08/09/2024
The Long and the Short of it. How to stop puppy barking by preventing it in the first place...
"One thing people overlook is not allowing the puppy out of the crate until it is calm. I do not permit dogs to exit the crate in a heightened state of arousal. The dog must sit, stand or lie down patiently as I approach, and until I extract the dog on a leash and collar. This is important because we tend to ‘feed’ the wrong emotional state, creating more excitement, and therefore more resentment for being confined.
Every approach should be quiet and casual. We start initiating a ritual about crate confinement and exiting from the very first moment we bring your new puppy home to help inoculate against stress around confinement. We practice these things in advance of our need. We don’t wait until the puppy needs to go the bathroom before practicing ‘waiting’ in the crate, we practice ‘waiting’ first before the puppy ever has to relieve itself.
The third factor is ‘being comfortable with being uncomfortable’, at least for the first few days your new puppy is home. Make sure your puppy is taken out to relieve itself the very last thing before turning out the lights, and set your alarm every few hours during the night to take your puppy out before he wakes you up. The reason this is important is because of the precedent we wish to establish regarding being quiet while confined.
If I allow my puppy to get emotionally overcome and it starts to make noise and I sympathize or get frustrated and release it, I have signalled that noisemaking is rewarded. If I make small sacrifices early and take the puppy out before it makes noise, I am essentially rewarding silence. Yes, it is inconvenient, but that inconvenience is temporary."
Read the rest of the article at the link in the comments.
