How to Save 'Barking' Dogs: Here's What You Need to Know!

When you open this article, I deeply believe you must have experienced at least one of the following scenes——

• Someone passes by your doorstep, your dog immediately rushes to the door to shout, scaring the person almost stumbling down the stairs;
• While walking the dog you encounter other dogs, it barks frantically while pulling on the leash, you quickly apologize and explain;
• During midnight overtime you just got home and heard your dog shouting at the top of its voice, as if everyone in the building needs to know you're home;
• The neighbors have already repeatedly warned you that if your dog continues to bark all day, they will report it to the police;

You may be going crazy because of it, or you may be numb to the noisy life filled with dog barks and knocking on the door, or you may even be considering tightening your belt and buying a villa in the suburbs to escape and live in seclusion——but these are just avoidance, and what we need to do is face the root of the problem, actively solve it, and give you a quiet world, and create a long-term and stable life for the dogs,

First, you need to know…

Barking is a way for dogs to communicate, just like a baby who has not yet learned to speak expresses itself by crying. Dogs actually use barking to express their various needs. Many owners can distinguish the different barks of their own dogs and learn to communicate with them accordingly, this is a good thing! Only when you can accurately understand the reason and motivation for your dog's barking can you effectively correct the barking problems that cause trouble for you and it,

Some breeds are naturally more prone to barking than others, such as Poodles, Chihuahuas, Beagles, etc., so when correcting these breeds' barking behavior, owners need to be patient;

Why do dogs bark?

1 Territory defense

Dogs have a natural territorial instinct and defending the territory and resisting foreign invasion is their nature.

Many people can understand that dogs consider their home as their territory, but this territory range may be wider than we imagine, such as:

• The hallway——this is an extension of 'home';
• The garden where the dog frequently goes to play——this is where it explores daily;
• Your 'favorite' car——it's a 'mobile' tool;
• The roads you walk with the dog——it carefully 'marked' every power pole;

These dogs consider places closely related to themselves and their owners as their territory, so when someone or an animal tries to enter or approach these territories, the dogs bark out of the instinct to defend their territory.

2 Warning

Sometimes, even when not in the so-called territories, dogs will bark at strangers or other animals, this is because they are afraid and choose to warn the other party not to approach.

At this time, they will accompany barking with obvious body language, such as becoming tense and stiff, and each time they bark, their bodies will jump forward a little (instead of rushing up to attack).

3 Attention seeking and inviting

If your dog realizes that you have not paid it attention for a long time, or it's hungry or thirsty or bored, it may use barking to try to attract your attention and satisfy its needs.

Or it might see other dogs wanting to play together, but the other dogs don't seem interested in playing with it, so the dog will bark anxiously, as if saying 'It's boring to play alone, let's play together!'

4 Welcome

When the dog sees people or familiar companions it likes, it may bark with welcome, its body will be relaxed and excited, and its tail will wag excitedly.

Sometimes, when welcoming, the dog will also make 'humming' noises with its nose, as if saying 'Wow, why didn't you come over yet~'

5 Hearing other dogs bark

As a group animal, dogs use barking to transmit information to each other, it's no wonder when one dog barks next door, your dog will also quickly join 'the chorus'.

If there are multiple dogs in the house, one dog loves to bark, and the other dog will learn to bark slowly, as if someone gave it courage.

6 Want to do something but can't

You may have encountered this situation: Your dog sees a group of dogs chasing a ball in the garden, it wants to rush over to play but it's stuck because it's tied with a leash, so it starts barking, as if a child crying because a toy is snatched away;

No matter whether it's being tied with a leash or confined in a fence, dogs will be frustrated because they can't do what they want, and they will express their dissatisfaction through barking.

7 Separation anxiety

Dogs who are used to spending time with their owners will feel very anxious when their parents are not around, because they don't know if their owners will come back, this makes them feel lost;

This separation anxiety can lead dogs to exhibit extreme behaviors, including but not limited to continuous barking.

8 Illness

When dogs are sick or injured, they will also use barking to tell their owners 'I'm in pain'. When you find that your dog has been barking inexplicably and has symptoms of depression, you must go to the pet hospital for a comprehensive check as soon as possible.

How to solve the problem of excessive barking in dogs?

To solve the problem of dogs barking excessively, you must teach the dogs that barking doesn't get them anything, but not barking will.

You need to spend some time to help the dogs learn not to bark excessively—note! It's 'not barking' not 'not barking'—imagine a person who suddenly learns to speak and is asked not to speak at all, isn't that inhumane? Your goal should be to reduce unnecessary barking rather than completely preventing the dog from barking.