How to wean a dog from barking in an apartment - ways, tips and tricks

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

When deciding to have a dog in the house, each person must understand that his pet will certainly bark. And such a phenomenon is quite natural. After all, it is in this way that the animal seeks to communicate with the owner, expressing his requests and emotions. However, all this can become quite a cause for irritation.

This is especially true for the owners (and neighbors) of a sociable pet, which in the early morning raises the whole house with its ringing bark or expresses mournful emotions to them when it is left alone in the apartment. How to wean a dog from barking at home and in an apartment without losing the trust of the animal? Keep in mind that this is not easy to do. The owner will need to spend a lot of time, effort, and show great patience. However, with the implementation of a systematic approach to the "high-profile problem", it will certainly be possible to turn even the most desperate "bullshit" into a well-mannered and sweet beast.

Reasons for barking

The first thing pet owners should understand is that their pets will never give voice just like that.

Why and why does a dog bark? The reason for the expression of emotions of a pet can be the following:

1. Watch instinct. This innate reflex forces the dog to show a violent reaction when he hears the sounds of an elevator, rustles and knocks behind the wall, a call on the phone, at the door or on the intercom, as well as the steps of people who pass near the house adjoining area or along the stairs of the entrance. The dog seems to be barking for no reason. However, in this case, she warns the owner about strangers and the potential danger that comes from them.
2. Fear. Pets, especially the most shy and insecure, tend to act on the basis of the principle "The best defense is an attack." A dog that is literally flooded with barking after cars, cyclists, passers-by and relatives, thereby expressing his uncertainty.
3. Excitement. The dog loses its peace if it hears loud noises, as well as at the time of the departure or arrival of the owners. A similar phenomenon is typical for small individuals with an unstable nervous system.
4. Lack of attention. A dog can bark loudly so that a person notices it. This often happens at home when the owner is minding his own business and at the same time ignoring his pet. The animal is trying to draw attention to itself by barking.
5. Overabundance of energy. Every day a dog needs to receive loads, both mental and physical. Otherwiseshe will have a desire to spend her energy on something. This can be damage to clothes or furniture, as well as barking.
6. Diseases. It happens that the dog barks almost constantly. This happens after she wakes up, on walks, during feeding and at night. But at the same time, there are no visible reasons for such an expression of the pet's emotions. The cause of this kind of problem can be a disease, the symptoms of which bother the animal. In this case, the dog must be taken to the veterinarian.
7. Game. There is only one option in which barking can be considered quite normal. If the owner starts playing with the pet, then he rejoices, which is why he begins to express his emotions loudly.

Poor socialization of an animal or its complete absence can also serve as an answer to the question "Why does a dog constantly bark?". How to wean a dog to bark in this case? The pet must be trained. This will teach him to react calmly to strangers and cyclists, public transport and other dogs, cats and children.

The most critical period for puppies is the age of 4 to 8 months. How to wean a dog from barking at passers-by? The owners should introduce the kids to all possible situations and praise for calm behavior. If for some reason an adult dog has not been socialized, then it will be necessary to instill these skills with the help of a cynologist.

Why does a dog bark for no reason at night? The fact is that animals do not at all think that after sunset you definitely need to go to bed. They see greatdarkness and have a good sense of smell. At night they can:

• search for communication and invite other dogs (yard dogs do this especially often);
• be aggressive by hunting mice or insects;
• worry about being left in a room without an owner;
• ask to play.

So how to wean a dog from barking indoors and outdoors?

What not to do

Only the owner who has a strong character and is able to consistently perform the necessary actions will be able to wean his pet from barking constantly and at everyone.

Very often those people who seek to calm the emotions of the animal and wean it from the habit of voicing at the most inopportune moments, behave absolutely wrong and make serious mistakes. Namely:

1. Screaming and scolding their pet in response to its barking. Often the owner behaves in almost the same way as his unbelted dog. He shouts loudly at him: "Shush!", "Shut up!" etc. Such human behavior is not able to calm the dog. On the contrary, the animal becomes even more excited.
2. They bring up a dog only occasionally. In order to wean your pet from barking in an apartment or at home, you will need to conduct daily classes.
3. They beat the dog, trying to silence it. It is absolutely impossible to use such a technique.
4. Do not pay attention to the reason for barking. Sometimes the owner is completely incomprehensible why his pet barks. Maybe by doing this he wants to attract attention to himself and get an unscheduled treat?But sometimes animals try to warn a person about something important. This may be, for example, the smell of burning or the appearance of a stranger. That is why it is necessary to find out the reasons for the excitation of the dog.
5. Indulging the whims of a pet. Experts know that animals are able to manipulate people. For example, many dogs prefer to burst into sonorous and loud barking, wanting to get a treat from the table. In this case, you do not need to go on about the animals. If pets understand that by barking they will certainly get food from their owner's plate, they will voice constantly in order to get the desired treat.

Educational Methods

How to wean a dog from barking in the house? In order to achieve the desired result, the owner will first need to make sure that he is the leader for the animal. In the case when a dog on a walk constantly runs only in front of a person, enters the room first and leaves it, and also ignores commands, this indicates that she considers herself the leader. Until the animal learns the opposite, no methods of correcting its behavior will work.

How to wean a dog from barking? Simple ways of education, which we will get acquainted with below, should be applied in a complex. A single method will not work. In addition, you need to be systematic. After all, if even once the owner allows himself to relax, then all his previous efforts will be in vain, and classes will have to start from scratch.

