Your quick and easy DIY guide to barking solutions
Poison pen letters in the mailbox, council officers knocking at the door and irate neighbours pointing the finger over the fence – all saying ‘Stop the barking!!’
Thankfully, taking just six easy steps will remedy the barking.
1. How much barking is too much?
Excessive barking of dogs is a very common problem and is second only to aggression in the behavioural problems for which dog owners seek our professional attention.
But how much barking is too much?
Many local authorities use a vague guideline of;-
- 6 minutes of barking between the hours of 7 am – 10 pm
- and no more than three minutes in any thirty minute period between 10 pm and 7 am.
In behavioural terms, if a dog barks for six minutes in an hour, that’s excessive and the dog’s behaviour needs attention.
For my clients I set a limit of:-
- two minutes barking under normal conditions
- under one minute for any barking where the dog is showing signs of distress, including howling and screaming.
In the majority of cases this is achievable with simple strategies that target the underlying reason for the barking (which is where electronic collars fail).

2. Why do dogs bark?
Mostly, dogs bark because:-
- they are protecting their territory and/or
- they are anxious and/or
- they have an anxiety disorder such as a separation anxiety and/or
- or they are seeking attention or comfort and/or
- they are of senior age and they have a senile behaviour disorder similar to Alzheimer’s Disease and/or
- in some unusual cases, excessive barking is a compulsive disorder
And there are other reasons
3. First task – measure the barking
There are two reasons for measuring the barking:-
- To determine if you are within the limits described above
- To determine which of your strategies are the most effective to create the solution you need
There are several ways of doing that and we have found the world’s best free ways to do that.
Some involve:-
- electronically recording the barking so it can be ‘viewed and measured’ when you get home
- seeing what your dog is doing during the day by remotely accessing your home computer web-cam
- getting an alert when your dog’s barking exceeds a certainl level
- using free web-cam software that detects movement and records what it sees
So, that means you need to implement simply ‘spying techniques’ and you will find more information here.

4. How can barking be reduced?
There are many ways to limit a dog’s barking behaviour but the most effective methods are those that treat the underlying reason for the barking.
If you are home when the barking is occurring, the therapies are usually very different to the processes you use when you are away from home.
5. Solutions for barking when you are home with your dog
The therapies for ‘at home’ barking mostly rely on:-
- Reducing the access to the stimuli that cause barking – fence changes may be relevant to that.
- Setting a limit to the amount of barking you will allow
- Using reward-based therapies (and avoiding punishment-based methods) to strengthen quiet behaviour when you achieve it.
For a detailed solutions on ‘Solving barking when you are at home with your dog please study this information


6. Solutions for barking when your dog is ‘home-alone’
How can you reduce barking when you are not at home to do it?
Treating the underlying problem is, again, the answer.
For this reason, I never recommend the operation called de-barking and I stay away from the electronic shock collars.
In my opinion, such strategies don’t treat the underlying malady.
Solutions to home-alone barking incorporate:-
- Attending to the fence to stop the dogs becoming aroused by stimuli beyond its territory
- Knowing that ‘home-alone’ barking is often caused by a genuine anxiety disorder, the most common of which is a separation anxiety disorder. Because dogs are pack animals, many are not happy when left alone.
- The treatment of home-alone barking usually involves the provision of a rich and ever-changing lifestyle for those alone times.
- For genuine separation anxieties, the sensible use of calmatives which can include Apaptil Pheromones or low side-effect anti-anxiety medication is often needed.
For a detailed solutions on ‘Solving barking when you are AWAY from your dog’ please study this information
Excessive barking stems from many causes and it is wrong to presume that all cases of barking can be solved with one strategy. However humane solutions do work.
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