Loud Barker

I love Maverick to death, but he has become a big-time barker since “discovering” his voice…a loud and unnecessary barker (most of the time). So MJ and I have done some research about barking and all of the advice that we’ve found say the same things to help your dog stop barking:

1.       Teach your dog the “quiet” and “speak” commands

2.       Distract your dog when they start barking

3.       Encourage your dog to carry a toy in its mouth for walks (if they bark at people)

4.       Try a mouth closing leash/collar

I have been trying to teach Maverick the “quiet” command since the little guy decided he sounded manly when he barks. So far, we’ve had no luck with that command. We also try to distract him when he is barking, but I guess barking is more fun for him than anything else we are trying to distract him with. The third suggestion does not really apply since he does most of his annoying barking indoors and rarely barks while he is being walked. The same applies to the suggestion of a mouth closure leash/collar.

So…now what? There are several reasons that dogs bark:

1.       To warn of danger or intruder

2.       Boredom

3.       Excess energy to burn

4.       Natural barking breed

I think that for the most part, Maverick is just bored and has gotten used to barking at everything now. He may also be a natural barking breed of dog. Either way it is time to step up the effort to curb the barking!

Any suggestions?