Ask your dog for an incompatible behavior
When your dog starts barking, ask them to do something thats incompatible with barking. Teaching your dog to react to barking stimuli with something that inhibits them from barking, such as lying down on their bed.
Make sure your dog is getting sufficient physical and mental exercise every day. A tired dog is a dog who is less likely to bark from boredom or frustration. Depending on their, age and health, your dog may require several long walks as well as a good game of chasing the ball and playing with some interactive toys.
I have had my Golden Retriever puppy for just over 2 weeks now, so naturally we are still learning to communicate with each other. He is quite vocal, and for the most part I dont mind that. One behavior that I would like to train out of him is the incessant barking while I am getting his food ready. I tried saying “quiet” and holding his food dish until he settled down. I was determined not to give him the food until he got quiet and stopped jumping on me. I was aware of his presence (at that point, so was the whole neighborhood!). Ziggy had been the smallest in his litter and he is very easy going and submissive, so he was always bullied, and he had to fight for every morsel of food with his litter mates. But now he is the only dog. I am trying to understand his anxiety and excitement about his food, but I need him to stop barking. It gets louder the longer I take. Whats worse is he also barks when I am preparing food for me or just doing other things in the kitchen that have nothing to do with food. Im assuming he wants my attention. I have tried saying quiet, but he doesnt settle.
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Attention Seeking Or Request Barking
This type of barking is a form of expression which often developed through positive reinforcement from the owner. If your dog barks to let you know he needs to go relieve himself, this is usually a good thing. When he barks because he wants your dinner or to play or go for a walk, this is less positive.
However, it’s unlikely that he became a noisy, insistent pest on his own; your family likely had a hand in this during his upbringing. For example, perhaps you thought it was cute when he barked at you while you were cooking chicken and you slipped a piece to him. Dogs are pretty good associative learners and if they make the connection that barking equals food, they won’t stop just because you no longer find it cute.
To bring attention/request barking under control, you need to start by stopping–stop rewarding the barking and stop paying attention to the barking. For this, borrowing a training method that helps to stop jumping up is good idea. When your dog barks for attention or for food, cross your arms and turn your back on him. If he continues, walk out of the room.
Once he stops barking, call him to you, praise him, and fulfill his request, as long as it’s reasonable. However, if he is barking for food, do not reward him with food, treats, chews etc. This will simply reinforce begging and instead of barking, he will switch to pawing at you or some other attention getting behavior.
If your dog only barks to let you know he has to go potty, you need to change the behavior. Train him to ring a bell hung on the back door, or install a dog door which allows him to go when he pleases. However you go about it, changing behavior is much tougher than preventing it in the first place. With a puppy, start off on the right foot and don’t encourage or reward barking behaviors.
Many dogs bark when they get excited or when they are frustrated by an inability to get at or do something. For example, the dog who runs through the backyard barking and whining when he hears his buddy out in the yard next door, or the dog who barks at the ball that rolled under the sofa a bit too far for him to get.
The best way to reduce excitement/frustration barking is through basic and intermediate obedience training. “Sit/stay” and “down/stay” are commands that say to your dog he must wait until you release him to go play, for a walk, or to meet his buddy. Animal intruders, such as cats or squirrels can be curtailed using motion-activated devices or other forms of discouragement.
