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Friday, February 22, 2008

Stop your Dog Barking When You're Away

Obviously, most problems with barking dogs result from dogs that dont have their owner around to quiet them down. In fact, the owners absence in many cases is whats rousing the dogs vocal chords.

Most of what you can do to get your dogs barking under control is done directly by you when you catch your dog in the act. For instance, if you know that your dog is barking at, say people who walk their dogs past your house when youre away, then it is possible to recreate this scenario with you present so you can correct the behavior. However, intermittent barking such as this may be tolerated, by you, the neighborhood, and indeed your local dog legislation, provided your dog is not menacing passers-by through a crumbling fence.

A lonely dog barking or whining can be both much more of a nuisance and much more difficult to address, but there are still some things you should be doing. Try to come home more often, or try to arrange for a friend to visit, ideally with their friendly and energetic dog. It may nip the problem right in the bud. Enough said.

If you know youve got a barking dog problem that has the potential to anger neighbors, a little public relations work can go a long way. If possible, ask your neighbors if there is a barking nuisance coming from your place and, if there is, tell them youre working on it. Then work on it.

You might also try staging a false exit. Walk once around the house or whatever it takes so they think youre gone. When your dog barks, correct the behavior with a Quiet command (though your sudden appearance will likely be enough).

You can use special bark collars, that either use sonic or electric power to correct your dog. Others squirt a substance such as citronella when they bark, a scent they despise. I dont use them, and the ones I have seen in use were awkward and not 100 percent effective. But I stay away from them less because they train through discomfort (they do not harm your pet), and more because they displace the source of authority from you to some device they dont understand. Furthermore, they dont differentiate between acceptable - even necessary - barking on one hand, and noise pollution on the other.

Theres also a medieval-like procedure whereby the dogs voice-box is removed to render them barkless, or at least takes the bite out of their bark. This is simply abhorrent.

A better option for desperate dog owners is arranging some form of doggy day care, whether its a professional service or a personal arrangement. Some dogs simply do not get enough stimulation during the day, and they will let the world know about it until they do.

Martin Olliver is a proud member of the Kingdom of Pets team (http://www.kingdomofpets.com). For more great articles on problem barking, visit: http://kingdomofpets.com/dogobediencetraining/articles/barking_dogs.php.

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