The root of practically all dogs with behavior issues, particularly barking, is often due to the animal’s feelings in regard to loneliness and isolation. They will often resort to whatever tricks they can just to be under the spotlight.

Dogs bark in order to get other creatures to pay attention to them, especially when they are wearing halloween costumes for dogs. They do not care if the attention is someone coming over to see what they are making noise at, someone coming to penalize them, or someone just staring at them. As long as they get a response their bark has worked.

Punishment isn’t an option.

Trying to swat a dog that is barking is usually fruitless. Canines are fast and smart and consider it to be playtime. They may quit barking when you are walking around gesturing with your arms but the minute you ignore them they will begin carrying on again to get you to play with them.

Just letting a barking dog in at night may make your neighbors happy that night, but it will likely mean the dog will bark every night you put it out. The dog is getting its desired attention and has learned that it can control your actions.

What happens after determines what happens before

If you feed your dog every time they start barking in vane that they can’t bark when their snout’s full you are just going to wind up with a fat dog who’s used to having you at their beck and call. The dog learns that anytime it wants food all it has to do is bark.

Rewarding a dog for barking at strangers that walk on up to the residence may look like a good idea because it makes you feel a bit safer but it can quickly and easily become a neighborhood annoyance. You don’t want a dog to bark just because it sees someone move. You want them to bark only when someone enters your yard and then they should only bark 2-3 times, just enough to let you know you have visitors and to let them know a dog lives here.