Barking and whining is the way dog’s ,talk, to us. However like popele, some dogs talk too much. Sometimes preventing a dog from barking is as easy as figuring out what he is trying to tell you. What is it that he is trying to point out to you? Is there a big shadow or something he is mistaking for a stranger in the place? Is he trying to tell you it is time to take him for a walk? Is he hungry? Or, like some humans, is he just making noises because it affirms that he exists. Dogs bark for a lot of reasons.
\Here are just a few of them.
1. He is calling the pack. This urge is a primal leftover from the days when a missing member of the family needed to be howled to so that it could return from a straying away.
2. He is lonely.
3. He is frustrated.
4. He is hungry.5.
He needs to go outside.
6. He is afraid.
7. He might be in pain.
8. He is excited (he sees another animal out the window.)
9. He is feeling territorial (and thinks people passing by, like the mailman are the enemy.).
Never discipline a dog for barking. Chances are he is trying to tell you something. Often the message is ,you are not paying enough attention to me., Sometimes a lonely dog will seek out a scowl, a reprimand or any kind of response from you because negative attention is better than no attention at all. Nervous and overexcited dogs, dogs with separation anxiety or dogs that haven’t been trained properly at an early age are prone to excessive barking. Some breeds tend to bark more than others do.
Check with other owners or the vet to find out if your dog’s barking habits are normal. If not it is time to instill more confidence in your dog that you will always return after you leave. Practice leaving your dog alone for short periods of time. Put on your coat, pick up your keys and leave the house for 1 minute. Then return. Then the next time leave for two minutes. Then return again. Never greet the dog when you return in an overly excited or giddy way. This will simply encourage him to bark again. Gradually increase the amount of time you stay away. This will accustom your pet to the idea that if you do go away, you will always return.
If your dog is barking all day while you are out at work is the problem make sure that the dog’s essential needs are taken care of. If the problem is lack of access to outside consider getting a doggie door or hiring a dog walker. If it is lack of food or thirst consider getting a self-feeder. If it is loneliness that is triggering the barking, then consider getting a pet walker or sitter in. Sometimes another pet in the house can quiet a chronic barker.