First off there are the traditional methods. Dog training and dog obedience schools help train the dog and also teach you how to handle your pet too, so that you can grow a lasting bond with your dog. Of course if you take your dog out and give him lots of exercise he’ll be a lot less inclined to bark. A tired dog has less energy to bark and a tired sleeping dog can’t bark at all!
Sometimes barking is good, it’s your dog’s main way of communicating with you. He may have heard or smelled something and wants to let you know. Just acknowledging him may well stop the barking, he knows you've heard and understood. If your dog continues to batk, try a NO, or Quiet command. When he stops barking reward him so that following your commands becomes pleasurable to him.
Giving your dog something to chew on is also a good deterrent to barking. How many dogs have you heard barking with their mouth’s full? All your dog's attention is now on the new squeaky toy you gave him!!
If the traditional methods don’t seem to be working it may be time to try a barking control collar. Many of these work by using sound so that the desired behavior, (in this case stopping barking), can be associated with the sound. Some of the more sophisticated, and of course expensive, models also use electric shocks to deter the dog from barking.
There are two types of bark detection used in Bark control collars. The sound collar uses the noise of yourdogs bark to activate and the vibration collar uses the vibrations from your dog's throat. Neither type is perfect. The sound type can be set off with sharp loud external sounds and the vibration type from violent motion such as your dog drying himself. There are collars that combine the two methods and these help reduce the false readings.
Whichever method you use, barking can be brought under control in a reasonably short space of time, so persevere and enjoy your dog for years to come.
