When your dog barks, he is just trying to tell you something, communicating with other dogs, he is trying to express what he is feeling. There is a particular pattern that he should have to his barking as well. You know, he will bark a certain way when he wants to play, or another when he’s hungry. He will have a certain bark when there is a stranger present, or when he’s scared or concerned.

But, because we are not dogs, only dog lovers, we can only come our own conclusion why they are barking. But, if you use a bit of patience, and spend a bit of time observing your dog, trying to understand what he is trying to communicate, you will be able to deal with and control his barking.

You won’t be able to stop his barking all the time, this is their nature and how they talk to you. But, if you teach your puppy that he can get your attention just by barking, then he will bark all the time. He may even start to bark more intensely just to get an instant response from you. This is where your training comes into play, you will train your dog not to bark indiscriminately.

Some steps to take will be to:

When your dog is quiet, reward him with something you know he wants. But only give it to him when he is quiet, you are teaching him that barking does not get him what he wants.

There will be times when your dog may bark to let you know about something, if he is warning you, praise him, then ask him to be quiet.

Once he understands that you got his barking message, he will know not to keep barking. You can let him know it’s alright and that he can relax, and stop his barking.

When you have visitors over, you can train your dog by asking your guests not give any attention to your dog until he is quiet. Once your dog is quiet, they can reward him with attention. Training your dog proper social skills will greatly reduce unwanted barking.

When you have a puppy, you can train him to bark on command using a certain word, such as ’speak’ then reward them when you command them to bark. This in turn will give you control to quiet them. The most important time to control your dogs barking will be in public and at night.

If you have ever heard of dog whispering, the experts say that whispering to your dog is actually more effective than shouting.

Barking collars are very effective in training a dog to stop barking; These can be found in pet centers as well as online. These are really pretty convenient for you, especially when you are away.

When you are trying to control your dogs barking, you will only be successful when you can understand why he is barking so much. Once you are able to determine this, try to improve or change the circumstances. If he is trying to protect his turf, or maybe there is too much stimulation around him. He may be bored and his barking gets him some attention. When you figure this out, you will be better able to handle it.

There are going to be times when you will want your dog to bark, times when it’s necessary, but your job is to train him to know how to know when these times are. Teaching your dog the proper circumstances to bark, will eliminate most of the problems.

John Burke is passionate about dogs and their care. His lifetime of handling and raising dogs has given him a wide variety of knowledge and experience. Find more great and very useful tips for your dog training experience by visiting his site at http://www.dogtrainingtechniques.net