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Nine
Barking
Barking is
a very emotive subject, if the dog barks to warn of
a burglar it is a hero and praised but as soon as it makes noise out of
turn then it is a problem. It is natural for dogs
to bark after all it is a form of communication, excitement,
warning, pain, fear the list is endless. Whilst in
most cases a dog making the odd amount of noise is
acceptable the problems arise with one which barks
continually. Coming home to find the Police at the
door with a complaint or even worse a court order
in their hands cannot be a very nice experience.
Some breeds
are by their nature more vocal than others, guarding
breeds tend to be vocal and this is associated with
their natural role in life, to warn people to stay
away. Also due to their size they tend to be able
to project their bark more than a smaller breed.
The first
thing to do, if you are a dog owner, is to see your
neighbors and ask them to inform you if the dog barks
whilst you are out. If they do not inform you that
there is a problem then you will not know anything
about it until it is to late. As with all dog behavioral
problems it is so much easier to stop it early before
the problem really gets out of control.
Next is to
try and find out why the dog is barking, as pointed
out previously there can be a wide variety of reasons.
Again talking to the neighbors may reveal the situation
that triggers the dog off, such as a person at the
door. If the neighbors cannot help then it may be
down to you to leave the house, wait around the corner
and once the dog starts barking try to ascertain why.
Alternatively a member of the family could stay in
an upstairs room whilst the rest of the family go
out. Once you find a reason for the barking you can
take steps to eliminate it. If the dog is barking
at strangers passing the front gate then put a screen
across the gate, if the dog is barking out of anxiety
then make the home environment more comfortable, see
Article 7. However do not fall into the trap of just
shouting at the dog, he will just thing you are joining
in and the problem will increase.
Finally ask
yourself, is it the barking that is a problem or the
fact that you cannot stop it. If it is the latter
then this is a control problem and you should work
on the dogs obedience.
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This article
was written by Paul C Bunker, a professional dog trainer.
You can visit the website at www.Southwestk9services.com for more articles and
dog training resources. You may freely distribute
this article or save to any electronic media as long
as it is left intact, including this copyright box.
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