How to Stop a Dog From Barking Inside the House

While there may be times that you want your dog to bark---for example, if an intruder is entering the house---most people do not want their dogs to bark inside their house. The best way to do this without breaking the dog's barking instinct entirely is to teach your dog a simple command that will help you help him determine when it is not appropriate to bark in the house.

Things You'll Need

• Dog treats
• Doorbell

Instructions

1. Grab a pocketful of dog treats. Keep them out of sight of your dog but within easy reach.

2. Trigger your dog's barking. The easiest way to do this is usually by ringing a doorbell. However, any stimulus that results in barking consistently will do.

3. Hold a single treat in front of your dog's nose while clearly saying, "Quiet." Your dog will have to stop barking to sniff at the treat. As soon as she stops, give her the treat and praise her lavishly.

4. Trigger the barking again. You can use the same stimulus or a different one.

5. Hold the treat in front of the dog's nose while saying clearly "Quiet." Again, he'll stop barking to sniff. This time, wait a heartbeat before handing over the treat and praising the dog.

6. Repeat this process until your dog can wait quietly for the treat for about 45 seconds. Once your dog is waiting for long periods of time following the "Quiet" command, start phasing the treat out. Continue to praise your dog every time the dog responds to the command appropriately and your dog will continue to obey you happily.

Tips & Warnings

• As your dog learns to avoid barking at stimuli inside the home, she will stop barking as much even when you are not home because she will associate the barking as something that should be stopped in short order.

References

• Dog Obedience Advice: How to Stop a Dog Barking
• Dogcustomer.com: The Quiet Command to Stop Barking