How to Stop Your Puppy From Barking?

Your puppy’s non-stop barking can disturb both you and your neighbors. However, it is very hard to discipline your new pet as they will be googly-eyed when you try different methods. Therefore, you need to understand the underlying reasons and the effective training methods.

So, why is your puppy barking continuously, and how can you stop it?

Pups bark due to dreaming, muscle twitching, vocalization, or emotional processing. While it’s a natural behavior for young dogs, there are several common fixes for this situation. Let’s discuss the reasons and what you can do to prevent your puppy from barking unreasonably.

Why Do Puppies Bark?

Puppies can bark for a variety of reasons. Some common reasons are protecting territory, alarm barking, attention seeking, excitement, boredom & frustration, separation anxiety, and underlying health issues. 

Let’s take a detailed look at the reasons:

Protecting Territory

Barking is a natural response for puppies to claim their territory. By barking, they try to keep other pets and humans from invading their homes. It is one of the oldest traits of dogs that they inherited from their ancestors.

However, when your puppy is constantly barking, it can get quite annoying and disturb your home’s peace and quiet. Therefore, you must train your dog in behavior and teach it to socialize with others living at your home.

Alarm Barking

The alarm barking trait is often found in guard dogs and dogs who have suffered from childhood trauma. They have a built-in natural alarm system and start to bark if they can detect sound, smell, and changes in surroundings. 

They have a heightened sense of smell, sound, and proximity and will surely bark if they detect any changes in their territory. Suppressed childhood trauma, certain smells related to punishment, problematic situations, or stress-related events can trigger alarm barking behavior in your puppy.

Attention Seeking

Dogs are susceptible to human emotions like attention-seeking and looking for validation. Puppies can be really clingy and will constantly whine and bark to get all your attention all the time. 

Younger puppies consider you, the owner, their parent, and the pack's leader. Therefore, they will try to grab your attention whenever they feel the need and will repeat the behavior if they can successfully gain your attention. Punishing them can worsen the situation more.

Excitement 

It is a well-known fact that dogs get easily excited. They bark and jump whenever they see a new toy, treat, or leash. While older dogs might be comparatively reserved, puppies don’t hesitate to show their excitement by barking non-stop.

In such cases, you will need to start training your dog to be calm and patient from a young age. You can reward them with treats to associate good behavior with rewards whenever they contain their excitement.

Boredom & Frustration 

In contrast to easily getting excited, puppies can also get bored with their surroundings as well. This situation often occurs if your puppy doesn’t get enough exercise and mental stimulation.

Dogs are energetic pets, and you need a proper routine to release your dog’s energy. Regular walks and exercise help maintain a healthy energy level for your pet. However, if you do not take your puppy on regular walks, it can get frustrated and bark continuously.

So, if you are facing such a situation, take your pup for a walk. Giving your pet interactive puzzles to solve can also effectively manage their barking tendency.

Separation Anxiety

No matter how old your dog is, it can have separation anxiety. Being one of the oldest friends of men, dogs form a strong bond with their owners. So, in your absence, your puppy might bark loudly to look for you and grab your attention.

Separation anxiety can cause stress to your puppy, which might result in severe health issues as well. Eating disorders, grinding teeth in sleep, and even gastrointestinal issues are related to dog anxiety. To resolve such issues, give your puppy as much time as possible.

Medical Attention

Last but not least, your puppy's unrealistically loud barking might be due to its underlying health issues. Around 10% of dogs with various medical issues start barking uncontrollably.

Barking is a way for puppies to communicate with their human companions. Sometimes, your puppy might try to suppress it. However, it might bark and howl while sleeping or playing. 

Therefore, if your dog is barking in sleep, take it to a vet as soon as possible. Remember, the earlier you detect your dog's health problem, the more likely it is to recover from that condition.

A Few Steps to Stop Puppy’s Barking

You are not the first person to want to control your puppy’s barking, and you will not be the last. You may find 101 ways to control your dog’s whining and barking with a simple Google Search. However, not all the ways work the same. 

Some dog breeders also suggest strict discipline and punishment to manage dog barking. However, it only makes your dog fear you and keeps it bonding with you. The best way to train your dog to manage barking is to associate good behavior with treats.

Here are our expert suggestions on how you can manage the situation properly:

1. Introduce Sight Barriers At Home

As puppies get excited easily, they might start barking whenever they see cars passing, squirrels climbing, birds flying, or even you approaching the door. So, the easiest way to manage the situation is to introduce sight barriers like blinds at home.

With blinds installed, your dog will not see certain things that might excite them. As a result, they will bark a lot less.

2. Crate Training

Crate training is an essential part of a puppy’s behavioral training. This helps your dog obey and make itself comfortable even in the harshest situations. If you crate-train your puppy from an early age, it’s beneficial for both of you. 

If your dog stays in the crate during its lows, it won’t bark. Your dog will be comfortable and happy as well as mentally satisfied.

3. Keep Them Busy

Keeping your dog busy in solving puzzles or obstacles keeps them mentally stimulated. This will help them manage their anxiety and boredom, keeping them calm and composed. Therefore, you can successfully manage your dog’s unstoppable barking.

4. Stop Rewarding

If your dog is barking for your attention, even looking at it while barking is rewarding its bad behavior. So, when your dog is whining, keep doing what you are doing.

When your dog calms down and stops barking, look at it, pet it, and give it some treats. It will help your dog associate desired behavior with treats and will bark less in the future.

5. Enlist The Help Of Others

It is very realistic to get frustrated when training your new dog to bark less, especially if you are a novice pet parent. In such cases, you can consult a professional dog trainer to help train your dog.

Professional trainers have years of experience in training puppies, and they will identify the reasons for your dog’s bad behavior sooner than you. Armed with this information, the trainer will generate a training routine for your pet. This will make training your puppy much easier.

6. Train Them and Avoid Punishment 

As mentioned at the beginning of this section, punishing your dog is a very bad practice. It will strain the relationship between you and your pet. Therefore, do not punish your dog while training them to follow desired behaviors.

There are several dog training techniques for your puppy to stop barking unstoppably. Some of the best practices are:

• Clicker or whistle training - Associate good behavior with clicking or whistling and treat your puppy with each click or whistle

• Verbal command training - Dogs are intelligent creatures who can follow commands. You can use the verbal command method to discipline your dog or teach it several different tricks.

• Desensitize training - Slowly expose your dog to situations that trigger its barking. Keep those interactions positive. Soon, your dog will not bark as much as it did in the past.

• Safe space training - keep your dog away from places that usually trigger its barking. If you do not have much time, this is a very good training option for you.

Final Words

It is very easy to get overwhelmed by the barking of your puppy. However, understanding the underlying reasons and training your dog accordingly can help manage your puppy’s barking significantly. 

However, you will need to be tolerant and patient with your puppy while training it. Also, we highly discourage punishment while training your dog as fear is never a good motivator.