How to Train Your Dog to Stop Barking

Series Summary

Dogs can bring an infinite amount of joy and companionship into our lives, and dog training or obedience school gives dogs the discipline they need to stay happy, as well. Coming home to a wagging tail and an eager smile creates a feeling of love and happiness and can make anyone feel needed as part of a family. In fact, studies have shown that having a pet can reduce stress, lower blood pressure and relieve depression. Whether dog training in the backyard with a puppy or taking a long walk in the park with an old German shepherd, it's important to show dogs as much love as they show their owners. In this free video series on dog obedience, an experienced dog trainer explains how to teach dogs a variety of basic skills. Find out how to train a dog not to bark or how to get a dog to pick up a toy. Learn how to train a search dog or how to train a dog to be a rescue dog. Get a dog to pull a cart or scent train with information in this free video series on dog training.

Video Transcript

"Hi. When you're working on teaching your dog not to bark, one of the best ways to do it is to teach your dog to bark on command. So that gives you an opportunity to reinforce your dog for barking, and an ability to ignore when they bark off of command. So, with positive reinforcement, you would find an opportunity when your dog typically barks. Reward that, name it, so when you ask your dog to speak, your dog will bark and then that gives you the opportunity again to ignore the behavior when it is given without the command. The other thing you would do with barking off command is to manage the behavior. It's reinforcing for most dogs to bark, so you, when a dog barks, looking out the window, seeing someone coming, you would acknowledge what your dog is barking about, and then, require or request that they cease barking, and if they don't then you would manage the behavior. Remove them from the stimulus, the window, maybe crate them, redirect them. Give them something different to do. A reward would be anything your dog would find reinforcing. It could be a toy, it could be a small treat. Many dogs don't find dry foods to be particularly reinforcing. So, soft treats, things that aren't bad for them in large quantities. Cooked chicken, dog treats that don't have a lot of preservatives and additives in them work especially well. Lady, speak. Kay. Speak. Good."