Since I was a little kid I have enjoyed training dogs.  I’m totally a dog person, although I love all animals, dogs have a special place in my heart.  One of the most common and annoying bad habit a dog can have is to bark too much or at the wrong things.

Let me first say that a dog’s job is to protect your family & property so it is a good thing if they bark when someone comes to your house or goes close to your property.  If they are doing just that then give them a treat because they are doing their job great and are protecting you!  If on the other hand however, your dog barks non-stop when someone comes to your house, even while you are talking to the person and it’s a non-threatening situation then there’s a problem that needs to be corrected.

Dogs should not bark at minor things such as the trash truck, mail man, kids playing next door, etc.  These are all every day things that your dog should be used to going on around them and doesn’t need you to be warned about.

So the training technique I am going to give you is to be used only when your dog is barking when he/she shouldn’t be.  Afterall, you still want your dog to bark if someone breaks into your house or is hurting you or your children right?   So this training technique should not be done every time your dog barks, but only at the times when it is not appropriate.  This is a very easy, safe, and awesome way to train your dogs to stop barking when they shouldn’t be. 

We did this technique on my best friends parents dog while he was staying at our house for a few days.  He was a BARKER! He barked mostly when he didn’t get his way- if he wanted to come inside, or he wanted attention etc.  Needless to say after using this techniqe for 2 hours the first day he was an angel the rest of his visit and didn’t bark unnecessarily for the rest of his visit!  I told his owners what we had done and they did the same thing at home and have said he’s like a new (and quieter) dog!  They couldn’t believe how simple it was.

Ok, so what’s this training technique? Simple: fill a spray bottle with water and add about 1/4-1/3 c. of lemon juice.  Adjust the spray nozzel to do a fine mist. (not a stream)  Each time the dog barks when he/she shouldn’t be you spray one or two times at it’s nose.  The water is enough to get their attention, and the lemon juice isn’t a desired taste for them.  (lemon juice wont hurt them, even if it gets in their eyes- it may sting a little, but wont do any damage)  Some dogs may like the water alone, so be sure to add the lemon juice! You don’t want to encourage MORE barking, you need to teach them that barking at certain times= yucky lemon water in their nose/mouth/face.

Like I said, it only took us 2 hours and proabably only 5-6 times of squirting the water at the dog and he got it!   He was a model dog for the rest of the time.  Now his owners said they don’t even need to squirt him, on his worst days just seeing the bottle will make him stop. (eventually he should stop when they just verbally tell him to)

Hope that helps!  Give it a try.  And remember some breeds are more of barkers than others and will require more love and patience on your part.