How to stop a dog from barking at everything?

To stop a dog from barking at everything, make sure your dog has enough to do every day to stop them from getting bored. Establish a good routine – your dog may be barking to communicate that they want to play, want food or need attention. A good routine can help your dog to know what activities and going to happen and when. This may stop them from barking for things at other times. You can try preventing your dog from seeing anybody passing the house by reducing access to windows or gardens. It's a good idea to have tasty treats and exciting toys to hand – you can use these to distract your dog. Ideally, this would happen before they start barking, or you could use a treat to interrupt their behaviour. Dogs bark for so many different reasons and so it's necessary to discover what the cause is. Asking for advice from an expert can help you to understand what is causing the behaviour and they'll also be able to point you in the right direction for help. Find ways to help your dog feel calmer and more relaxed when they’re alone, such as leaving a special toy, using a dog-sitting service or getting the help of a specialist.

If your dog is barking because of boredom, providing your pet with something to do may be the answer. Exercise can help, make sure your dog has an adequate amount of physical and mental exercise before you leave in the morning. A tired dog is more likely to rest when you’re not at home. You can also try an indoor dog treadmill during colder months. Additionally, teaching the “quiet” command can help, use a calm, firm voice to tell your dog to be “quiet” and positively reinforce correct behavior with treats and affection. Don’t respond to barking dogs, many dogs will bark to get your attention, ask for food, or to tell you to open the door or let them out of the crate, wait until your dog is quiet to give them what they want. Managing surroundings can also be effective, leave the dog with some familiar sounds, such as a radio or television program, and close the blinds before you leave the house to remove your dog’s opportunity to see things that will tempt them to bark. Socialization is also important, a dog that has had many positive experiences with all ages and types of people, including people on bikes, in wheelchairs, children, etc., is less likely to bark at them. Dog Toys and Puzzles can provide mental stimulation, for example, treats can be placed inside a dog puzzle toy, and the dog will work to get the treats out. When you have a dog, you know with certainty that they’re going to bark–whether out of fear, to be territorial, as a joyful greeting, for attention, or maybe because they’re bored. But if you feel they’re barking excessively, your best bet is to figure out the cause of the barking and address it consistently and patiently.

To begin with, you will need to figure out why your dog is barking and then you can treat the cause or manage the situation. Dogs bark for lots of reasons, they might be excited, bored, frustrated, excited or even worried and they may bark at different times for different reasons. Physical stimulation is very important, so you could try increasing your dog’s exercise, making their daily walks more fun or spending more time playing with them in the house or garden. Mental stimulation such as scent games, training, or interactive puzzle feeders would also help with this kind of barking. If your dog barks for attention, try to ignore them, stay silent and don’t give them eye contact, until they stop, then calmly praise them and give them the attention they were looking for. You might need to be patient for this one, once they stop, you can give them some fuss, play time or giving them a treat. As part of this, it’s a good idea to reward your dog when they are naturally being quiet on their own. If your dog barks when people walk past the house, a simple solution can be to block the window or door so your dog can’t see people walking past, but this isn’t always possible, another option is to step in and try to distract your dog before they start to bark. If you can’t distract your dog in time before they bark, don’t worry, for this situation, it’s a good idea to teach your dog an action like a recall, or a “watch me”, this will mean you can call them to you once they’ve started barking and then reward them for completing that action instead.