An Easy Way to Stop Dog Barking at Neighbors

For this Omaha dog training session we help 2 year-old Doberman Pinscher Willow stop dog barking at neighbors and other dogs when she is in the yard.

We met Willow outside using what I call Greeting Protocol One. Greeting Protocol One is when you leave a trail of treats on the sidewalk leading the dog up to the new person. As Omaha’s dog behavior expert, I have found that meeting dogs outside can prevent territorial behavior. It worked perfectly for this session.

Why do Dogs Bark?

Dogs bark for a variety of reasons, including expressing emotions, seeking attention, or communicating. Excessive barking, however, can signal underlying issues and may create problems for others. Dogs bark to express feelings like excitement, fear, or frustration. They may also bark to warn others to keep away if they feel scared or threatened.

Additionally, dogs may bark to get attention because they know it elicits a response from their owners. Dogs may bark to communicate, greet others, express a need, or signal that they want silence.

Barking can happen when dogs see people, other dogs, or animals near their space, or when they hear noises and activity outside. Dogs need enough exercise, mental activity, and social time. If they don’t get these, they may bark more. This is especially true if they are left alone for a long time.

How to Stop Dog Barking at Neighbors

We went over a number of dog behavior tips and some impulse control exercises. If your dog barks in the yard or at strangers, teaching them self-control exercises can help. It’s a good way to begin training.

One of the things we went over was a Susan Garret impulse game called Its Yer Choice. It’s a simple and easy way to help the dog develop impulse control which will help stop the dog’s barking problem. Dominique and Willow worked on an exercise while I discussed dog behavior secrets with Willow’s guardians. When it was Dominique’s time to teach the humans, Willow had it down solid.

Dominique teaches Willow’s guardians the Its Yer Choice game

Later in the session, I went over some clicker training. I’ve found this is a great way to help the dog practice listening to and obeying the humans. It’s important for a dog to listen to their guardian when teaching dogs not to bark at people outside.

Tips to Stop a Dog From Barking

You can learn how we trained Willow to stop barking at neighbors and dogs that pass by the house by watching this free positive dog training video. Anyone can do this, even if you are not a professional Doberman dog trainer.

I have used this type of clicker training to stop many dogs from barking at people or dogs outside of their yard. While the dog may still bark a bit, this gives the human the ability to call the dog away from the fence. This works best if done before the dog starts to bark. This is an easy way to stop dog barking if you practice a few times a day for a week or three with super high value treats.

Because Willow barks at various sounds, we may need to come back in a few weeks to work on counterconditioning to address this barking behavior. I didn’t schedule a follow-up appointment. Many clients notice improvements in other behavior issues.

This happens after they apply the changes we discuss during our in-home dog training sessions. We want to give these adjustments time to take effect before adding additional interventions.

To help the guardians remember everything we talked about in this in-home dog training session, including how to stop dog barking, we filmed a roadmap to success video that you can check out below.