How do I get my dog to stop barking?

All dogs bark. It is a natural way for them to communicate, and many of us like our dogs to bark when something happens to alert us. But sometimes we just want them to stop!

There are many reasons why dogs bark: boredom, loneliness, frustration, fear, excitement and alerting are just some examples – and depending on what we are doing or our mood, we either yell at our dog, do absolutely nothing, or perhaps go and see what our dog is barking at. If we are inconsistent with how we respond to their barking, it’s reasonable that they continue to do it.

Training for Alert Barking

We need to give our dogs some rules. For ‘alert’ barking, we need to teach our dog that it is okay to bark, but that they need to know when to stop.

So, how do we train it?

Load yourself up with some of your dog’s favourite treats and find a quiet spot without any distractions to train. When your dog is not barking, get their attention, say "quiet" and simply feed your dog a treat. Your dog doesn’t have to sit or do anything else during this exercise – they just need to be quiet. Do this a few times, making sure that your dog is still engaged with your ‘quiet’. Repeat your training using your word a few times a day, or as often as you can, without boring your dog. Add some congratulatory words too – like ‘good dog’. Your dog will learn that the word ‘quiet’ earns him a treat or two.

Next time your dog is barking, go and see what they are barking at. Take with you those fantastic treats that you have been using with the word ‘quiet’; you will use the treats to reinforce your dog when they stop barking. Place a treat under your dog’s nose while saying ‘quiet’. Your dog will hopefully take your treat and should stop barking – a dog can’t bark if there is something in their mouth. Continue to feed your dog a treat while saying ‘quiet’, and tell him how good he is.

However, if your dog doesn’t stop barking, you may have to set up situations where your dog will bark so that you can practise your training, or you may need to try with a higher value reward. If your dog responds to your ‘quiet’, you know you have the issue resolved and can use it with periodic reinforcement with treats each time.

If you do this consistently, your dog will learn to stop barking whenever you say ‘quiet’.


Read the below article by Jess Sandstrom from Howling Success Dog Training for more!

PDF: Barking Dogs - Jess Sandstrom

Copy editing by Hannah Tricker, MPubComm.