Stop Dog Barking Outside
22 Oct 2009
Do you put your dog outside only to have him bark and bark and drive the neighborhood crazy? This can be a real problem for a variety of reasons. If you have a problem with dog barking outside, it’s important to understand why the problem is happening before you can fix it.
One of the ways that dogs communicate is through barking. It can be a big problem with a dog with excessive barking. Barking is a lot like a baby’s cry. There are many different tones to it and many different things that a bark can mean. Here are some examples:
· Defensive barking- if your dog feels fear or wants to make it go away
· Your dog is bored and wants to amuse himself or call for attention
· Your dog is confused, frustrated or stressed about something
· Your dog is hungry and wants food
· Your dog is trying to alert you of something out of the ordinary
Now that you know some reasons for dog barking, you can try to narrow down your dog barking situation. It’s important to get a thorough evaluation of the current problem. Why is your dog barking? Has he been outside for a long period of time? Could he be afraid of something?
Sometimes dog barking outside comes from your dog seeing something that startles or excites him such as a wild animal, a cat or another dog or even a person out late at night. Sometimes your nighttime dog barking can come from sounds he hears far away such as other dogs, sirens or even TVs from inside houses.
Dogs need time to adjust to changes such as a move to a new place. It’s normal to have some barking at times but you need to teach your dog that he is safe and the barking can stop.
You need to train your dog to be silent even if you have to leave him outside, such as at night when people are trying to sleep. You need to be sure the basic needs are met and that you give your dog enough water to drink through the night and a safe shelter to sleep in.
It’s possible to teach your dog when barking is ok and when it’s not. Reward him for barking on cue and he will to silence when you tell him to. A warning bark at night can be calmed with a simple “ok boy, I hear” or “enough, now quiet” when you have a properly trained dog.
When possible, you can try to avoid the barking by staying away from situations that make your dog bark excessively. If your dog barks a lot when put in the backyard, try not to put him back there unless you’re going to be out there with him or until he gets used to being there alone without barking.
