German Shepherd Dog Training – Stop Barking Dogs

Dog barking is a problem for many people. If you’ve decided that it’s time to stop your German Shepherd dog from barking in your home, you probably already know that there are many things you can do to fix the problem. After all, dogs are born to bark. Regardless of the nurturing and refinement over the past millennia, they still have that urgent desire to express their feelings and needs. In fact, there is only one breed of dog, the Basenji, that does not bark at all.

Therefore, before you can stop your German Shepherd dog from barking, you must understand why it is barking and what forms of barking you can control.

German shepherd dog training: the causes of dog barking

German Shepherd Dogs bark for various reasons. They bark when they are angry. They bark when they are excited. They even bark when they are afraid. Here’s a summary of when you might expect your dog to start barking:

Territorial bark
Barking alarm
Barking for attention
Salute barking
Bark of frustration
Compulsive barking
Barking related to injury or illness

As you can see, barking is an important part of who your dog is. It is impossible to stop barking completely. Sometimes they will want to express themselves, regardless of what you do to inhibit their behaviors.

German Shepherd Dog Training: How To Stop Dog Barking

When your dog refuses to stop barking, first determine if the behavior is justified. Nine times out of ten it is excessive and can be controlled. If you decide that your dog’s barking can and should be controlled, ask yourself these questions.

When does my dog ​​bark?
What is my dog ​​barking at?
Does my dog ​​have a specific trigger?

If you determine that the dog barking at your dog is because he wants to protect his territory or is simply alarmed by something, you cannot just yell at your dog to stop. In fact, the negative reinforcement of territorial barking can often lead to biting or assault in other ways. Your German Shepherd dog does not understand what you are trying to tell him. They stop the barking, but the territorial problems are still there.

Instead, you should create a situation where your dog doesn’t feel that territorial urge to defend himself. This starts with taking control of your home. Be the alpha leader of the pack and show your dog that you are in charge of protecting that space. Doggy Dan, a successful dog trainer, says in his training program that if your dog does not feel pressure to protect the territory from danger because he knows that is his job, or if you see him facing the threat and you give him the back. that threat, then you know there was no threat at all. By the way, it also says that when you do this, make sure you don’t look at your dog at all. Just keep calm and keep doing what you were doing. This gives your dog a signal that everything is okay.

Second, it can simply reduce your dog’s ability to see those intrusive threats in his territory. Close the blinds so they can’t see the postman, get an opaque fence so they can’t see the outside of the yard, and make sure they don’t have open access to the windows at any time.

Stop barking anxious dogs

If your German Shepherd dog has anxiety issues, the barking is likely a symptom of something much bigger. They want to catch up with you and will bark continuously until you return. Most of the time, this is because you have rewarded them for this behavior in the past. When you return home and they are excited, you immediately pay attention to them. This only reinforces your anxiety. Instead of rewarding them in this case, you should ignore your dog for 10 to 15 minutes, or as long as it takes until your dog is completely relaxed, so that you no longer associate their return with attention. You still need to pay attention to them, but not until they lie down or are very, very relaxed. Right now, it’s okay to call them. DON’T GO TO THEM! Let them come to you. This is very important because it establishes who the Alpha dog is.

Finally, to stop barking, you must teach your German Shepherd dog to talk and to be quiet. By creating a command that allows you to control behavior, your dog will learn to control barking when it is not necessary. One benefit of this is that if there is an intruder or something you want to bark at, it will still alert you.

The barking of a German Shepherd dog, which is very loud, does not have to be the nightmare of your community that it has become. Learn to control dog barking early and you never have to worry about neighbors knocking on your door every day when you get home.