If you are considering staffy training or staffy puppy training, there are easy ways to stop your staffy from barking. Staffies are one of the most ‘vocal’ breeds of dogs, and can make a wide range of sounds as they attempt to communicate with you, many of them very endearing! Fortunately for their owners, barking is not usually a major problem with staffordshire bull terriers and often doesn’t need to be dealt with during staffy training. 

However, it is part of a dog’s nature to bark, and while this can be useful if you are concerned about intruders, in most cases security is not an issue and people just want a friendly, quiet dog that won’t disrupt the neighbourhood with loud or incessant barking. If your dog does have an unwanted barking habit, it is a good idea to deal with this as part of your overall staffy training program.

Before you decide how to train your staffy to stop it from barking, it is useful to understand why dogs bark and what types of barking you can control.
   

Click Here To STOP Your Staffy Barking!

 

Staffy Training – The Causes of Dog Barking

Just as humans sometimes cry out or shout, dogs often bark when they are scared, excited or angry.

The different reasons for barking can be categorised as:

Injury or Illness Related Barking
Territorial Barking
Compulsive Barking
Attention Seeking Barking
Frustration Barking
Greeting Barking
Alarm Barking

You can see from these categories that barking can arise from a wide variety of situations.  It is perfectly understandable that a dog would want to bark in these situations, as this is one of the few ways it has of communicating with you. It is also important to recognise when you are considering staffy training that it is impossible to stop your dog from barking completely.  Instead, what you will be looking for as part of your staffy training is how to stop the avoidable instances of barking.
 

 

Staffy Training – How to Stop Your Staffy From Barking

Firstly you need to determine whether your staffy’s barking is warranted. Nine times out of ten, it’s excessive and can be controlled with some simple staffy training. If you decide that your dog’s barking can and should be controlled, ask yourself these questions.

What is my staffy barking at?
When does it bark?
Does he or she have a particular trigger for their barking?

If your staffy starts barking to protect its territory or because it is alarmed by something, don’t yell at it to stop. This so-called ‘negative reinforcement’ to stop territorial barking can cause the dog to express itself through aggression or biting, because they will not understand what you are trying to tell them.  They may stop barking for fear of retribution, but their territorial issue will not have been resolved.

As a general control measure, it is better to make clear during your ongoing staffy training program that you are the ‘alpha leader’ in control of protecting your dog’s perceived territory, and this will reduce its urge to bark in such situations.  You can also take some more immediate practical measures to stop your staffy becoming aware of outside ‘threats’, such as closing the blinds, restricting access to windows, or building a fence that restricts their view of the outside world.

 

How to Stop Barking Caused By Anxiety
If your staffy seems anxious, it is likely to be due to periods of separation from you or your family, perhaps while you are at work.  This could cause them to bark until you return.  You won’t hear this of course, but your neighbours might not be too impressed if they have to listen to it all day!  The best way to break the cycle is to stop giving your staffy any attention for the first 10 or 15 minutes after you get home, so they stop associating your return with a ‘reward’.

As another staffy training measure to control barking, you can create a command that signals to your dog when you want them to stop.  In this way they will learn to control their barking when is not necessary, but it will still allow your dog to bark if there is an intruder or something else you want your dog to alert you of.

Dog barking does not have to be a problem for you and your neighbours.  Include some simple anti-barking measures in your staffy training program and any problems you have will soon be resolved.