How To Get Your Dog to Stop Barking

Are you ready to deep-dive into how to get your dog to stop barking? We’re going to break each type of bark and options you can use to get them to control the non stop barking. If your dog is anything like mine, she has almost a chirp - a really high-pitched bark that can really get to ya!

So let’s see what we can do to help you help you dog to stop barking as much!

Different Types of Barks

Bork bork! Not all barks are created equal! This process involves some research and studying on your part. But here are the different types of barks that dogs are known for and how you can simmer them down!

Intruder Alert

Difficulty Level: 2 out of 5 toe beans

This is the type of bark you are going to want to harness and not get rid of completely. In the very low chance someone unknown were to break into your home, you would want them to alert you and even scare them away. But when someone new comes in, they need to learn the difference between a welcomed guest and not welcomed! 

Be sure to welcome friends and family happily with reassurance that they are welcomed. However, if your dog can be aggressive or protective, you may not want to opt for a hug right away. Start with a happy voice, pet your dog, and refer to them as “friend” or another positive word you use with your dog like, “They’re nice!” ; “Aww” ; “You’re okay!” ; or anything like that.

Tell your guest to sit on the couch and welcome the dog. If they are dog people - they’ll understand! You can sit close to them to let your dog know that you approve. Try this again and again and your dog’s borks will calm.

Delivery!

Difficulty Level: 3.5 out of 5 toe beans

Even though it might be music to your ears, some dogs just HATE it when your Amazon package gets delivered or the GrubHub peeps have your delicious food! Don’t you just wish we could tell them, “Hey they have your chicken nuggets, dude! Be nice!” 

When it comes to doorbell/door knocking barking, that sound is a trigger for dogs to let you know that there is a stranger amongst the home. You can opt for the delivery people to not knock or ring the doorbell, but sometimes that doesn’t always happen.

When that happens, you can start by calling your dog’s name and commanding them to sit. They might be abuzz with excitement, but keep your calm and use a command to get their attention. When you first start this exercise, using treats can help greatly but gradually stop as they get better. Once you have them sitting, tell them “No” when they start to ruff or want to run towards the door/window. Be stern and remember your 3 R’s for every time this happens. This one takes a lot of persistence and consistency. 

Leash Barking

Difficulty Level: 4 out of 5 toe beans

Leash aggression is a whole blog post on its own (let us know if you want it!) but here are the basics you can do when your dog wants to let other dogs know they are the baddest of the block!

When other dogs on walks approach, there are a few things you can do but what *you* need to stay calm and not get upset. Stay in control, you’re walking your dog - they’re not walking you. First, you can cross the street and keep them walking so they can avoid the other dog, but this really puts a band-aid on the problem.

Our recommended method is to move your dog out of the other dog’s path. This could mean you need to stand in someone else’s yard as they pass on the sidewalk or if you are on a dirt trail hiking, you can move them to the edge of the trail with you. Then command your dog to sit and get them to pay attention to you as you reel them close to your side. You can get low with them and calm them down. You can point your finger towards them and tell them “no” in a very stern voice - a command that can be learned rather quickly! But no matter what, stay calm and stern with them. 

Once they pass by and they did a good job, make sure they know it by giving them lots of love and pets! If they didn’t do a good job, stick around in that same authoritative position for a minute or two after they settle. They’ll get the idea once this happens repeatedly.

Note: I know we didn’t talk about house barking but those barks are mostly because they are suffering from separation anxiety and that will be another post because that is part of a larger issue versus these protective barks.

Tools to Help With Barking

Now that you know the 3 main types of barking, we can move onto tools you can purchase to help even more. 

Bark Control Devices

These are little egg-shaped devices that simply let out a supersonic noise that only dogs can hear. Beep it once for 2 seconds when they are being disobedient. Adding this to your daily walks if they bark on a leash will enhance their performance ten-fold! You can also use this when they are barking at the delivery people when they are sitting.

Collars

Now, to each their own when it comes to shock collars. We will not be discussing them, but it is recommended by even the AKC that small dogs (20 lbs and smaller) should not have shock collars used on them. Any doggo larger is up to your discretion! 

However, there are a few alternative collars to shock collars. 

There are essential oil collars that let off a scent, depending on which one you get, that will either hate or will relax them. The scent is let off from the vibrations of their throat when they bark and it is let off in small doses just your dog can smell or that you can faintly smell. Other collars include the tingly vibration feeling when they bark. Now it’s not uncomfortable or painful, but it’s a little jarring to them and they typically stop rather quickly!

Bark Bark Barky Bark!

In conclusion, bark bark bark. Bork barky woof ruff. Your dog can translate that for you. 

Simply put, you can achieve great things when you stay on top of your dog’s barking habits. Not all barks are bad and just know that you may not reach 100% perfection because at the end of the day, they’re still dogs and barking is what they do. Just like how we teach kids not to just scream all the time, but we as adults will scream when we see our BFF at brunch. It’s human nature just like it’s doggo nature! So give them grace, but do stay stern with them for their safety, as well as other dogs’ and people's safety!