Training a dog not to bark is a must for responsible dog owners for many reasons. A barking dog or puppy can easily drive you crazy. Not only it is noisy but it’s also irritating to you and to the neighbors.
Training a dog not to bark is also a must if you want a smoother life.
The good news is that barking is not something that dogs need to do in order to feel happy. But barking may signal different emotions that a dog is feeling.
It could be a sign of anxiety, stress, frustration or at times, over-excitement. If you are a dog owner, you don’t want your dog to be feeling any of these emotions.
It is a common assumption that a relaxed dog doesn’t bark so this should be your goal as a dog owner.
Let’s discuss one specific type of barking.
One of the common issues of barking relates to dogs who bark when the owner is not at home and the dog is left alone in the house.
Normally, you have no idea of this issue until the neighbor complains or the dog control officer pays a visit.
Why does your dog bark?
Understanding the psychology behind this behavior is the key to addressing the problem.
Let’s see the situation from your dog’s point of view or from your dog’s eyes…
Dogs are pack animal and so they understand that there are leaders and followers, thus the term “alpha dog”, which is basically the leader of the pack.
And your dog normally assumes that he or she is the leader of the pack in this situation.
One of the alpha dog’s jobs is to protect the pack so when everybody leaves on Monday morning for work and school, the dog feels alone and he becomes stressed.
Your absence is the main reason why the dog is barking – he is just calling the pack to come back. He is trying to do his job!
That’s the reason why they’re stressed and barking. They are calling out to you to come back. They just are trying to do their job.
Put yourself in the dog’s situation but with the role of a parent…If you have a 2 year old, one of your goals is to make sure that the child is safe and free from harm so what do you do?
You try to keep an eye on him as much as you can. You want to know where he is and once you know he is safe, you feel relaxed.
But when the child suddenly walks out of the house and accidentally locks you inside the house, you panic right? You want to chase your child as soon as possible.
What if you couldn’t open the door and all the other doors and windows are locked as well, what would you do?
You can phone for help. But your dog can’t do that!
Or you can also shout for help. And this is exactly what your dog is doing when he is barking when left alone at home.
Does it now make sense why your dog is barking when you leave the house?
And the other annoying behaviors such as scratching, chewing, destroying stuff or digging under, jumping over the fence are things that happen when you’re not around…
And they are all symptoms of a stressed dog who is basically concerned about your whereabouts, not knowing if you are safe or not.
So what can you do to address this barking issue? There is a very simple solution.
You need to be the “alpha dog” or the pack leader in your dog’s eyes.
Once you do this correctly, you will be able to come and go anytime as you please. Your dog will cease to see that it’s his or her job to protect you and your dog will be relaxed.
That’s the solution. No tricks, but just an honest understanding of the situation.
How do you become the pack leader? It is really not that complicated and anyone can do it.
However it’s not really something that we can explain in a few sentences but if you check out Doggy Dan’s website you will learn how to establish yourself as the pack leader from your dog’s eyes.
You becoming the pack leader in your dog’s eyes will stop your dog from barking when you leave the house or when you leave to go somewhere else.
You might have heard of the notion that your dog’s barking while alone in the house may be caused by boredom and that the solution is to get another dog. I would stay away from that solution.
The main source of your dog’s stress is not boredom, as we’ve discussed above.
Dogs that lie idly around the house most of the weekend when the owners are around are the same dogs who bark all day when the owners leave.
We would suggest instead that if you are really serious about immediately stopping your dog’s barking, you need to take a look at Doggy Dan’s site and become the “alpha dog” in your dog’s eyes. That will be the ultimate solution.
Doggy Dan is offering a 3-day trial for just $1 so wait no more. Check this amazing site => CLICK HERE.
Learn the proper ways of training a dog not to bark in no time. Your neighbors will be thanking you for it!