Barking Problems - Dealing with the Persistent Hard-Core
Barking Dog
By: Tippy & Turbo
If your dog has an ongoing problem with excessive barking,
first make sure that the dog is getting all the food, water
and emotional and environmental stimulation it needs. A dog
that is kept outdoors all day and all night, or worse,
chained up alone in a back yard, and not given the toys,
companionship, or walks it needs will be depressed, anxious,
bored, and over-reactive. It may be expected to bark
excessively from emotional problems. Dogs, like people but
even more so, are designed to live and relate in groups.
If you have met your dog's basic needs but the dog still
will not respond to positive reinforcement training such as
setting the dog up in a situation where you can control what
is going on and stop the barking, then more drastic measures
may be needed to get the point across to the dog that
barking all the time is not acceptable.
If you have a dog that doesn't want to stop barking and
doesn't accept your authority when you tell it to stop and
crating the dog doesn't help, then you can try these
methods. (Remember that yelling or abusing the dog in any
manner is not acceptable!)
The Vinegar Water solution:
1. Mix water and vinegar together in a solution of 8 parts
water to one part vinegar. Put the mixture into a water gun
that is designed for long distance shooting.
2. After you have given a verbal command for quiet and it
has been ignored, aim and shoot the dog on its chest. Dogs
dislike the smell of vinegar and will usually sneeze and
back away and stop barking. The vinegar water solution is
harmless and will not hurt your dog.
3. If the dog stops barking, be sure to praise the dog and
give it a treat.
The Lemon Solution
Another thing you can try if the vinegar water solution
doesn't do the trick is that you can carry around a slice of
lemon and when the dog will not stop barking after being
commanded to be quiet put a few drops of lemon juice on its
lips.
This gives the dog an unpleasant taste and it should begin
to associate excessive barking with an unpleasant taste and
may stop. Be sure to praise the dog and give it a treat when
it stops barking.
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