How to stop a dog from barking? How many puppy and dog owners have anguished over this question! It comes up over and over, because dogs do bark and it does bother people. If it’s your dog barking and you are bothered, that’s one thing but if you have angry neighbors, it can get serious.

If I could tell you the magic trick to stop your dog’s barking, I would, but there isn’t just one solution. Dogs bark for a variety of reasons — sometimes to alert you to something going on, such as a car going by, sometimes defensively, as when the dog barks because he wants someone or something to go away, sometimes for attention or to express frustration, and sometimes just out of boredom.

If you have a young puppy or a dog who suffers from separation anxiety, and you are gone all day, it is completely natural that your dog would bark… and bark… and bark. In this common type of barking problem, you need to manage the situation more than the dog. Maybe you have a friend, family member, or neighbor who could come by and visit the dog or take him to their place. You would pay for this or it’s also quite common to work out a trade, where you can do something for the other person.

A Dog Training Tip for Barking, With or Without a Clicker

Here is something that has helped us, and I have seen this approach mentioned in dog training forums and other places:

Train your dog to bark!

This may not make sense to you yet, but read on..

1. Take advantage of a situation which gets him barking (like UPS going by) or have a helper ring the doorbell or do something else that you know will set off the dog

2. Using a clicker, click while he is barking. If you don’t use a clicker already, don’t start it with this particular exercise, just praise him while he is barking.

3. Give him a yummy treat. While he is not barking because he is eating it, click again to reward his silence, or say “good” if you aren’t clicker training, and then give him that treat too. (You want small treats, so the eating won’t take much time and so you can give quite a few. I like one preservative-free hot dog cut into about 100 pieces and keep small Ziploc bags of these in my freezer.)

4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 over and over, soon using the cue words “Bark!” and “Quiet!” (or “Silence!” or “Enough!”) at the appropriate times. If you have been yelling “QUIET!” at your dog for years, do select a different cue word here. Go back and forth with this, again and again… you may need that helper at the doorbell again.

5. Gradually shift so the rewards come only after he is quiet. I wouldn’t even try this on the first day, but within a few days.

6. This is going to take some time to get really good results. Keep practicing; don’t give up quickly. Gradually ask him to be quiet for longer times, even when that doorbell is going on and on, or friends / helpers are coming in the front door.

7. When you have this working in practice, begin using it in everyday life. It is pretty normal for the dog to not do as well at first in real circumstances, often because you are distracted by greeting your guests or something of the sort. Just keep at it.

Resources to Help You Stop Dog Barking

That one technique may not work for all situations, or you may want to find out more right away.

Stop Your Dog Barking, by James Jones, is a downloadable ebook which looks like it offers a lot of information. I haven’t read it, so I can’t say if it uses only positive dog training methods or not. But it has the advantage of being immediately available. You can be reading it within just a few minutes. The company it is sold through, Clickbank, is very reliable and does offer refunds if the book does not meet your needs. If you are in a situation where you need the handle your dog’s barking fast, this could be your best bet.

Barking, by Turid Rugaas

This new book, written by a well-known Norwegian dog trainer, begins by discussing the fact that barking is a natural way for dogs to communicate. She describes how we can learn to understand what they are saying. Well, but what about your problems? In clear language and with photos, she gives methods for dealing with problem barking.

Barking was published by Dogwise, and clicking on the image or the text link will take you to the page there that describes the book.

It’s also at Amazon.com:

I really like clicker training my dogs because the communication is so clear and so enthusiastic. The moment of the click tells the dog, “YES! That’s what I wanted you to do! You got it!” all in a fraction of a second. I’ve been using clickers for dog training for years now, and always keep a bunch around the house. I thought it would make an interesting article to see what kinds of clickers are available currently.

You can pick up clickers in a variety of places online, as well as in the big box pet stores that may be near where you live. I was going to check out a variety of online sources for clickers, but since Dogwise had a nice variety, I just did the article with their sources. Other places that have clickers include Amazon.com and Clickertraining.com . Another place you can find clickers is eBay, and it’s a good place to find old-style ones. This link takes you to a page of what is currently listed: Dog Clickers on eBay (That’s currently as you read, not as I write!)

For information on clicker training itself, here is the link to the other blog articles on clicker training dogs on this site. Even more useful is the ebook I wrote: Seven Steps to Clicker Training Success with Your Dog, which you can get free by clicking on the link and signing up for my weekly Tuesday morning newsletter. (Of course, it is easy to unsubscribe at any time.)

Four Different Dog Clickers and a Bag

The original dog clickers were box-like. These are still available and they work fine. I have to admit that I prefer the next one…

Karen Pryor and the people who work with her at KPTC created the i-clicker. Its rounded shape and projecting thing for you to click make it easier to use in my opinion. Here it is up close. I just went and got one of my i-clickers (causing excitement in my dogs) and held it up to the computer screen. Monitors differ but the image is maybe 2/3 the size of the real thing. Click on the image to go to Dogwise. What comes up is the page with a 5-pack of these, as that seems to be more practical to me than buying just one — I have never broken one but I am always giving them away with a short pep talk on clicker training! From that page, you can easily click to the page for just one if you wish.

Dogwise also sells a retractable clicker which they created. They call it a Retract-O-Click, and it attaches easily to your clothing. The nylon cord is 30 inches long. It looks to me as though the clicker is the original square style, but I am also guessing that you could attach an i-clicker. Click on the clicker to see it at Dogwise. I may get one of these sometime, so I could always have a clicker handy. With my pedometer already always in one pocket, I’d at least be more balanced!

Dogwise has just added a cute little finger clicker, which evidently fits on your finger and you can click the flat of your hand, thus allowing your hand to also hold treats, a leash, or a target stick… since clicker training would go well if you had three hands, this may help! They say its sound is on the soft side, which could be nice too.

While I was looking around at Dogwise, I came across this nice bag to use for clicker training. You may have a bag that fits around your waist to use, but if not, I highly recommend this one or something of the sort. I almost always put on my waist pack before doing more than just a few minutes of clicker training. It’s certainly like having another hand, maybe like having two! Click on the image to go to Dogwise. This one, designed for the job, can contain lots of treats, clickers, and even a target stick. You can close the top so the treats are not noticeable to the dog.

So there you have it. Sometimes people just use a baby food jar lid or a retractable ball-point pen, but I do think these inexpensive tools do make the communication clearer with your dog. And that is what it’s all about!