Uncontrolled Barking

Uncontrolled barking can cause headaches or even get you thrown out of your apartment.  With their keen senses dogs can tune in to things we don’t always hear or see which can put them into serious barking mode.  Furthermore, leaving your dog at home or in your car (when it’s cool outside) can be a perfect storm for uncontrolled barking- when no one is around to stop them.

Dog obedience training is essential to getting uncontrolled barking under control. Obedience training includes important tools and strategies to help a dog deal with the distractions that cause uncontrolled barking:

• Crate training and duration work in your home to promote your dog’s calm mind state
• Walking with you in a proper heel position using a prong collar in a gentle pressure and release motion
• Teaching your dog the boundaries of good behavior and the difference between ‘No’ (correction) and ‘Yes’ (praise)

These aspects of dog training may seem indirectly related to resolving the barking behavior but they are most surely part of the permanent solution to the issue. When you spend a significant amount of time instructing your dog on best behaviors it is a remarkable moment to begin to see him make better choices, like avoiding an uncontrolled barking routine which may have been based on a previous life of no structure and no guidance. When your dog is hard at work learning commands and praise for desirable behavior we learn quickly as owners that our dogs want to please us.

Learn to Anticipate Your Dog’s Reactions

A major part of dog obedience training is teaching you to anticipate when your dog will react to certain distractions, in this case anything that sets off their barking habit. So gaining awareness of the triggers for your dog is essential to curbing uncontrolled barking.  To be successful you will need to anticipate your dog’s behavior around barking issues over and over again with consistent corrections and praise.

With uncontrolled barking issues, even after transforming your relationship with obedience training, a low-level electronic bark collar can be an effective tool to remind your dog to ignore the distractions that cause you a headache.