Dog barking is a common problem with man’s best friend; they are made to bark after all. This is a dog’s primary way to communicate, so as with a baby crying the main thing you need to figure out is why dogs bark.

If your dog is barking late at night it could be because he is communicating with other dogs in the area. It could also be that he is just plain bored or maybe he is hungry. He might even be trying to alert you to something that could potentially harm you like an intruder or a fire.

I know you are thinking, I get it he is barking for a reason, but how do I stop my dog my dog’s barking? There are several remedies to getting your dog to stop his chops.

The best thing to try first is to see if he is just trying to let you know that he is hungry or cold. Try giving him some extra food, or on a cold night bring him in. The dog barking should stop; if not permanently it will at least stop for a little while.

If the dog barking continues, try getting him out to let him run. Sometimes dogs are barking to let you know that they are bored or because they want attention. If they exert their energy during the day they should be well rested and content at naptime and at bedtime to prevent further bad behavior.

Still have a problem on your hands? Try a shock treatment. By this, I do not mean a shock collar; I mean shock him in the act. Catch him when he is really belting out the good barks with a cold dose of the hose. Stay on top of this and he will eventually figure out that every bark session is going to end up in cold, wet fur.

The last resort would be a bark collar or a dog shock collar. Some dogs are just too headstrong for the above remedies to work on their bad behavior, so you may want to invest in one of these collars. Every time your dog barks he will have a small shock delivered to his neck to alert him to stop.

Give these tried and true remedies a chance and hopefully you will be sleeping better soon and come back to Train My Dog Now and let us know how it worked for you.

The phrase “destructive chewing” may sound redundant, because – by its very nature! – all chewing is destructive. Your dog has strong jaws full of sharp, pointy teeth: just about anything she starts to chew on is probably going to show the effects of it inside of a minute. So just to clarify, when I use the phrase “destructive chewing”, I’m referring to inappropriate chewing: the kind of chewing that’s focused on your own possessions and household items, instead of on your dog’s own designated toys and chews.

The three main reasons why dogs chew:

- Most dogs have a natural desire to chew. It’s fun, it passes the time, and it’s a self-rewarding, self-reinforcing activity (for example, if she’s chewing on something that tastes good.)

- Chewing provides a nervous, bored, or lonely dog with an outlet for her emotions. To an anxious dog, the repetitive act of chewing is soothing – it’s the doggie equivalent of comfort food.

- Underexercised dogs often use chewing as a way of burning up nervous energy and giving themselves something to do.

- How to prevent destructive chewing -

Dogs are perfectly capable of learning not to chew your stuff – you just have to put in a little effort first, that’s all.

1. Take control of the situation: manage your own possessions. Your first step should be to dog-proof your home. Even if you have the best-behaved dog in the world, there’s still no reason to test her self-control – after all, dogs explore the world with their mouths.

Dog-proofing your home means taking whatever you don’t want to end up in her mouth, and making it unavailable. Consider her size and agility when deciding whether something’s out of reach: can she jump? Can she climb, or leap onto something else to reach the desired object? How tall is she when standing on her back legs?

Common targets in the home include books, eyewear, clothing, shoes, garbage, and small crunchy appliances like cameras, cell phones, and remote controls.

It should go without saying that all food needs to be put securely away: don’t leave snacks on low tables (or even countertops – you’d be surprised how acrobatic she can be when there’s food at stake!), put all food into containers or the pantry. Rinse your dirty plates clean of any food scraps before leaving them by the sink.

2. Prevent her from learning the joys of illegal chewing. The more times she manages to snatch a jawful of a forbidden substance – a chair-leg, a pillow, a running shoe – the more readily she’ll target those items in future. If you can prevent her from chewing your stuff in the first place, it’s a lot easier for her to understand what you expect of her. Practically speaking, this means confining her in a dog-proofed area until you’re confident of her understanding of the house rules.

3. Don’t set her up for failure by blurring the boundaries between her stuff (OK to chew) and your stuff (not OK to chew). Don’t offer your dog cast-off clothes, shoes, or towels to chew and play with: realistically, you can’t possibly expect her to be able to tell the difference between your current shoes and the one she’s got in her mouth that you gave her five minutes ago.

