An Easy Way to Stop Dog Barking When People Pass Your Home

For this LA dog training session we worked with 1 year-old mix Bobo (left); going over an easy way to stop dog barking at people walking by their home.

Knowing that Bobo is sometimes wary of strangers, I used a Dog Behaviorist trick to make sure that we had a great introduction outside. Taking the time to set up the greeting resulted in success. I recommednded the guardians repeat this trick when introducing the dogs to new people who visit from now on.

After becoming buddies, I sat down with Bobo and his roomie Martha’s humans to go over a number of dog behavior training fundamentals. His guardians had already established a marker word but hadn’t been using it so we reloaded the word, then went over hand targeting so I could help the guardians practice their marker word timing.

Next I went over the importance of rewarding desired behaviors, something I call Celebrating. I also shared a few tips on how to teach dog manners, dog consent and body language, some creative exercise tips, mental stimulation games like cookie in the corner and the importance of providing rules and structure when you have a fearful or reactive dog.

An Easy Way to Stop Dog barking

One of the main dog behavior problems the guardians wanted assistance with was Bobo’s habit of barking at people who pass by the house.

Dog barking problem is one of the most common requests for help that I get as a dog behavior expert. Most people don’t realize that verbally chastising a dog from barking actually increases the chances of your dog barking again. But if you want to stop dog barking, first you need to know why the dog is barking in the first place. Is it happy, fearful, territorial? Dogs bark for many reasons and the best way to fix a dog barking problem varies depending on why they feel the need to bark.

In Bobo’s case, we was not happy to see these people close to his fence so his barkng is alerting and territorial. If you want to stop a dog from barking territorially at people passing by your home, you need to change the dog’s perception of the people. I knew I needed to change the way Bobo perceived the person into a positive one.

I pulled out my camera so that I could demonstrate an effective way to stop dogs from barking at people who pass by your home. If you have a dog with a barking problem, you should definitely check out the free positive dog training video below.

One of the most important tips to stop dog barking problems is to practice when you’re prepared and ready. Many people try to train in the moment which is the worst time and palce to learn a new skill. By arranging the situation and having somebody you know pretend to be a stranger walking by the home, you can set your dog up for success.

By managing the distance between Bobo and the things that he normally barks at, then providing a positive reinforcement when the dog does not bark (because we managed the distance properly), we can help the dog crate positive emotional response. When a dog has a positive feeling towards someone or something, they usually dont bark at them. So making the scary or invading person into a positive is a wonderful and positive way to stop the dog barking.

Id like to see Bobo’s guardians practicing this training exercise to stop dog barking 2-3 times a day for a week or three. Habits form over time. Fortunately fixing them doesnt take as long; provided you practice frequently, successfully and avoid situations that allow the dog to pratice the unwanted behavior.

Since Bobo can see through the fence, I suggested the guardians get a large banner or bamboo reed matting to hang outside the fence. If they find something they can use to block the visual site of people outside the fence that can be taken down when they practice, they will be able to practice the no barking behavior they want while preventing Bobo from practicing the barking behavior they want to stop.

This was a fun session. Bobo is a goofy dog once you get to know him while Martha is a lover. And their guardians are rock solid (inside joke) people. Helping good people better understand and fix their dog problems is one of the best parts of this job.

Since we covered so much in this in-home LA dog training session, I recorded a roadmap to success summary video to help the guardians remember everything. You can watch that video below.