As a dog owner there are many things you need to deal with, like your shoes getting chewed, your plants getting ruffled up and of course let’s not forget about that 3 am barking session your dog never misses.
Excessive barking is a very common problem that almost all dog owners have to face at one point. But the truth is it’s actually very easy to get rid of.
A dog breed that’s proned to excessive barking is the german shepherd. This is because german shepherds are a breed that was originally used for herding sheep and other animals so it’s in their nature to bark a lot. And I’m talking a alot.
So here’s how you can fix german shepherd barking, or any other dog breed’s barking problems.
The first thing you need to do is to figure out what your dog is barking for. You can’t solve a problem until you know the actual cause for that particular problem.
The main reason dogs bark is to guard their territory. This is something all dogs do, it’s in their genes.
They will bark at anything and anyone that threatens their territory and the barking gets more intense as the threat comes closer.
A dog can also bark to seek your attention. He may want you to feed him or take him outside. This kind of dog behavior can seem cute at first but the thing is your dog won’t stop barking until he gets what he wants from you.
For example, Daniel Abdelnoor, an expert dog trainer says that every dog will either follow you or try to control you, that’s why in his Doggy Dan dog training videos he says that before you deal with any dog behavior problem you need to make yourself the pack leader.
Another reason why your dog could be barking all the time is boredom and separation anxiety. This is mostly common with puppiess but adult dogs can also develop this behavior.
A lot of dogs bark when they’re left alone in the house, like when you’re at work or at night when you’re sleeping. This is sometimes coupled with destructive behavior like cheweing shoes or the couch.
Sometimes barking is a breed specific trait like in the case of GSDs but regardless of this here is how you can train your dog to stop barking like crazy all the time.
First of all, no, a barking collar isn’t the answer. It’s cruel and if you truly love your dog you will not put him through such a treatment, ever.
So the key is to train your dog to bark on command. If you train him to bark when you want him to bark, you can also train him to stop barking when you want him to not bark.
You start with visual cues. If your dog is already barking you show him your open palm. When he stops you close the palm of your hand. It’s more complex but that’s the basics.
This post is just part 1 of the dog training series but if you want more dog training tips www.toraiseadog.com is an awesome website you can check out.
I’ll go into more detail in part 2 of the stop your dog from barking series so make sure to subscribe to the blog newsletter or keep an eye on our Facebook page because I’m also gonna post there when the blog post goes live. Until then, keep at it.