Dogs only bark because we have taught them over the years to bark
. It is just the dogs' way to help out their owners by scaring off intruders to their property.
A dogs bark is its way of communicating with people, or a way to show that it is excited. It is imperative that when a dog is trained that we are able to communicate with it properly
Try to always know what your dog is trying to tell you. If you just reward your dog when he barks it will only keep him quiet for a while, and then he will start to bark again. This is because he is associating the reward with his barking.
If you have a dog that barks a lot you really needs to find out the cause of his barking. Is he barking because he wants to warn you of something or is he trying to tell you something? If he is just barking out of the need to get attention then wait until he goes quiet and reward him. That way he will know that he does not have to bark all the time to get the attention he craves for.
If you just carry on giving you dog attention when it barks, then obviously it will carry on barking until you react to it and show it some attention.
There are some dogs that will bark at almost anything. If someone comes too close they will bark. They sometimes even bark at people who are on the opposite side of the street from you. These are very territorial creatures.
The way to try to stop the dog barking all the time is to try to distract him when he barks. Once you have got his attention try playing with him until he is quiet. Once he has quietened down you could give him a treat, that way he will recognise that being good and not barking will get him more rewards.
Communication with your dog is good for you and for him. He will get the attention he needs and you will get the peace and quiet that you need.