As a dog owner, few things are worse than a dog that barks all of the time. It drives you mad and it drives your neighbours potty as well. I really don’t know what is worse, a continuous and really loud ‘Woof, woof woof’ from a deep throated dog or a whining ‘Yap, yap, yappity yap’ from a small dog.
Excessive barking is usually a sign of frustration or stress that your dog is feeling or maybe they are just a little too excited. Whatever the reason you need it to stop now before it drives you mad or your neighbours start to rebel!
A well behaved, non stressed and relaxed dog doesn’t bark.
A common problem is that of dogs who bark when you are out of the house. Perhaps the first you know of this is when your next door neighbour lets you know about this one.
How do you stop this unwanted behaviour (I’m talking about the barking here, not your whingeing friend next door.)
You need to understand why your dog is barking when you are not home so that you can apply a solution and stop the excessive barking.
A lot of dog behaviour becomes more understandable if you see it through the dog’s eyes. So realise that your dog is a pack animal and as such he understands that there are leaders and
followers and that it is the job of the leader to protect the rest of the pack.
Taking this point of view, you will then realise that he becomes distressed because he is alone and has lost his pack.
The result is a build up of stree which leads to barking. Your dog is calling out to you and the rest of the family (the pack). He is just trying to do his job.
There is a parallel here with family parenting. When you have a young child you want to know where he or she is all of the time in order to keep them safe. When they are in the house you know they are safe and so you can relax. If you didn’t know where your young child was you would become stressed and OK you wouldn’t actually bark but you would probably call out for your child. If you saw them go out through the door you would certainly try to follow them and chase after them wouldn’t you?
Imagine though that you were locked in and couldn’t get out to bring your child home – you would shout for help, wouldn’t you?
Shouting for help is exactly what you dog is trying to do!
You would be stressed out and that’s how your dog feels when he is left.
So when you leave him alone, can you see why your dog is so stressed and starts barking when he is alone?
Related negative behaviour like chewing, destruction and digging in the garden or trying to jump over the fence, often only happens when you are away and they are all symptoms of a stressed dog that’s desperately concerned about you not being home and safe. Unless you take steps to teach your dog to speak English you are going to have to find another remedy, and that’s what you’ll find here.
You will no doubt have read that one solution is to leave your pet with a bone to chew or a toy filled with food but I can assure you that this is not the answer.
Would you leave your child with a bag of sweets and as a result expect them not to worry about you if you were absent? It may work for a few minutes but it wouldn’t distract them for any length of time.
You may have tried this remedy already – with your dog, not your child! You will certainly have found that it doesn’t work.
The Solution
The key to this problem is establishing yourself as the pack leader in your dog’s eyes.
Once your pet accepts you as the pack leader he will no longer see it as his job to protect
you. Your dog will be totally relaxed about your comings and goings – problem solved, no more barking.
When your dog has a proper understanding of the pack order he will become calmer and more relaxed.
Anyone can become the pack leader, it’s not difficult or complicated however it’s not really something that can be explained in 2 minutes here. If you take a look at Doggy Dan’s website he explains very powerfully how to establish yourself as the pack leader and stop dogs from barking when you leave them.
Here’s a testimonial from one of Doggy Dan’s very satisfied clients:
There is even a $1 trial of the site that you can take advantage of right now.
There are some other things you can do to help stop your dog barking when you go out (as well as establishing yourself as pack leader), try these:
- Exercise: Exercise your dog as a tired dog is more likely to relax
- Try leaving your dog in different rooms – some dogs prefer to be outside, others inside and some prefer smaller areas such as a bathroom
- Leave water for your dog and make sure he is warm and fed before you leave
- Leave toys around for your dog but leave bones
- Try putting music or the TV on for your dog to keep him company
- Some herbal products are available for dogs which can help relax them – but these can be costly and don’t always work
- A walk in the middle of the day can certainly help break up your dog’s day so consider employing a dog walker if you can’t get home
- When you leave your dog it’s best if you leave calmly to help them stay relaxed as you leave
Many people consider getting a second dog but this isn’t going to stop the problem and I do not recommend it. Your dog is not bored.
So with all that said hopefully now you have a far better understanding of your dog’s problem!
If you are really serious about stopping the barking immediately then go over to Doggy Dan’s site and learn how to become the become the pack leader. That will end your problems with excessive barking.
To take advantage of your 3 Day $1 trial take a look around this comprehensive site Doggy Dan’s website .
There is a complete section explaining how to stop this sort of barking under the dog problem section “Separation Anxiety”.
It’s not hard but you have to understand your dog’s problem through their eyes rather than human eyes! What they are looking for is a strong pack leader.
You can start now by taking up the 3 Day $1 trial now, avoid your problems worsening and soon you’ll find your neighbours will be thanking you for it!