How to stop my dog barking at other dogs? That was a question I had years ago but then you realise a few things over the years. Barking is how dogs communicate their feelings and messages, it is their language, just as how English is ours.
So, when your dog is barking at other dogs, in the neighborhood or at the park, it’s simply trying to communicate a message or its state of mind.
Maybe, it wants to play with the other dog, or it’s feeling insecure, unsafe, and threatened by the presence of other dogs. We have an idea as to the reason why our dogs bark and if they are communicating friendship or aggression.
While the incessant barking of your dog at another dog during one of your walks in the neighborhood may leave him annoyed, irritated, or embarrassed. A barking dog is a scary occasion for others on the street or at the part.
This is made worse if your dog is not oh its leash. Though we have to have patience and understanding with our dog. We have to understand that its barking is a reaction to something in its environment and it needs to be relaxed tactfully.
When your dog is barking too much you may ask yourself the important question, how to stop my dog barking at other dogs?
How To Stop My Dog Barking At Other Dogs?
If your dog has made it a habit to bark at other dogs during its outside walks, you need to train him to mend his ways. Here are some quick-fix ways to stop your dogs from barking at other dogs:
Instill a sense of calm
If your dog has been consistently showing the bad habit of barking and lunging at other dogs, try to keep him away from other dogs or places where you can find other dogs.
If your dog is barking at another dog behind a fence who is provoking it to go berserk with barking, try moving pass quickly. Take your dog far away from the other dog as quickly as you can so that they are not in the same vicinity. This is only a quick fix; you may want to brain train your dog so that it behaves it a much calmer way.
Give Your Dog A Treat
A dog treat can work wonders. When you take your dog out for a walk, you know it is going to bark, not because it likes to bark at other dogs but because other dogs may bark at him and provoke him.
But if your dog shows the presence of mind of not being reactive and not barking back, it’s time you rewarded him.
A scrumptious treat will do the trick. If he continues to shun barking, keep feeding him his treat, a small portion at a time. This will keep your dog’s attention distracted from other dogs.
Slowly raise the training level and replace treats with verbal appreciation, patting, and verbal instruction.
Challenge Your Dog
It is inevitable that your dog will bark at other dogs. You can do a few things to minimize this, you can change the location where you walk to bypass all the stuff that normally irritates the dog. If that is not possible then training becomes necessary.
You can try a good dog training program that you can use to easily train your dog to be calm and disciplined on the street. I tried the brain training for dogs’ program. You can try it if you have a bit of a dosh.
Alternatively, you can look at a few dog training videos on YouTube for a bit of guidance. Once you think your dog is progressing well with his training, you can increase the challenge level and sometimes bring him or her close to other dogs.
Watch out if your dog is still barking at other dogs, or if it has learnt to ignore them. If your dog is still in a reactive mode, and gets entangled in a barking match with other dogs, quickly take him away only as far as he stops barking.
After some time, take him again a few stops closer to the dogs and check if he is barking or not. In short, allow his tolerance for other dogs to grow.
Distract Your Dog’s Attention
If your dog breaks into a barking spree the moment he sees other dogs, let that moment not come. If you absolutely can’t avoid your dog running into other dogs, use some ways to distract his attention. If you are successful in your attempt at diverting his attention from other dogs, it will stop him barking.
You can distract him away from other dogs by giving him a treat on the ground. Your dog will be happy polishing off the treat from the ground than taking a note of another dog passing by him. You can also use some kind of toy that makes loud noises to distract him from other dogs.
Play A Game With Your Dog
Your dog may be barking at a passing-by dog because he has nothing better to do. Why not give him a more engaging environment to remain engrossed in his walks. This you can achieve by adding challenge to his walk.
For example, don’t take him through a lane that’s flat and monotonous. Rather, take him through a lane that has steep incline. Your dog would be busier balancing himself than noticing other dogs or breaking into a bout of barking.
Similarly, you can keep him busy with a brisk run, or some kind of playful activity. You can change the route and sometimes take him off the road. Your dog is likely to enjoy the variations in the route and he would no longer like to bark around at other dogs.
Use Commands Through Training
Well, this should be among the first training given to your dog. He should be trained to obey your commands. To train these two commands, you need to use a treat to ask him to stop barking by taking it to his nose.
He will stop barking to sniff it. Once he stops barking, give him the treat. Then ask him to speak, and prod him by making a sign such as a knock at the door. Gradually, he would understand what you mean.
Once he starts barking, ask him to stop. Follow up this command by taking a treat to his nose, and once he stops barking give him the treat. Then again ask him to speak. After some rounds of this training your dog will be able to understand and follow your commands.
Now next time when he confronts other dogs with barking, you can ask him to be quiet. He should likely follow your command. That’s also a test of your training.
Ask Your Dog To Perform An Activity
If your dog is well trained, he should obey your commands. So, when you find your dog barking mindlessly at other dogs, it’s time you used your training to get your dog to do something that’s totally unrelated to his barking.
For example, you can throw a ball, ask him to chase and get it for you, even if it is for a short distance. If you are in a dog’s park, you can ask your dog to roll over or play dead. These acts will completely wean him away from his engagements with other dogs.
Conclusion
Dogs barking or lunging at other dogs is a common problem faced by dog owners. But with a little training, tact, and understanding you can get your dog to behave himself.
Now you have a few answers to the question of how to stop my dog barking at other dogs. Implement the ones that you like and ignore the rest. Most dogs are unique and therefore some strategies will work better than others.
Remember, through barking he is only showing his frustration, insecurity, or need for attention. You can work at the root of the problem and get your loving dog back to its best behavior.
