There are many different problem behaviors that a dog can exhibit; one of the most annoying is a dog barking problem. There are many reasons that a dog might start to bark, and these reasons are important to analyze so that the dog barking problem can be stopped.

The environment will always have something to do with the triggers of the barking. It can either be that the dog is being territorial, he wants to dominate another dog that is around or hes just barking for the fun out of it. Some dogs however, may have the dog barking problem because they have never been socialized with other dogs and another reason would be because they just want to get what they want from their owner.

Curing The Issue

One way of escalating or making the barking problem worse is by rewarding the dog for barking even if it done through a negative attention. The dog needs to have a clear understanding that barking is not an acceptable conduct in any way and that he should not be rewarded by the owner. If an owner yells at the dog for barking, it is only a sign of negatively implementing the behavior by giving it some interest.

If the dog is barking outside and the owner lets it in, this is also reinforcing the negative behavior and it will continue and escalate. If the dog is comforted when it barks or given a treat to ‘calm it down,’ this is also reinforcing the dog barking problem and it will continue.

There are a lot of techniques in correcting a dog barking problem behavior. One is not reacting when you sense a barking issue such as when a dog barks at the doorbell or the ringing phone. The owner must not react to any of these things to show the dog that there is nothing to be stressed about and that everything is okay when these types of sounds happen.

It is helpful to ring the doorbell or the phone regularly when training the dog to get used to the noise so that he can see that there is not a reaction needed when those sounds are heard.

There are also ways to prevent the dog barking problem especially if it continues to happen when the owner is not home. One way would be giving the dog enough exercise and leaving him enough toys to play with so he does not get bored or strained out when left alone at home.

If the dog has been barking when the owner is away, he should not be greeted when getting home, only being greeted when he has calmed down. When the dog is not barking, he should be praised and when he is barking, there should be a negative association created with the barking, such as a loud noise or a bark collar.