A dog trainer has shared what he calls the 'golden rule' for stopping a dog from barking incessantly, and it does not involve shouting. According to Jack, from Dovecote Dogs, most owners react incorrectly when their pet starts yapping, whether out of frustration, fear or sometimes for no obvious reason at all.
Three tips to stop the barking
Taking to TikTok, Jack shared three tips with his 84,500 followers. He said: "Do you have a dog that barks relentlessly at sometimes absolutely nothing? Well here's three tips to help you guys out."
He explained that many people shout commands like 'stop it' or 'behave' while facing the same direction as the dog. "You're essentially shouting commands over the top of the dog. Our body language is facing the same way as the dog, so in the dog's mind, we are also barking at the same thing they are barking at," he said. "They don't know what we're saying. All they can see is our body language is in the same direction as them."
Break eye contact and stay consistent
His first tip is to "break their eye contact." He added: "Step in front of them and be face on with them. This makes it very clear that we are communicating to your dog."
His second tip is to stick with one command. Jack explained: "It could be 'quiet,' it could be 'enough,' whatever it is be consistent with it. Wait for a small gap in your dog's barking, there will always be one, you may just have to wait for it. When you have that small gap, step in front and say your command."
He added: "The reason we wait for a gap is because we want to pair the command with actually being quiet. If we start using it while they're barking we end up pairing it with the barking."
Reward quiet behaviour
His third tip is to follow the command with a reward. Jack concluded: "It will really reinforce this good behaviour. The way to do this is to offer them a reward in the opposite direction to what they were barking at. The reason is because it builds value in coming away from the thing they were barking at. It builds value in disengagement."
Since sharing his advice, viewers were impressed. One said: "Tried all of these. He responds to quiet on his terms. He reacts to everything, even other dogs barking streets away… help." Another added: "I will give this a go. Our bull terrier is a great guard dog but she barks at the slightest thing. Once she starts she won't stop. She totally ignores." A third commented: "Thanks! This makes complete sense. Will try this."
