The German shepherd can bark a lot both day and night in front of animals or strangers even without any reason. Though GSD is a guard dog, excessive barking can sometimes frustrate the owner. Since you can’t punish your dog, it’s wise to know how to stop a German shepherd from barking avoiding negative impact. Read on to know why German shepherd barking, and how to stop barking at home positively.
How to Stop a German shepherd From Barking?
If you are worried about the excessive barking of your German shepherd, first of all, address the underlying reason before doing anything in a hurry. Following are a few key reasons and conditions for German shepherds barking along with the most effective solutions:
Attention Seeking
German shepherds are intelligent and emotional dog breeds. They bark to communicate to the owner or other dogs for seeking attention, and toy, cuddle or want to go outside to poop.
So if you hear your Female German shepherd barking excessively, it’s absolutely normal. It’s their natural instinct and they express their emotions, feeling, or excitement through barking when feeling anxious, bored, or frustrated at home.
Even GSD has the loudest barks and during barking, they might not hear you. In this situation, don’t hit, kick or shock them which can increase their stress and aggressiveness. Instead try to understand his needs, offer some toys or spend some time to convince him that he isn’t alone.
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Protecting Territory
German shepherds are territorial breeds and protect the territory and people through barking. So if you don’t know why do German Shepherds bark so much, possibly they guard and herd. GSDs not only bark in a working environment to fulfill their role but also consider it as self-rewarding. Through excessive barking, the German shepherd burns its excess energy and satisfies the guarding instinct.
Along with continuous barking, the disturbed Shepherd shows aggressive body language as a warning bark. This is another scenario where you shouldn’t worry nor shush the dog to increase their fears or aggression.
Barking Age
Though German shepherd puppies start making whiny sounds at 2 weeks of age, the actual German shepherd barking age is 7-8 weeks. If you want to stop a German shepherd from barking, you can train him at this age. In this case, training speaks and quiet command is an effective method.
To teach your dog these commands, let him bark for a while. Then treat him high a value reward to divert him from barking. Hold the food close to the nose and let your pooch smell. Once the dog stops barking to smell the treat, give it to him along with speak command. Practice it until your GSD starts barking after listening to the speak command.
Then take your dog to a calm environment and give speak command. Now give him a treat and speak quiet. If your canine responds, reward him.
Remember, it’s a time-consuming process and requires some practice. So you have to stick with this draining to control your shepherd and stop it from barking.
Barking at Strangers
As you know, defending the family and yard is an instinct of a German shepherd. So if you notice your German shepherd barking at strangers, it means he is protecting the home and alerting you. This way German shepherds warn the families and scare the stranger even if the stranger isn’t near the home or territory.
Though this habit is handy sometimes but can be annoying for guests. Hence it’s essential to control this habit the right way avoiding punishing or discouraging the dog from barking in unusual situations.
So instead of locking your dog in a room or shouting, smell him some of the items of the stranger. This way your shepherd will become familiar with your guest. In addition, inform your visitor how to treat your pooch so he can handle the dog the right way avoiding being hurt.
Another trick is to ask your guest to ignore the dog while entering the house. It means he shouldn’t make eye contact or speak to the dog so the dog doesn’t consider him a threat.
Lastly, if your pooch barks at a stranger while on a walk, try to distract your shepherd by speaking.
Barking at Night
Does your German shepherd bark so much at night? Possibly it’s because of your pooch gear or seen as an animal in the home or hearing other dogs barking. The German shepherds can also bark particularly at night due to loneliness, insufficient exercise, or lack of supervision.
If the barking gets more intense, it means the supposed thread coming closer to your dog. But if your shepherd suddenly starts barking at night, it means he is seeking your attention or needs to go to the toilet. He may also need water or feel lonely and bored that forcing him to bark at midnight.
The other potential reasons to bark at night are changing the sleeping arrangement, separation anxiety, and dementia.
To stop a German shepherd from barking at night, you can take plenty of attempts based on the cause of barking. Don’t give attention to your GSD if he barks to seek attention to prevent reinforcing their behavior.
If noise is disturbing to your dog, move him to a quiet room or close the window. But if you have GSD barking due to dementia, take care of your health and treat for water infection if caused. Sufficient exercise is also a good way to stop GSD from barking at midnight.
So if you can, take your dog for a long walk or let him exercise for at mean one hour a day. This way your furry friend won’t feel lonely or bored while becoming tired enough to sleep throughout the night.
Barking at Other Dogs
You may also notice your German shepherd barking at other dogs. Your dog can do so if feel threatened or nervous or want to play with the other dog. Lack of socialization and training are also among the potential reason. Compared to barking at a stranger, other dogs can understand the reason for barking.
To discourage your GSD from this behavior, prevent other aggressive dogs from entering your yard. In addition, let your shepherd sniff the other dog’s scent so he doesn’t get panic. At this time, speak to both dogs gently so they can calm down.
Another trick is to place both dogs on leads so they can’t get to each other during barking. Despite this, ignore the other dog that is barking and stroke your German shepherd to convince him it’s okay.
Also Read: Why Does My Dog Cry When He Sees Another Dog?
Other Ways to Stop a German shepherd From Barking
Apart from the instinct and dog’s behaviors, the owner’s actions also encourage the German shepherd to bark a lot.
Aggressive Behaviors
Though German shepherd is a smart breed, they have the same emotion as a 2 to 4 years old child. So if you behave aggressively with your GSD or shout more often, he may start barking.
In addition, if your pooch notices you playing or fighting with other family members, he may get upset and begin barking.
Hence you should always behave gently with your dog or in front of him. Even you should shake the gate, and wear unfamiliar cloth in front of your dog to keep them calm.
Also Read: Why Are Chihuahuas So Aggressive?
Remove Triggers
If your German shepherd barks seeing strangers or other dogs outside, block their view. In this case, you can use close fencing or take your GSD inside to stop him from barking.
Punishment
Don’t hit, kick or overact your German shepherd or other pet in the house. This can increase your dog’s sense of fear while won’t bring anything productive.
Instead, they will start being afraid of you and end up barking after noticing you.
Anti-barking Collar
If you want to control the barking of your German shepherd, don’t train him out of whole warning signs initially. More importantly, using collars can give him pain and bring negative reinforcement.
The anti-barking collar won’t teach your GSD anything except give scariness and make him stressed or fearful. Though a collar shut your dog up, it won’t make him happy and healthy.
This is also true for a muzzle. It will not only block the ability to bark but also punish your dog instead of teaching good behavior.
FAQs
Can you train your German shepherd to not bark?
Once a German shepherd grows up and starts barking, it’s quite challenging to train him to stay calm. However, it works in the end. So you can apply to speak and quiet common training and keep practicing with the patient until your pooch responds properly.
How to train a German shepherd not to bark for any reason?
You can utilize plenty of types of training to stop your GSD from barking for no reason. Some of the effective ways are desensitization, using the command, and removing offending objects. Despite this, you can alleviate his freedom or apply an anti-stress device or hire a professional.
Do all German Shepherds bark a lot?
Yes, German shepherd barks more than other dog breeds and they have the loudest bark. No matter if you train and socialize them a lot, you’ll still hear them barking due to their natural instinct.
Final Words
As you can see German shepherds can bark due to plenty of reasons at different times and in front of animals and strangers. Hence the treatment for stopping GSD from barking varies depending on the underlying issues.
Once you get all those reasons and learn how to stop a German shepherd from barking, keeping your pooch calm won’t be a big issue. But don’t do anything that stops your dog from barking permanently so they can protect your yard and families.