you're walking within the park, minding your own business when suddenly a dog comes up to you and starts barking. You start to panic because there's no reason for this dog to be barking at you.
Dogs bark because we humans want our dogs to bark. For years, our domestication process and selective breeding have allowed our dogs to develop their barking abilities. Wolves don't bark, so through gene-splicing and therefore the selective breeding process, dogs lately have the power to retain juvenile characteristics. This is through the process known as neoteny.
Humans have chosen to retain the infantile traits of wolves like large heads, flat faces, large eyes and in fact the power to speak , barking. Barking was further developed in dogs so as to scare intruders or to assist the master out (i.e. On farms to assist in gathering the sheep).
Most dogs simply bark to speak , to urge attention, or just to point out their excitement. Training and lifestyle are important factors in teaching the dog the way to communicate with its master.
Dogs are extremely social animals. Wolves themselves always travel in packs are usually never alone. Bringing a dog into your family is essentially like bringing a wolf into a pack. It becomes a part of the family. Try to not leave it alone otherwise it'll feel as if it had been abandoned by the pack. Dogs are like having a baby in the house. They need love, attention, and someone to be there to require care of them. Like people, they need a companion to blossom. Meeting your dog's emotional need for companionship and play will allow the 2 of you to make a robust bond together.
Sometimes having a second dog within the house can minimize the barking and minimize the loneliness. Although this may be rewarding at sometimes, it can also be a pain. Your best bet would be to maximize the training of your dog when it decides to bark. Sometimes having two dogs may cause havoc because they'll teach one another to bark more.
From the instance above, dogs who bark at people are trained during a specific way. Everything boils right down to how the owner trains their dog. If you reward the dog for barking, then the dog will understand that it is a good thing to bark. If you do not reward the dog for barking, the dog will understand that it is a bad thing to bark. If you're training your dog to become a watchdog, sometimes their barking are often very selective and discriminating with certain people. Sometimes they'll just bark at anything they see. It is important to coach these dogs by developing their intelligence level and the way they interpret various events.
Dogs who simply bark due to activity or excitement are relatively hard to eliminate. Most of the time these dogs are unaware of their barking and successively becomes a process that's hard to eliminate. You must address a dog trainer who teaches the dog to debark.Debarking can be somewhat inhumane because the dog is trained to let out a low, raspy bark which cannot be heard from more than a few feet away. If you consider the process of debarking your dog you must weigh the pros and cons. It can be beneficial in the sense that your dog will no longer be the irritating dog on the block who barks at anything he sees but may be a problem if the dog is in danger. As an owner you would want to know where the location of your dog if it was in danger.
All dogs bark, it’s their thanks to communicate a message. Dog barks for various reasons: to greet, to alert, out of boredom, to draw in attention or once they are excited.
Although some form of barking is acceptable, too much barking is certainly annoying, especially for your neighbors and eventually leading to complain. The easiest way to stop dog barking problems, especially a problematic barker is to control and stop his barking while you are at home:
1. Found out a situation where your dog will always bark. For example, you'll ask someone to ring your doorbell or play your door.
2. When your dog charges to the door and begin to bark loudly, approach your dog, grab his collar and provides the command “quiet” – no shouting please, it doesn’t help.
3. If he stops barking, praise and reward. He’s a genius and deserves it.
4. When he continues barking, close his mouth together with your hand, wrap your fingers around his muzzle – use both hands if needed, and provides the command for him to stay quiet. Praise if he stops.
Most dogs would be ready to learn the “quiet” command with repeated training like this. Set up similar situations to "lure" your dog to bark and repeat training whenever possible.
If you happen to have a hard-core persistent barker, use this method:
1. Vinegar-Water solution – mix a proportion of 7/8 water & 1/8 vinegar together. Pour the mixture into a water gun or what the kids call “super soaker” for extended distance shooting.
2. Aim and shoot at his chest whenever he can’t stop barking even on your command. Dogs hate the smell of vinegar and would usually backtrack and stop barking. He’ll even sneeze a few times. It’s harmless, so you need not worry.
3. As always, praise him when he stops barking.
For your information, your dog might still be barking noisily and disrupting your neighborhood once you aren't reception . In this case, you’ll need a training equipment referred to as “bark collars” to assist train him.
There are several sorts of bark collars on the market. Some of these collars send an electrical shock to your dog when he barks, some make a high frequency sound or emits a squirt of citronella which is annoying but safe for your dog. Usually, these collars can assist you solve a problematic barker.
Personally, I’ll recommend the high frequency sound or citronella collars. They are very effective and more humane dog training tools.