Dog bark too much? Here’s how to fix it

If your dog barks too much and drives you crazy, there is hope! But first, you have to do a little sleuthing.

If your dog barks because he’s bored, keep him entertained with a Kong or other toy. How to tell if it’s boredom barking? Usually, he’ll either bark unfocused-ly (like he can’t see anything to bark at, but he wants to be ready) or he’ll bark just once every few minutes.

If your dog barks because he’s highly reactive and *everything* needs to be barked at (including the shadows in the living room), train the Quiet command and get in the habit of stopping the barking after no more than 30 seconds with a sharp, “Quiet” and then a treat when he shuts up.

Finally, if you live on a busy street, or somewhere where there really *is* a lot to bark at, block your dog’s view a bit. It’s stressful for your dog to feel like he’s in charge of the neighborhood watch, so make sure to give him just enough to look at. (If the neighborhood kids walk past your house each day at 3 and that sets off an hour of barking, feed your dog dinner at that time, in the back of the house so he can’t see them.)

In all three cases, training the Quiet command will really help, as will minimizing things to bark at. You don’t want your dog to stop barking altogether–most of us appreciate that our dogs can alert us to someone approaching the house–but you do want to keep your dog’s barking from getting out of control and the quiet command will help you do that.