Barking is a natural behavior for dogs, so nothing short of surgery will make your dog totally silent. But you can eliminate most of your dog’s problem barking with a few simple methods.

Barking for Attention
When he barks your dog may be simply asking you for a little attention. It could be he needs food or water, or needs to relieve himself outside. It could be that he wants some exercise. Or it could be that he has learned that whenever he barks you speak to him, stroke him or play with him.


The solutions to these aren’t rocket science, but they do require a little discipline – make sure your dog has water always, and that he gets regular feeding. Get him outside several times a day, depending on breed, for exercise and potty breaks. And restrain yourself from responding to his barking in ways he may interpret as some sort of reward (talking, stroking, play).

Barking from Environmental Factors
Dogs also bark from anxiety when they see or hear something close by. Other animals (birds, squirrels, pets), people, even vehicles outside can trigger anxious barking. To control this, try insulating your dog from whatever is bothering him by moving him to a quieter room or drawing curtains across a window. You can also mask outside noises by turning on some music.

Positive Reinforcement Training
When barking is chronic, try using treats to train your dog to go longer and longer periods without barking. Starting with a goal of even 10 seconds of silence, give him a treat when he lasts that long in silence (remember, don’t break down and give him treats for ‘effort’, only for success). Then increase the goal to 30 seconds, a minute, 2 minutes, etc. Over the first couple of hours of training you might be able to stretch his silent periods to 10 or 15 minutes. Then, resume later until he can stay quiet for longer periods.

Aversion Training
Instead of rewarding the dog when he does what you want, aversion training makes him briefly uncomfortable when your dog does something wrong. For a barking dog, try spraying him in the face from a squirt bottle each time he barks (unless he thinks this is play, which will only make the problem worse). If a spray bottle doesn’t work, try an ounce or so of tap water from a cup.

And if you don’t want water on the floor try an automated citronella collar, which sprays your dog with a mist of citronella each time he barks. The dog won’t like this (and neither will local mosquitoes), and he will probably learn pretty quickly not to bark as much.

Aversion training can be used on its own, or in combination with positive reinforcement.

We hope these ideas help you and your dog to create a happy, quiet home.



We always try to check our information against the best available sources, but you should always consult a veterinarian, professional trainer or other expert when making important decisions for your animal companions.