Barking is as normal of a behavior for dogs as breathing is for humans. What it is weird is the constant, repetitive barking that seems to have no reason whatsoever. If this is the case, you need to step up and make a change in your dog’s life in order to change its behavior. If you’re one of those dog owners who cuddle their pet all the time, realize that your behavior only encourages him to get loud. So the next time Fluffy is barking his head off while you are busy doing something else in another room, before yelling at him to be quiet, stop and take a moment to think who more than likely contributed to this undesirable behavior.

Before leaving the house you need to make sure that your dog is prepared for your absence. Be sure he or she has plenty of water, enough food (don’t go overboard here unless you want an overweight dog who eats out of loneliness or boredom, much like some humans do), and has a nice and comfortable place to just chill out where he is not able to see other pets or people. It’s possible that you encouraged him to only be happy in your presence; when you leave, he will get bored and start making a lot of noise. You’ve taught him that everybody should please him all the time and when you “abandon” him, even for a short while, he might get depressed.

Even if you talk to your dog, it’s obvious that he won’t get a word you say; what he can learn from is the way you behave with him. When you go overboard and go on and on about how everything is going to be just fine and you will be back very soon, you are actually just making things worse. Also overdoing the excitement in greeting your dog upon your return tells him that staying home all day alone really is a big deal!.

If you are the owner of such a spoiled dog, that barks all the time, without any obvious reason, you will be happy to find out that not all hope is lost; there are some devices called bark collars that are able to help you with the problem of the restless dog. There are a few different ones available and I find the Citronella spray bark collars to be one that work but does not inflict any pain or super-high pitched sounds. These collars don’t inflict pain but are rather annoying for the pet. They produce a citrus smell that some people actually enjoy. However, the dogs don’t really like it and they will soon learn it’s best to keep quiet rather than smell the scent. Think long and hard before giving up your dog for adoption.  

Many times when a dog barks is nothing more than a natural reaction. You can choose from many models of bark collars that can train your dog into barking less. Click here to find out more on the types of bark collars available.