How to Train your Dog

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Bad Habits - How to Stop Dogs Barking

This very bad habit is generally due to a dog having discovered that a weak owner will give him whatever he wants if he barks. Other causes are nervousness, boredom, lack of exercise, and not having been shown early enough that barking at nothing gets him exactly that.

Constant barking is more easily prevented than cured, but you may have success by putting the dog in a room where he can do no harm, or tying him up when he starts barking. This does not mean merely to tie him up and leave him. Leave him in the room or on the chain whilst he continues barking, but let him free the instant he stops and praise him for being a good boy. If he starts again, put him straight back until he stops. Once again, freedom and praise as soon as he stops.

Some dogs play up very badly when left on their own. If you own the dog as a puppy, acclimatise him to a reasonable period of being on his own, and during this time ignore whining or barking.

In the adult dog this is a very difficult habit to cure as it normally takes place when you are not there. Basic training on the lines suggested in the earlier chapters of this book establishes a friendly relationship between owner and dog, and is the best method of preventing and breaking all bad habits. It will certainly help in this case.

One cure which has had good success is for you to pretend to go out, whilst in fact you stay within earshot. With the smart dog you will have to put on your outdoor clothes, shut him in the room chosen for the experiment, go to the front door, open it and slam it, staying inside. Then await results. If the dog starts barking, creep silently to the door, bang on it heavily, and say 'no' in a very severe tone.

Do not go into the room or the dog will have won the first round of the fight not to be left alone. If he is quiet, even for a short period, open and shut the front door again and go back to his room. Let him out and praise him. Later, repeat the experiment for a longer period.

You must not give in to the barker. Try to get a quiet period to set him free and praise him, but if he carries on incessantly despite several attempts to stop him with the command 'no', then go away for a short while and then even if he is still barking, open the door and leave him without saying anything to him at all. If he is quiet when he comes out and joins you in the normal way, give him his favourite toy and praise him for taking it.

In these difficult cases the next time you take him into the room and he starts barking, whilst you are still there, take hold of him by the loose folds• of skin on either side of the neck, give him a good shaking, commanding him severely with the word 'no'.

Do not leave the dog too long by himself if you find you are having any success at all. The moment he is quiet go back to him immediately, and praise him very generously for being a good boy. You are trying to teach him not to play up. You are not seeking revenge because he has done so.

Constant barking, as a bad habit, should not be confused with the dog which barks excessively because he has been shut in for several hours whilst his owners are at work. This dog is full of pent-up energy from lack of exercise and boredom. Owners who have to leave their dog for long periods should, if at all possible, install a running line in the garden. This is a length of wire threaded through the loop handle of a chain lead and pegged securely at either end about thirty feet apart. Be sure that the dog has shelter against the weather, some shade, and his drinking bowl full of fresh water. He will be able to exercise himself by running up and down the length of the wire if he wishes. He will still need his normal walk when the owner gets home, but he will not be nearly as nervous as the dog which has been shut up all day.