  

Note: Every dog is individual, while these may be common reactions, your dog may present differently. Remember, this is their way of communicating! 

How a Dog Trainer Stops Excessive Barking (Backed by Science)

Now that you understand why your dog may be barking you can put a plan into place to help some of these behaviours. These time-tested methods are backed by science, but don’t expect to see changes in your dog’s behaviour overnight!

How to Deal With Excitement Barking

Desensitization 

• Identify the trigger – It could be a certain noise, object or situation.
• Gradual Introduction – Get your dog used to the trigger by exposing low levels of the distraction.
• Observe Body Language – If they show signs of stress, decrease the exposure to the distraction.
  
  Rewards – If your dog remains calm in the presence of the trigger, reward your dog with a high quality treat.
• Increase Exposure – Increase the level of exposure to the distraction to make your dog more comfortable with it.

Example Scenario:
If your dog gets overly excited when guests arrive 

Step 1: Identify the Trigger
Recognize that the arrival of guests is the trigger causing excitement barking in your dog.

Step 2: Gradual Introduction
Start by simulating guest arrivals in a controlled manner. Enlist the help of a friend or family member to enter the house calmly.

Step 3: Observe Body Language
Watch your dog’s behaviour. If they start barking, calmly redirect their attention with a toy or treat scatter so they can be occupied for a long time. Wait for a moment of quiet before rewarding them.

Step 4: Rewards
Associate the presence of guests with positive experiences. When your friend arrives, have them give your dog treats or play with them. Reinforce the idea that guests bring good things.

Step 5: Increase Exposure
Gradually increase the excitement level by having guests arrive with more enthusiasm. Continue redirecting and rewarding calm behaviour. Practice this with various people to generalize the behaviour.

How to Deal With Attention or Food Barking

Teach the “Thank You” Cue

• Choose the bark limit – Decide how many barks they’re allowed (some people want their dog to alert them of people arriving). Be consistent with the limit! 
• Timing – When they reach their limit, redirect them with a toy or treat to a different spot (away from the thing they’re barking at). Use the cue “thank you” at the exact moment your dog goes silent or pauses barking – this will help your dog make the connection.
• Be Calm– Say the cue in a calm manner, yelling just adds unnecessary stress to the situation. Besides, it’s really hard to sound mad when you say “thank you”!
• Reward – Reward your dog with a high-quality treat.

After teaching them what the cue means, you should be able to say “thank you” and have them stop without you needing to redirect them constantly.

How to Deal With Boredom Barking

Physical Exercise & Playtime

• Sniffy Walks – Promotes mental stimulation by exposing to different scents and environments. This is the kind of walk where they just get to roam and sniff. Long lines are great for this kind of walk!
• Off-Leash Play – Run, explore, and interact with other dogs, promoting socialization (make sure it’s in a secure area or great recall)
• Mental Stimulation – Think about the natural behaviours your dog really loves – things like digging, chewing, sniffing, shredding, or herding. Try to replicate some of those activities for them. Create a dig pit with sand in a small plastic pool. Let them shred cardboard (if they don’t eat it) or lettuce. Get a flirt pole and some great long lasting chews!
• Fetch/Tug – Build a bond through play. Keep intense sessions short and consider the safety of the surface you’re on as well as the dog’s general safety! 

How to Deal With Fearful, Anxious or Territorial Barking

Using Desensitization…Again!

If your dog is a “guard” or “watchdog”, then it can become a problem when they excessively bark at someone at the door.

After your dog barks a couple times, say “quiet”. Then, the next time they bark, say “too bad” and put them in another room away from where the action is.

On a long enough time frame, they will learn that barking causes them to be removed from the action and staying quietly on the mat, earns them a treat.

Few specific tips to remember: 

• Establish a safe space for your dog to go to when they feel anxious – make sure they associate positively with the space. 

• Proceed slowly and be very aware of your dog’s body language. 

• Soothe your dog during exposure to the stimulus with calming words or gently petting them.

Surprise barking is considered normal (and you can use the “thank you” cue for this) unless it becomes excessive, then a desensitization approach is recommended too.

If your dog tends to bark at people passing by your house, then preventing their sight to the outside can reduce or stop their barking.

Use These Extra Secrets to Your Advantage

1. Skip the scolding because reprimanding your dog only increases anxiety and confusion in your dog’s training, which can make your dog’s barking even worse.
2. In line with the desensitization training method, it’s best to eliminate or minimize fears.
3. Teach your dog calm ways of telling you what they want. For example: Your dog is unable to bark and sniff simultaneously. Redirecting their focus to the ground, encouraging them to explore for treats instead of barking, proves highly effective. Consistently practicing this will instill in them the idea that remaining quiet, rather than barking, leads to positive outcomes.
4. As a rule of thumb, it’s always to keep your dog active because a stimulated dog is less likely to bark excessively.
5. Break the reward cycle: Instead of rewarding barking, reinforce quiet behavior. Ignore barking at mealtimes, offer a toy as a distraction, and engage in play when your dog is quiet.

Takeaway

Your dog doesn’t bark for no reason, it’s important to identify why they’re barking in the first place and to use that knowledge to implement the right training techniques.

We hope you found the following blog post helpful for how to stop your dog from barking at everything they see.

If you want to have a professional dog trainer that can help guide you through the process of dealing with your dog’s barking then…

Explore our Custom 1:1 plan which tailors a plan to ensure you don’t have to feel bad for yelling at your dog anymore, and to be able to relax peacefully after work (for once).

Let us know what type of barking your dog does on a daily basis, and how you plan to help improve their behaviour below 👇