Mary Rice

We’ve all been there – it’s 3 A.M, and your best four-legged friend is making your ears bleed with their barking. Many dog owners believe that when dogs do this it is without reason and aimed at specifially annoying them. Thankfully, dog are rarely as capricious as their human parents, so if they are barking, you should definitely pay attention. There are several reasons for your pet to become restless, and if barking is repetitive, then it definitely needs attending to. Give your dog some of your time during the day, try to figure out what is wrong with their daily routine, and chances are, you will get to the bottom of the barking problem. Here are some of the reasons your dog could be barking nonstop.

Your Dog Is Unaccustomed To A New Environment

Probably it’s not much of a surprise when we say that dogs can get quite confused, and this doesn’t in anyway depend on their breed. If they have gone through trauma in their past or they’re not sure how to behave in new situations that are not a part of their routine, dogs often bark at strangers (yes, there is the “my dog doesn’t like you, I don’t like you” factor), not to mention cars or anything moving too fast for their eye to catch. If your pet starts barking in these kinds of situations, make sure to stay by his side and remain as calm as possible. Your dog most of the time mimics your emotions, so always keep this in mind.

Mikkel Bigandt

Fear Easily Takes Over

Unlike humans, dogs don’t have a rationality filter to help them with their fears and trauma, so don’t get angry when your dog gets scared of something as silly as a random tree on your street, not to mention other dogs. If you adopted your pet, they probably lived on the streets at some point, and just try imagining what it would have been like for you to live like that. Even when your dog’s fears make no sense to you, respect them and try to uproot them. Again, your energy here is crucial, if you are assertive and calm, your dog will feel safe and will with time become oblivious to whatever is the source of their trauma is. Under no circumstances should you pick your dog up from the ground to “protect them” when they bark, as that will only confirm their fears that they are in danger, and moreover, you don’t let their natural instincts kick in. If you are wondering what their natural instinct would be, well, as far as your dog is concerned, you are their pack leader and he or she will follow in your footsteps, no matter how you behave. As you can see, having a dog is a responsibility in every imaginable way possible, and the way you behave can be held accountable for the way you dog is dealing with the ouside world as well.

Your Dog Is Bored To Death

This is a classic. If you don’t dedicate enough of your time to your pooch, you better believe that he/she will find a way to reprimand you. Barking is their best way to make you pay attention, and you sleeping means nothing to them if you didn’t take time out of your day to exercise them properly and give them enough affection, expect nagging barking, because, face it, you deserve it. If you leave your dog alone for long periods of time, after which you just pet them on the head, instead of spending quality time with them, barking will ensue.  Their world pretty much revolves around your attention and praise, and when they don’t have that, dogs become nervous, mischievous, even borderline aggressive.

Your Dog can Is The Spoiled Child Of Your Family

Last, but not least, sometimes dogs become impossible to handle simply because they are used to having their way… always… with everything. No matter how much you love your dog, pampering it must have limits, and those limits must be strongly stressed. Otherwise, you are risking a full on fiasco when you change their food or deny them their favorite toy when they’re being difficult. Having a dog resembles to raising children, so you should act accordingly. You are the one who should be holding all the power in the house at all times. No exceptions.

Barking can become a real problem, but it is a problem that can be handled simply by adjusting your energy and sparing some time for your dog, because they truly need it more than anything else to be happy and thrive.