As much as we love our canine companions, a dog that is incessantly barking or whining can sour the the best relationship between the dog, hie owner and the people that live in their vicinity. While it is normal for some barking, even in a well behaved dog, what do you do when your dog is overtly vocal?

1. Become familiar with the different tones of voice of your dog. Dogs will have a range of variations of their bark and their whine. Remember, a dog will never bark or whine without a reason. Your job is to find out what the reason is.Does your dog want food? Has someone invaded his territory? Perhaps another animal or a person?

2. Whining is a distinct sign that your dog is in distress. Many alert owners have saved their dogs from harm by investigating when their dog was whining.

3. Dogs also whine when they feel lonely. Canines are social animals, living in packs in the wild. Being alone all day while you work can make him whine when you get home. Setting aside the first 10-15 minutes to play with and interact with your dog, scratching a belly, throwing a ball, shower him with affection is a surefire way to stop the whining in it’s tracks. It is also a wonderful stress relief for yourself after a day at the office.

4. Keeping a dog outside by itself is another way to get it to whine. It wants to come in misses the human companionship which is associated with the inside of the house, and will therefore stand by the backdoor and whine until you decide to open the door. This may take 10 minutes or 10 hours, depending on your work schedule. Dogs are persistent and your neighbors may also be when they ask you to put your dog inside the house before you leave next time.

Attempting to discipline a distressed dog is rarely a good idea although a dog that incessantly whines even after all of its needs are met will benefit from a stern “no” that is immediately followed with eye contact and a turning over onto the back in a submissive position. Do not hit your dog or simply put it outside as this will not solve the problem but actually make the behavior a lot worse.

More articles to get your dog more well behaved such as Training a dog to walk on a leash and housebreaking Yorkshire Terriers can be found on our site, catsdogsandpets.com