How to Use Lemon Juice to Get Your Dog to Quit Barking

Teach your dog to quit barking.

Barking is one of the ways your dog communicates with you, but excessive barking can become a nuisance to others. Keeping your dog's barking under control not only ensures good relationships with your neighbors, but can also keep you from receiving fines. As the owner, you are responsible for teaching your dog not to bark excessively or at inappropriate times. Try to determine the cause of the barking, and if possible, make changes in your dog's environment. For example, if the barking is due to loneliness, try to spend more time with your dog. If excessive barking continues, teach your dog to respond to a command. Reinforce the command with a spray of lemon juice.

Things You'll Need

• Lemon juice

Instructions

1. Pour a spoonful of lemon juice in a plastic spray bottle.

2. Fill the rest of the bottle with water and shake it to mix the lemon juice and water together. You can use the mixture indoors and out. It will not harm your dog.

3. Say "Quiet" and spray your dog in the mouth with the lemon juice and water mixture within two or three seconds of when the barking starts. Keep the spray bottle near your waist as you use it. Your dog will be looking at your face when you give the "Quiet" command and will probably not know the spray is coming from you. The smell and taste of the mixture will be distasteful to your dog.

4. Repeat Step 3 as many times as necessary until you see improvement. After a while you will no longer need to use the spray. Giving the "Quiet" command will stop the barking. Later you will no longer need to give the "Quiet" command. Your dog will learn to avoid the unpleasant smell and taste by stopping the barking.

5. Praise and reward your dog with attention and a treat when the barking stops or when a situation that would usually cause barking does not have that effect.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure the bottle top has a spray and not a stream. An accidental hit in the eye with a stream could be painful for your dog.

References

• Grover's Dog Pound: How to Stop a Dog from Barking
• Department of Animal Care and Control: Barking
• Dog Obedience: How to Stop Your Dog Barking