Why does your puppy bark?
Understanding barking
Barking is a totally natural aspect of a dog's behaviour and
you must expect your puppy to grow into a dog that will bark.
It is unrealistic, even unfair, to think you can train your dog
to stop barking, but you, your family and neighbours will be
happier if you can bring it under control.
"Stop barking": It's hardly surprising many people
have barking problems with their dogs; dogs have no idea
whether barking is something good or bad. That's because,
sometimes when a dog barks, he is ignored; at other times he is
shouted at to stop; then again he may be encouraged to bark if,
for example, there's a suspicious stranger nearby. So to help
your dog know the rules, here's a helpful rule to start with;
barking is acceptable until he is told to stop.
"Stop Barking" should be considered as a command for
obedience rather than a telling off. You should let your dog
bark two or three times, praise him for sounding the alarm,
then say "Stop Barking" and hold out a treat in front of him.
Your dog will stop straight away because he can't sniff the
treat while barking; after a few seconds, give him the reward.
Gradually increase the time when the barking stops to the
giving of the reward and you will be able to stop your dog
barking for as long as two minutes in just one training
session, see
Clicker training.
However, if you become worried or concerned about excessive
barking that you have no control over, you should seek advice
from your vet about next steps, such as specialist training or
therapy.
Whining: This may sound heartless, but you should
understand that going to comfort your puppy when he whines will
actually make things worse. He'll think he's being praised for
whining, and get into the habit. In fact, you can help him
learn to stop by not going back to him when he whines. By
ignoring your puppy, and only giving him attention and praise
when he stops whining, he'll learn that whining and whimpering
is not the way to solve things.