4. Squirt with water

What it Requires

Squirting with water or a mixture of water and vinegar requires a squirt bottle and water or a mixture of water and vinegar. How it works is that you wait for your dog to bark and then squirt him in the rear with the squirt solution. The idea is to take a step back from the swatting and have the positive punishment be more impersonal.

When it is Useful

Squirting your dog with a squirt bottle is useful only if you’re home. Otherwise, it does no good because you’re not there to administer the correction. Some dogs love being squirted with a squirt bottle according to dog trainer Mirkka Koivusalo, so it isn’t useful then. The only time is if your dog is in a fairly confined area where you can actually get a squirt in.

Effectiveness

Unless you have a 15 foot or more super soaker or can get up close, chances are you aren’t going to hit your dog’s rear end. After the first few times of this treatment, your dog isn’t going to stand still for this and you’re going to be missing anyway. Either your dog is going to think this is some sort of bizarre game or you’re really a meanie.

As said above, some dogs really like being squirted with a squirt bottle—even in the face—so it’s pretty much useless as a punishment. Since the dog is more likely going to treat this as a way to get away from you, you’ve just taught your dog to avoid you and not necessarily not to bark.

Lastly, this only works if you’re home and not if you’re away from home. If there’s no one there to dissuade your dog from barking, he’s likely to bark away while you’re not there to chase him around with a water bottle.