Like me, you have probably run into this issue. And like me you probably treat your pup(s) as people. I often talk to mine and try to reason with them. Sometimes I try to bribe them with a treat.
Unfortunately, this never works for long. The bad behaviors usually return.
I’ve even reinforced bad behavior by giving treats – not on purpose, of course, it has become a habit as with many of my own bad habits I have created without understanding I have done so.
Every time this happened I got increasingly frustrated. Which led me on an epic quest for a real solution to why my dog won’t stop barking when I leave and why peeing in the house was also an issue.
Resource: My #1 favorite resource for effectively training your dog not to bark is Doggy Dan. His methods are gentle and effective and right now he’s offering a $1 trial so you can check him out for yourself.
I have tried many different approaches and methods and finally stumbled on an approach that made a HUGE difference for me and my dogs.
What worked, surprisingly, was learning Dog Psychology and understanding how to communicate with my dogs in a way that their brains really “get” it and can understand.
Help! My Dog Won’t Stop Barking When I Leave The House
We’ve all been there, worried about what the neighbors will think or if they’ll call the pet police because they think our dog’s excessive barking is out of control or indicative of something else going on.
Worry no more! I’ve got the help you need. Promise. And it doesn’t involve needing to cage your pup. I personally have never liked this tactic for my own dogs, but I understand it can work very well for some and in fact, a cage can be a safe place for others.
Today I’m going to show you a technique that will help you stop dog barking every time you leave the house in a simple way that doesn’t require you yelling at your dogs and is a great resource for how to train a dog not to bark.
And it all has to do with Dog Psychology.
In these videos for dogs barking, Doggy Dan (my favorite trainer) uses a short lead technique to get a very happy, very excited Boston Terrier named Bella to calm down and stop barking.
Video Case Study: How Do I Train My Dog to Stop Barking?
This video is about 4 minutes long and the transformation of little Bella (the Boston Terrier puppy) from excitable barking to being much calmer is just plain remarkable.
Here is a video that will help your “Bella”. Keep reading after the video because I’m going to break down the techniques for you.
While the short lead is VERY important to this technique being successful, what’s even MORE important is watching how the dogs react to Bella and using Dog Psychology instead of treating Bella like a person (I know how hard this is to do from experience).
Dog Training Tips for Barking – Video Breakdown
There are three main steps in this technique. It starts with observing what the other dogs do and how they react to one another.
Step 1: Calming a Barking Dog by Example
As humans we have a tendency to get louder when faced with loudness. So if someone is yelling at us, we usually yell back. It seems to be a built in response.
But notice in the video how the other dogs are reacting to Bella. They aren’t yelling back by barking, they’re actually ignoring her.
As humans, this would make us extremely upset to be ignored, but dogs are not the same, and in fact, by ignoring her they’re showing leadership (in dog terms) and this calmness will in turn help Bella to calm down.
When we use this kind of Dog Pyschology it helps our dogs to come down from the excitable state they are in.
Step 2: Using a Short Lead to Get Your Dog’s Attention
Instead of yelling, you’re going to use a short lead to get your dogs attention.
Watch how Doggy Dan does this in the video. Instead of yelling, he gently controls Bella’s barking and running away with the short lead.
IMPORTANT: When you’re using a short lead to train your dog, make sure you stay close by. Never leave a short lead on a dog when you are going away for a long period of time, they can get it caught on things and hurt themselves.
Step 3: Be Patient and Keep Working at It.
When you’re working with your dog on a new behavior, it’s important to keep working at it.
This is one area where dog brains and human brains are A LOT alike. We both need repetition to learn a new behavior. And Patience!
What you’re looking for is improvement, not instant results. And your improvement will probably look more like a stock market ticker than a straight line. With upward progress and small set backs.
This is 100% normal and if you keep practicing, you and your dog will reach the desired outcome.
Recommended Dog Training Courses to Help Stop Dog Barking
There are two online video based training courses that I highly recommend. Having used them myself to great effect!
- Doggy Dan – The Online Dog Trainer
- Brain Training for Dogs
These two courses serve two very different purposes. The Doggy Dan course is the best behavioral training course that I’ve ever used. It tackles problem behaviors like barking in ways that are innovative and kind and most of all WORK.
The Brain Training for Dogs course is a course that will help give curious and bored dogs something to do so that they don’t get destructive. Bored dogs often behave badly.
Our dogs used to get in our bathroom and office trash cans and spread out the tissues or such they’d find to show their displeasure at being left alone and exhibit their anxiety.
Since training them in this way it has stopped. Boredom it turns out is a very strong emotion when no one is around to play with them and causes some very destructive patterns.
The games in this course are fun to play with your dog and they go from easy to very advanced. If you think your dog is barking out of boredom this video course is a good choice.
The Bottom Line:
This is a technique that I’ve used with my dogs. And it works really well. The big key is staying calm and focused while continuing to work on the behavior.
Other resources:
How to control excessive barking.
More video training on dog barking from Doggy Dan.
Why do dogs bark?
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Please note: This post is not meant to prevent, treat or, cure any ailment or disease. We are not veterinarians and you use our advice at your own discretion. We always recommend that you consult your veterinarian whenever you have health-related conditions your fur baby is facing. With that in mind, as pet parents ourselves, we wish nothing but the best for your pet and their healthy and happy lives.