4. Provide her with lots of tasty alternatives to your stuff. If her environment is relatively barren of attractive, appropriate chewing objects, you can hardly blame her for targeting your possessions. Remember, most dogs need to chew; if she’s an adolescent (under three years) or a puppy (under one year), her needs will be even more pronounced. Go on a toy and chew shopping spree, then give her two or three to play with at a time. Rotating the available toys every few days will keep things novel and interesting for her.

5. Spend lots of time in active supervision. Yes, it might be easier for you to just keep her penned up in her dog crate, run, or the yard – but that’s boring and horrible for her, and hardly much fun for you either (if you wanted a pet that you don’t need to interact with, you’d have got a goldfish, right?) She can’t learn what you expect of her if she’s spending all her time boxed up in the dog-proof zone: she needs the opportunity to explore the boundaries of your expectations, so she can understand what’s appropriate and what’s not.

6. When you catch her chewing something inappropriate, interrupt her by making a loud noise: clap your hands or make an “Ah-ah-aaaah!” noise. Then, immediately hand her a tasty and dog-appropriate alternative (a rawhide bone or other chew toy); as soon as her jaws close around it, praise her lavishly. There is no better way to get your dog to understand that chewing “her” toys equals praise from you, but everything else equals trouble.

- Maintain a productive attitude -

Above all, remember to keep your expectations realistic. You’re not perfect, and neither is your dog: there’s likely to be at least one incident where a cherished item is damaged by her curiosity.

Particularly in the early stages of your relationship, she’s still learning the ropes: it’ll take awhile before she’s completely reliable (and even then, if she’s left by herself for too long or feels neglected, she may choose your stuff over hers to occupy her time and jaws with.) Remember to give her time to learn the rules, and plenty of ‘you-time’ to help her learn faster – and don’t forget to take precautions and keep things out of reach until she’s got the hang of the chewing rules! 

You can find some great chew toys at the Train My Dog Now online store and another great dog training resouce can be found by clicking the link below.

Not only is it unsightly, you will also have to come out of your pocket to get your yard fixed up.  Plus, if you do it yourself, that is time spent there when you could be doing something else.

 Dogs are not thinking when they are doing this.  They may get tired of playing with their toys and they are not hungry.  One thing that you cannot do is to impose punishment to get them to stop. 

 If you do try to punish them, you may face the dog rebelling against you.  You will need to find the root of why they are digging in your yard to begin with.  Then you will be able to work from there to make changes in your dog and stop him from digging holes. 

 Here are some dog training methods that you can try to get your dog to stop digging holes in your yard:

•  Place barriers in certain areas of your yard to keep your dog out.  They should be placed in the areas where he likes to dig holes.  Once they realized that their favorite areas are blocked, they will stop trying to gain access to dig more holes.
•  You may want to have a sprinkler that will spray water on your dog.  Dogs are not too keen about having water sprayed on them.  They are not animals that like to get wet. 
•  Make sure that your dog gets plenty of exercise.  That can help them to stop thinking about wanting to dig holes in your yard.  One of the main reasons that they do it because they get bored and feel that they have nothing else to do. 
•  Make time to play with your dog.  Spend quality time with him.  When they know that you are investing time with them, they will be less likely to think about messing up your yard.
•  Your dog should have plenty of toys to keep them busy.  Make sure that they have a variety so that they won’t get bored easily.
•  If playing with them and taking them out for regular exercise is not enough, you may want to get your dog a sandbox.  Or you can section off a portion of your yard where they are allowed to dig.  You can also allow them to have toys and treats in that area.  Once they get accustomed to it, they will not see the need to dig holes anywhere else in your yard.
•  Dogs don’t like the heat, so they will dig holes and use the dirt to keep them cool.  If you want to stop them from digging, give them a place where there is shade and provide them with plenty of water.
•  One thing that you can do to keep or stop your dog from digging may not be a pleasant one.  However, you may be surprised to find out that it can be effective.  You can place some waste in the holes that are being dug up.  Once the dog gets to the waste, they will want to stop digging up holes in your yard. 
• You can find information about dog fencing in the store at Train My Dog Now. 

Another great dog obedience training course that deals specifically with stopping your dog from digging can be found by clicking the link below.