Free Tips to Help a Dog Stop Barking at Everything

For this Omaha training session we helped Sophie, a six-year-old Havanese. Her guardian set up this dog behavior training session with me to learn how to help a dog stop barking.

When I got to the session, Sophie quickly showed me how well she could bark. This happened right when I rang the doorbell.

This was more than a territorial alert. I’m guessing the over barking started that way, but when people didn’t listen, Sophie just turned up the volume. When that didn’t work, she kept at it and has operated that way for so long that it has become a bit of a habit.

When I met with her guardian to talk about Sophie’s barking, I noticed some common unwanted dog behaviors. These showed me that Sophie thought she was the leader of the home. The lack of structure made this cute Havanese dog think she was in charge of home security.

How to Help a Dog Stop Barking

To help Sophie with her barking problem, I suggested some rules and boundaries. These should help her see herself as a follower.

A good example of this was to make furniture off limits for the near future. In a dog pack, one of the leaders is usually in charge of security so they take the highest vantage spot. Sophie did her own versions of this, sitting on the top of the back of the couch.

This placed her in a higher position, both literally and as a leader. She could look out the beautiful windows into the back and side yard of the house. Because there is a walking path at the border to the back yard, this location was problematic for many reasons. She barked to alert people to the passers by, but because no one inside listened the dog kept it up.

To a dog, this technique works. They bark when they see someone approaching and eventually they walk away. While the person was just passing by, to the dog, it was their barking that CAUSED the person to walk away.

Removing Sophie’s access to this prestigious position will help her learn better dog behavior. This will also greatly reduce her barking.

Next I suggested a number of other rules and ways to enforce them. Sophie’s guardian must demonstrate through her actions that she is in the leadership position. Dogs respond to what they see us do when it comes to respecting us as leaders.

Consistently enforcing rules is important. Rewarding or disagreeing within 3 seconds helps too. Activities like petting with a purpose can also be useful.

Tips for Training a Dog with a Barking Problem

To help Sophie focus and give her guardian a way to guide her, I shared a simple focus exercise. You can check out this free positive dog training tip in the video below.

After we taught this dog with a barking problem the focus exercise, I asked the guardian to put Sophie in a kennel. They pretended to leave so I could hear her barking problem while she was in the kennel.

As soon as we closed the garage door, Sophie started barking. I don’t think she stopped until we came back a few minutes later.

Sophie’s guardian had been letting her out of the kennel while she was barking. This can confuse a dog. It may think that barking made the human come into the room.

When a dog gets what it wants for bad behavior, it can also get confused. The dog might believe that its unwanted behavior led to getting what it wanted.

I spent a few minutes showing the guardian how to add some structure to letting Sophie out of the kennel. Not only did this stop her barking, it resulted in a calmer, more balanced energy too.

By the end of the session, this dog learned to stop barking when corrected. She also barked less at things that used to make her bark non stop. By setting rules and boundaries and sticking to them, Sophie can stop barking. She should learn to follow her guardian’s guidance and corrections.

We wrapped up the session by filming a Roadmap to Success video which you can watch below.