Great Training Tips to Help a Little Dog to Stop Barking

In this Omaha dog training session we worked with two-year-old Samantha a Chihuahua who needed help to stop barking at guests when they arrived.

When I first arrived Samantha was barking at me quite a bit. This was her normal behavior to strangers when they walked into the house. But as a professional dog behaviorist I did something a little different; I completely ignored her barks. This was new to Samantha as she is used to getting some kind of attention when she barks at people. Because I ignored her she calmed down and was quiet a lot quicker than she normally is. To see how I did this you can watch the video below.

Another important dog training tip is that everyone in the house should ignore Samantha when she is demand barking like that. If someone gives her attention, even if it is a family member that she is not barking at, it will reinforce her barking behavior.

By the end of the session Samantha was learning to look to her guardians for leadership and direction. As a Chihuahua trainer I suggest that they keep using our Petting with a Purpose technique to reward Samantha for her good behavior. We wrapped up this dog behavior session with Samantha’s Roadmap to Success video, which you can watch below.