How We Stopped Our Barking Dog – Break Bad Dog Behavior
May 7, 2010 by Dog Trainer Filed under Barking Dogs
Dogs are great to have around. Cute as puppies, they usually grow up to be great companions that always make you feel special. But consistent or excessive barking and jumping on people lead the list lead the list of annoying behavior, especially in areas where people live close together or when traveling. A barking dog can be most annoying in a crowded RV park. Usually, it is not the dog’s fault, but a lack of training. These are habits that can be easily corrected.
While there are products on the market that can control barking, the best way to control excessive barking and jumping is by training the dog to stop on your command. The problem is that dog training takes time, consistency and a lot of patience. Three things that most of us don’t have a lot of. Training a dog is a behavioral change project and requires commitment, time and patience and will not get immediate results. One good source of information is your veterinarian.
Products that immediately control excessive barking include ultrasonic devices that attempt to distract the dog or electronic collars that deliver an eletric shock or unpleasant spray when the dog barks. Unfortunately, collars and sprays can also prevent the dog from barking when it should. My experience has been that ultrasonic and spray systems do not work well for most dogs. Probably because they pay no attention to the distraction when their attention is focused on something else. Electronic collars that deliver a shock are more successful and can provide immediate results, but some people object to giving their beloved dog an electric shock.
Dogs learn to jump on people at an early age. When he was a tiny little puppy, he would come running and jump against your leg, you would pet him or pick him up. He loved to be picked up and adored the attention and petting. At the same time, you were teaching him that it was okay to jump on people. He learned this lesson very quickly and carried it with him as he grew older and bigger. What is okay for a puppy might not be okay for an adult dog. Dogs get excited to see new people or someone they haven’t seen for a while and one of the ways they show it is to jump.
How you react to jumping will determine whether or not your dog continues this unwanted behavior. Training takes commitment, consistency and patience in dealing with the problem. You have to make it clear to the dog that jumping on someone is not acceptable. If you don’t take time to correct the behavior, he will feel free to jump whenever he wants to.
Most trainers will tell you that the most effective way to stop unwanted jumping is to ignore the dog when he jumps. There is no yelling or actual correction, just an effort to ignore the behavior. It seems that dogs can understand body language better than the spoken word. So if you turn your back on the dog or ignore him it will have a greater impact than all the yelling in the world. Reward the dog when he does something good, like getting his feet back on the ground when he jumps. You may have to repeat this cycle of ignoring the jump and rewarding him when his feet get on the ground several times and for several days before he finally gets the message and the behavior changes for good.
I know from experience that training a dog can be a frustrating experience. We have had to correct excessive barking, jumping, chewing and digging as well as leash training and just teaching our dogs how to be socially acceptable. The animal shelters are full of failed opportunities to have wonderful pets.
I love my dogs and I was totally unable to change their unwanted behavior until I found the dog trainer handbook. I didn’t care about being a certified trainer, I just wanted to stop some unwanted dog behaviors. Click Here to get more information about changing your dog’s bad habits.
