Barking comes naturally to dogs. It’s their primary means of communication and they use it in a variety of ways.
We benefit from our dogs howling too. Many people love having dogs around not just because they’re great company, but also because they can act as security for your home.
As soon as your dog senses something off or that someone’s at the door he/she doesn’t know, you can expect barks to ring through your house.
In many cases, barking is not a bad thing. However, if your pet just can’t stop howling at the neighbor’s dog, you can understandably grow annoyed and frustrated. Even your neighbor may grow tired of the noise quickly.
To put an end to your dog barking at the dog next door, you can follow the tips below.
Know the Reason for the Barking
Dogs utilize different kinds of barks in different situations.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), notes that your dog may bark for reasons such as hearing other dogs howling, frustration, or even because he/she was caught off guard by something.
In all likelihood, your dog is howling at the neighbor’s pet because he/she is offering a greeting or perhaps being territorial.
Barking done to greet a fellow dog is usually accompanied by positive body language such as tail wagging. Territorial barking is more aggressive and often louder.
Address the Type of Barking
Now that you know the reason why your furry friend is barking, you can do something about it.
Addressing barking done to greet another dog is easier. If the two dogs have never met before, then it’s probably time to change that.
The key here is to understand the attitude of the other dog. If your neighbor has a friendly dog and you have a friendly dog, it should be relatively easy to get them to meet face-to-face without incident.
Once your dog becomes familiar with his/her neighbor, the barking should become less frequent or even disappear altogether.
Territorial barking is tougher to curtail because the two dogs may not get along.
If that’s the case, your best bet may be to prevent the two dogs from seeing one another. Set up a fence or barrier that keeps them from seeing each other. That should reduce the howling significantly.
Use Dog Training to Stop It
Aside from the things mentioned above, you can also get around the issue of barking by utilizing some good old fashioned dog training.
Teach your dog the “quiet” command so that he/she will understand right away when you want silence.
The Humane Society recommends taking your dog out for more exercise. By doing that, your dog may be too tired to bark at the neighbor hound by the time you get home.
Barking is not necessarily a bad behavior in dogs, but it can be when it’s excessive. It’s time to teach your dog how to behave better around the neighbors and you can do that by following the tips above.
TAILored Pet Services’ professional dog walkers will help you limit your dog’s barking. Tell us which training methods you wish to employ to curtail the barking and we’ll use them as well. To learn more about how we can help and our rates, call/text us at 425-923-7791.
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