Does your dog bark excessively? If you need to cut down your dog’s barking
begin by cutting down the amount of attention your dog gets during a
twenty four hour period. Ignore all attempts by your dog to get
attention. You may find this hard at first but you must be consistent.
Then leave the dog by itself in a room of the house for periods of five
minutes while you are still at home. If the dog barks, do not go into
the room. When a gap in the barking comes, wait thirty seconds, then
wander in and say hello, but keep the praise low key. In no way should
you acknowledge bursts of excitement from the dog. Putter about for a
few minutes then let the dog go free in the house. Make sure that no one
pets the dog, no matter how much it tries to get someone to pay
attention to it. The dog must not view being with you as a right, or
associate it with a reward, such as touch, praise, etc.
Sticking to this method slowly teaches the dog that it’s no big deal to be with you or without you. You should aim to leave your dog alone for five to fifteen minute periods five times daily. When you accomplish this without barking then begin to increase the time that your dog spends alone, building up to the desired time. The more time you spend on this program, the better chance you have of succeeding.
Some dogs are very attached to their owners a seem to be incapable of being alone. You can use the dog’s food to teach it to spend time alone without barking for attention. Always use high quality food for this program. You will need a tough rubber toy designed to be filled with food. For five weeks your dog should only receive his food through this toy and while you are not present. Divide his days food into five portions to put in the toy. If the dog ignores the toy then put it in a plastic bag and into the refrigerator for the next lesson. When the dog eats the food willingly he will have learned to do so while you are not present and will associate your absence with a powerful food reward that takes time to get to.
If your dog barks, he can’t eat and you should ignore him. Go into the dog’s room only when he is silent. He must not associate barking with your arrival into the room. Remember, and this is important, no tidbits of food at any other time.
Sticking to this method slowly teaches the dog that it’s no big deal to be with you or without you. You should aim to leave your dog alone for five to fifteen minute periods five times daily. When you accomplish this without barking then begin to increase the time that your dog spends alone, building up to the desired time. The more time you spend on this program, the better chance you have of succeeding.
Some dogs are very attached to their owners a seem to be incapable of being alone. You can use the dog’s food to teach it to spend time alone without barking for attention. Always use high quality food for this program. You will need a tough rubber toy designed to be filled with food. For five weeks your dog should only receive his food through this toy and while you are not present. Divide his days food into five portions to put in the toy. If the dog ignores the toy then put it in a plastic bag and into the refrigerator for the next lesson. When the dog eats the food willingly he will have learned to do so while you are not present and will associate your absence with a powerful food reward that takes time to get to.
If your dog barks, he can’t eat and you should ignore him. Go into the dog’s room only when he is silent. He must not associate barking with your arrival into the room. Remember, and this is important, no tidbits of food at any other time.
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