Dear Miss Behavin’:
I have noticed since we have been sheltered in place that my pup is barking a lot more than before. I am not sure how to handle this and would like to address it before it becomes a habit.
This is a great question and I am sure something that a lot of households are experiencing since sheltering in place. One of the first things you need to do when working with barking is to identify the type or why the dog is barking. In this case I would say it is territorial and your pup is doing their job. Luckily there are a few things you can do to help lessen the amount of barking since you are there to manage it.
If your pup is barking because they can see people or dogs passing by, you can block their view to that window by lowering the blinds, placing something in the area to block their access or my personal favorite use decorative window contact paper. This allows the light to come in and blocks the dogs view.
If your pup is barking because they hear the people or dogs passing by, you can add inside noise to help buffer the outside noises. You can have a TV, radio or white noise box playing in the area that the noise generates from. I usually recommend using what is most commonly on in your household.
You can verbally correct your pup by allowing them to give off an alert bark or 2 and then give a cue such as that’s enough. Additionally you may need to get in between your pup and the area they are barking at and ask them to leave the room by giving a cue and pointing to another room or area.
A final note is to keep in mind that some breeds are more prone to bark than others and you may have to be more lenient in those cases.