San Diego Humane Society Community Training Coordinator Shauna Romero answers your toughest training questions.
Q: Why does my dog
bark all the time?
A: Barking is attention-seeking behavior. Dogs figure out that if they make noise, people will look at them. The best way to reduce barking—and any other unwanted behavior—is to ignore the behavior you don’t like and reinforce the behavior you do want. Dogs are opportunists; they’re smart and love to watch us and see how we react. When you ignore them, the behavior starts to disappear.
Morgan Griffith
I was hoping to see some information on how to redirect a barking dog. Especially a chronic barker. I don’t know of any situation where just ignoring a barking dog has gotten them to stop.
Managing Editor
Hi Morgan, We agree sometimes ignoring a behavior is not enough. For a full response from a professional trainer, please visit (http://support.sdhumane.org/site/Survey?SURVEY_ID=1200&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS)
Managing Editor
Hi again Morgan, I also located this PDF from San Diego Humane Society which has a more in-depth look at how to train your dog to stop barking (http://www.sdhumane.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Barking.pdf). I really hope it helps you out.