This is going to sound strange, but when Spike barks, it's typically because he wants attention. I have simply started to ignore him when he barks so he learns that that is not the way to get me to pay attention to him. Surprisingly it works a lot faster than me doing things to try and stop him barking, like saying 'no', putting my hand over his mouth, etc.. Once he stops barking, i wait a minute or so, and then he gets lots of praise and attention.
I was also told that a good way to stop them from barking is actually to teach them to 'speak', or bark on command. I haven't tried this, but apparently it teaches them to only bark when you ask them to.
I try and remember, though, that he is a dog, and as a result he will bark. Once I accepted that barking is typical dog behavior, and acknowledged that there are certain things that most dogs will bark at, I find I'm a lot less stressed!! |