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Excessive Barking in
the Yard
Barking.
It’s one of the things that dogs do. In
fact, there are occasions when it’s a
benefit to have a dog who barks. If
there were a stranger entering your
property or if something were genuinely
amiss, a barking dog could be downright
helpful.
What is not helpful however, is a dog
who barks constantly. A twig snapped in
the backyard, “Bark, bark, bark!”
Neighbors are grilling in their yard,
“Ruff, ruff, ruff!” Neighborhood kids
are riding their bikes, “Yap, yap, yap!”
This is a problem that is not only
extremely annoying to neighbors, but can
also be rather chafing on the pet’s
owners who are either inside the house
or out in their yard. Many dog or puppy
owners find themselves constantly
yelling “Cut it out! Hush!”… which for
most dogs doesn’t stop the barking but
instead just adds to the commotion.
Another down side to a constantly
barking dog is that he can become rather
like the boy who cried wolf. Since the
dog barks so much, there is a tendency
to not even go see what it is he’s
barking about. In the event of an actual
intruder, your dog might be trying to
tell you, but will instead either be
ignored or told to hush because the
barking is so common.
The first step in alleviating this
problem is to work on some obedience
training with your pet. If he doesn’t
clearly understand what “no” and “good
dog” mean, he will not comprehend what
you’re asking when you holler out the
window. Likewise, if your dog doesn’t
respect you, even if he does know what
you mean, he will not listen anyway.
Some basic obedience commands such as
“heel,” “sit,” “down,” “stay” and “come”
will help establish a learning curve for
your pet, and being consistent during
practice will help you to earn his
respect at the same time. Another
benefit of obedience training is that it
helps to stave off boredom. You may be
surprised how many dogs bark all the
time simply because it’s an activity.
The next step is to get outside with
your dog or puppy! If he’s out there by
himself, barking and running back and
forth, all the hollering in the world is
not going to stop him. You need to
personally catch your dog barking
inappropriately, tell him “no” and
redirect him to a more appropriate
behavior such as chasing a ball, doing a
“down/stay” or another acceptable
activity.
Also extremely important is to take your
dog out on a leash and socialize him
thoroughly with normal neighborhood
occurrences. Introduce him to the
neighbors. Bring him to meet the kids
who ride their bikes. Hang around out
front when your neighbors are doing yard
work so he learns that it’s normal and
acceptable for them to be there.
Between the obedience training,
respecting you more, your personal
supervision and being properly
socialized with normal neighborhood
happenings, your dog’s barking will be
dramatically reduced. Soon, even your
neighbors may start to like him!
Article written by Lori Verni
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