Ignore

How to wean a dog from barking at everyone? Sometimes pet owners do not notice that they themselves provoke such behavior of pets. For example, while barking, dogs give her food, toys, tease, reprimand or comfort. But after all, the animal, giving a voice, also sought such signs of attention. That is why such human behavior is considered fundamentally wrong. It is not necessary to encourage your pet and show interest in him when he barks. It should be shown to him that a person will not have any reaction to such arousal. Sooner or later the animal will get tired and silent. By repeating this several times, the owner will be able to ensure that the dog understands that his attempts to attract attention in this way will not succeed.

You should not use the ignoring method only when the pet gives a voice based on its watchdog reflex, when it sees guests entering the house, neighbors, hears noise behind the wall, and so on. In this case, the owner should approach the dog and let her know that she has been heard. To do this, it is enough to praise the animal or lightly stroke it, and also say certain commands. For example, "Sit" or "Place".

Teaching commands

How to wean a dog from barking? The main methods of education include teaching the animal to control its emotions. You need to do this because the dog simply cannot not bark. This is a certain way for her to express her attitude to the world around her.

One of the methods of education is teachingpet to commands such as "Silence", "Quiet" and "Voice". The dog should be specially provoked to bark. At the same time, the “Voice” command should sound. Next, you should say "Quiet" or "Silence" and wait until he finally calms down. If the pet does not understand what is required of him, you can squeeze his mouth. If successful, the dog should receive a treat. She should be reprimanded for her mistakes.

It is recommended to teach these commands from puppyhood, because it is much more difficult to train an adult dog.

After the pet begins to unconditionally fulfill all the requirements, the time between rewards should gradually increase the person. In addition to treats, it is recommended to use a clicker. They need to click in case of successful execution of the command. Such sounds will become an additional positive connection between a correctly completed task and a reward for completing it.

Switching attention

How to wean a dog from barking in the apartment and on the street?

A good method of education is to switch the attention of the animal from the source of irritation to something else. You can do this with:

1. Ear massaging. Initially, this method must be tried when the dog is calm. If he reacts calmly to massaging his ears, then you need to perform such actions at the moment when the dog starts to voice.
2. Light slaps on the rump or flicks in the face.
3. Fright pet. The owner should sharply pull the leash orloosen it, and then throw the strap on the dog. At the same time, she should be frightened and shut up.
4. Commands "Lie down", "To me", "Sit", "Next". The dog will not be able to perform these actions and at the same time bark.
5. Splashing water in the face.
6. Give out toys or treats.

However, it should be borne in mind that just switching attention will not be enough. How to wean a dog from barking in an apartment or on the street? Stop her attempts to voice at the first sound, if there is no reason to overexcite the animal. After the animal is silent, it must be praised and given a treat. Thus, the pet will understand that he will certainly receive a reward for his silence. The owner will gradually need to increase the period of time that lasts from the moment of silence to the encouragement of the pet.

This technique works great in cases where animals show a violent reaction to noise outside the door, knocking, ringing and other loud sounds. The dog is specially provoked (knocking or calling), and then they transfer attention, rewarding for silence in case of success. Such exercises should be carried out every day until the animal begins to be completely calm about emerging stimuli.

Accustoming to loneliness

How to wean a dog from barking when she is left alone at home? After all, her booming voice spoils the mood of the neighbors. In addition, the dog, in anticipation of people, in parallel with many hours of barking, can pretty much wear out the things in the house. The reasons for this behavior of petsseveral. They are either very cowardly or consider themselves in charge. This problem also arises when the animal is not tired enough.

How to wean a dog from barking in the apartment when she is left alone? There are several ways to solve this problem:

• walk your pet well so that he is tired;
• leave toys for him;
• before leaving, take the dog to its place, do not let it approach you and do not contact the animal (do not talk to it, do not pet it, do not feel sorry and do not “say goodbye”);
• do not respond to joyful barking when you come home, but only silently pet for no more than a couple of minutes.

It is impossible to return to the apartment when the pet starts barking. It is better for the owner to stand under the door and wait for silence. After that, it will be possible to enter the apartment again, stay there for a while and praise the animal for good behavior.

If a dog is kept in an enclosure, then it will certainly bark. After all, she needs to respond to passers-by, cats, neighbors or guests. In this case, weaning the dog to bark does not make sense. The owner only needs to slightly correct her behavior. To do this, you will need to pay attention to your pet, walk with him, praise him if he warns him of danger, and scold him if the barking is completely unreasonable.

Using a special collar

How to wean a dog from barking in an apartment? In cases where the methods of education do not bring the desired result, the owner of a noisy pet should use additional methods. One of them involves the usespecial collar "Antilai". Such devices are equipped with sensors and microphones that are sensitive to the sounds made by the dog, starting to give annoying signals.

It is very important to note that the use of such collars is considered an inhumane way to achieve the goal. After all, the dog does not understand why she needs to be silent. Subsequently, she will stop giving voice during games and when danger approaches. Sometimes these collars don't work at all. Pets pull them down or get frightened by the sounds they make so much that they begin to bark even more.

Use of sedatives

To wean a dog from barking for no reason will help drops and tablets created on the basis of soothing herbs - lemon balm, valerian or mint. Such funds must be given to the animal strictly according to the instructions without exceeding the dosage. The use of such drugs is desirable to coordinate with the veterinarian. This issue is especially relevant if the animal has allergies.

Surgery

The most undesirable method of weaning a dog from barking is cutting its vocal cords. In this case, the animal becomes practically dumb. This method is resorted to by the owners of those dogs who no longer have the strength to fight the noise made by the pet, and the irritated neighbors began to threaten the court, demanding silence. This is an extreme and highly undesirable measure.