Some dog owners would prefer having a dog as a companion. However, a majority of dog owners don’t have just one dog, they have a whole pack numbering from two to ten, or even greater. It seems great at first for most people who love dogs. But, what’s not great is when they are misbehaving especially during the night.
Multiple dogs who bark throughout the night are very disturbing not just in your household but also for your neighbors who are trying to get a good night’s sleep. It is understandable that barking is a way of communication for dogs. But when barking becomes excessive, it may cause complaints from your neighbors.
Technically, you need to teach your dogs one at a time in order to correct this behavior. Here are six tips that you should follow in order to reduce excessive barking when you have many dogs.
1. Mental and physical stimulation
Giving your dogs something to play and think about is recommended not just for multiple dogs but also for solitary dogs too. You have to take them out on walks or let them join you when you are having a run. Also, playing games such as fetch with a ball or a stick, or even tug-of-war using an old rope with them could also work.
Physical activities such as the mentioned from before will tire their fuels out, burn their calories and energy, and also will reduce their boredom so it is likely that they will not be barking in an obstructive way.
Giving them chew toys and also dog toys that are stuffed with food could be a start for their mental stimulation. Once they are mentally prepared, you may opt to schedule short-term obedience training sessions for even more mental stimulation
2. Ignore your dogs
Some of these dogs are just begging for attention. When they start barking for attention, you might want to ignore them immediately. You have to pretend as if you don’t hear them, or as if they are not even in the room to begin with.
Giving attention to them will just make them think barking will make them be rewarded with ample attention from their owner. After ignoring them, wait until they stop barking. After they stop, give them rewards in the form of praise or delicious dog treats to make them associate being quiet as a rewarding action.
In time, they will understand that being quiet will give them the attention that they want, not by being a noisy dog.
3. Isolation from triggers
A lot of triggers could be very well be the cause of your dogs’ barking. Most likely, the barking triggers can be found outside your house, which they can see through the windows. It is recommended that you close the curtains or even close the door hatches if you have found the trigger outside.
The most common triggers that are not inside your house are fellow dogs, running cats, or strangers walking outside. By isolating your dog from these triggers, they would have no reason to bark.
4. Distracting your dogs
This tactic works with most dogs who are easily startled with noises or even with things. When your dogs start barking, you might want to do something in particular just to get their attention and stop barking. An empty soda can with a few coins is loud enough when shaken.
If your dogs are barking, try throwing the soda can on the floor near your dogs. This action will cause enough noise to distract them and will cause them to break their concentration and stop barking. You might also want to try to hide the action itself while you are doing it. This is to make them think that their barking is the cause of the unpleasant noise that distracted them.
Repeat these steps and you will eventually observe that your dogs will have their barking stopped. Other objects may also be used such as a rattle or even a banging of the drum. Just make sure that your dogs would not see how the unpleasant sound was produced and you will be fine.
5. Training your dogs
You might also want to teach your dogs to be quiet on command. Start off with the loudest dog which is usually the trigger of the barking of the other dogs. This instigator of barking should be the first one to be taught to stop barking.
When he starts to bark, focus on him and say keywords like “quiet” or “stop”. You have to say this while holding out a delicious treat like a piece of chicken or his favorite slice of beef near his nose. He will probably stop barking to smell the treat itself. Do not give him the treat but use it to lead him away from the bark trigger.
If he is still not barking, wait for a few seconds and give him the treat as a reward for halting his barking. Repeat these actions and be consistent with it. Increase the duration of time before giving him the treat with each repetition. Eventually, he will understand that by being quiet, he will be rewarded without any fail.
As time goes by, your dog will learn how to stop barking with just a simple word of “quiet” or “stop”. After you have finished with this dog, repeat this training method with the other dogs in your household.
6. Using an anti-bark device
There are commercially available devices that are meant to stop barking in dogs. These devices can be worn in collars or even put in your own household as a device. This could be one of your last resort solutions to barking. What the device does is it emits a very high frequency sound that us humans can’t hear, but the dogs can.
It will hurt their ears and will cause them to stop barking because of the unbearable sound. Even if just one dog was barking, the other dogs will still hear the sound and suffer from displeasure. Also, citronella collars work in a similar way, but not with a sound.
These tips are just simple methods on how to stop excessive barking when you have many dogs. Try following them one by one and find out which method works for you the best.
Do you want to put an end to your dog’s annoying barking problems? CLICK HERE to watch this FREE Step-by-Step Video from Doggy Dan’s Program!
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