How To Stop A German Shepherd From Barking

Having to deal with a German Shepherd that barks all the time can be really annoying. It could be your German Shepherd, the dog next door, or the dog down the street.

German Shepherds bark for many different reasons, and for many people, it can be a bother. 

Read on to find out what to do if your German Shepherd is always barking, best way to stop a German Shepherd from barking, or making a big deal about something.

How does your German Shepherd make noise?

In all honesty, there is never just one reason why a dog keeps barking at something.

This means that there is no one way to fix the problem or stop a German Shepherd from barking.

When this is going on, it can be very hard to try to live in peace and quiet. 

Even if you manage to fix the problem, it can be hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

First, you should know that your German Shepherd will bark no matter what, and that all dogs will bark about something.

So, the first thing you should do is try to figure out why your German Shepherd is barking to begin with. Then you can try to stop it by taking certain steps.

8 Possible Reasons Your German Shepherd Is Barking

Here’s why and how to stop a German Shepherd from barking.

German Shepherds bark most of the time because they know it will scare away anything they think is trying to hurt them.

It also barks when it is upset or wants to get the owner’s attention. 

Or it could be barking to get rid of some kind of anger which could cause aggressive behavior.

1- Trying to get someone’s attention or make a request

 

It’s possible that your German Shepherd is barking to get your attention. 

It might think that if it barks, it will get something in return. 

It probably wants food, a toy, or to go outside to play or go to the bathroom.

2- Territorial Barking

Most of the time, this happens when a person or another animal comes into the same area as your German Shepherd. 

If your dog thinks this space is his or hers, it will bark at whatever comes into that space to try to get it to leave.

3- Barking to Play

Your German Shepherd might start to bark when it is having fun or playing. 

This simply means that it is having fun. It’s kind of like how people laugh or say things when they’re having fun.

4- Fearful Barking

This could happen if something scares your German Shepherd or if it knows that something is trying to scare it.

This can be caused by anything from a loud noise to something falling on the floor to someone yelling at the dog or trying to scold it.

This kind of bark can also be hard to tell apart. 

This is because sometimes when a dog barks, it is trying to scare away something dangerous. 

Sometimes it barks at a threat because it wants to get away from the situation.

5- Related to frustration Barking: 

If the dog can’t get to something, is annoyed by something, or is upset because it can’t get to something, it might bark to get rid of its anger.

6- Barking because it’s bored

Some German Shepherds bark when they are bored to make themselves feel better. It sounds like the dog is barking the same thing over and over again.

7- Barking in a hurry

When the dog is fed, sees that it is about to go outside, sees you coming home from work, or notices anything else good, it will bark to show that it is happy or excited about what is happening.

8- Barking to keep from being alone

When your German Shepherd sees that you are leaving, it will start to bark at you. People might think this is a sign of separation anxiety.

But that doesn’t always happen. This is just a case where the dog is upset, which is a lot less severe than a true case of separation anxiety.

How can you stop a German Shepherd from barking?

Now that you know why a German Shepherd might be barking, it’s time to learn what you can do to stop a German Shepherd from barking as much as possible. 

Remember that it takes time and a lot of patience to make progress. Nothing can be fixed in one day.

Depending on why your German Shepherd barks, you can use a certain type of training to make it easier to stop it and stop it from happening in the future.

Here are some things to think about.

These aren’t hard to do, but you have to be committed and consistent.

AKC says that yelling at your German Shepherd will only make the problem worse because it will think that you are making noise for the same reason it is.

Block the view by shutting the windows.

The first way to stop a German Shepherd from barking is to block the dog’s view.

If your German Shepherd is constantly barking at something to claim its territory, the first thing you can do to stop this is to block the dog’s view of whatever it is trying to claim.

For instance, if the area is outside, close the doors and blinds or move the dog to a different room.

If you don’t want to block off the whole area, just block off enough so the dog can’t see. 

You can buy a film to put over the window or door and put enough up to where the dog’s eye height ends.

As time goes on and you see that it is less and less interested in the area, you can slowly take it off.

Buy toys with things to do.

 

There are some dog toys that can help stop a German Shepherd from barking to get attention or to get something they want.

It also helps dogs that bark because they are bored or because they feel like they are being kept away from you. 

German Shepherds that do this will benefit a lot from having a toy to keep them busy.

Busy toys are usually made of hard rubber and have a mechanism that gives out bones or other treats. 

They are a great way to keep a dog busy for a while.

The dog will be happy, too. You can use this when you need your German Shepherd to be quiet but are busy with something else.

Buy a white noise machine.

This is best for German Shepherds that bark when they are scared or want to claim their territory and protect it. 

Use this machine because its constant, repeating sound will drown out any sounds that might make the dog bark.

This could be anything, like hearing cars drive by or people talking in the background.

AKC says that making the dog’s environment better will help it get used to being calm and relaxed.

Use the machine to stop a German Shepherd from barking.

Treatments with chemicals

You can also buy a diffuser or other device that can release chemicals that smell like female dogs. 

This will quickly help the dog feel better and stop a German Shepherd from barking.

This works best for dogs that are barking because they are feeling anxious. 

After you turn this device on, your German Shepherd will probably change how it acts in just a few minutes.

Also, it’s important to remember that this kind of treatment has to come from a doctor. 

They are cheap and work very well. Talk to your vet about this method to learn more about it.

Make the dog stop barking.

There are different things you can teach your German Shepherd and work on with it.

This method works best for dogs that are territorial or bark when they hear something that scares them.

Most dogs will stop barking at whatever bothers them, but there are times when we want them to stop right away.

When you see your German Shepherd barking at something, put a bone or other treat in your hand.

Approach your dog and put your hand in front of its nose, but not so close that it can grab it and eat it. By the time you do this, it will probably have stopped barking.

When this happens, make a sign or sound to let the dog know it’s time to be quiet. 

You can tell the dog to be quiet by saying “quiet” or “hush” or by doing anything else. Then give the treat to the German Shepherd.

Keep doing this until you don’t have to put anything in front of its nose anymore. 

Once you get to that point, the dog will know that it needs to be quiet if it wants a treat.

The American Kennel Club recommends using small, soft treats that your dog can eat quickly. That’s the easiest way to stop a German Shepherd from barking.

Ignore the dog’s barking

This will work best for dogs that bark to get your attention. 

It also works well for dogs that bark because they are playing with someone or are upset. 

When dogs bark, they want you to pay attention to them.

When the dog starts to bark, you can turn away and do something else to completely block out the sound. While the dog tries to get your attention, try leaving the room or doing something else.

This also works for dogs that bark when they are upset. 

If your German Shepherd is barking because it can’t get to a ball, and you go get the ball for it, you are teaching it that if it pouts and fusses, it will get what it wants.

Think of this as a child throwing a fit because no one is paying attention to them or they can’t get what they want. 

If you give in to this behavior, the child will get spoiled, and they will start to control you instead of you controlling them.

Wait until the dog quiets down and stops barking. When that happens, you can pay attention to it and/or do what it wants. That’s another tip to stop a German Shepherd from barking.

More often, work out with the dog.

Another way to stop a German Shepherd from barking is to take the dog for walkouts.

If you work out with your German Shepherd, it will probably get tired. 

This will stop the dog from having to spend so much energy looking for danger or something to bark about. 

It won’t try to get your attention as much, since exercising with you will probably be enough.

Walk your dog around the park or neighborhood and play fetch with it. 

A study in the University of Oxford says that working out with your dog can make its blood flow better and improve its health.

This study also shows that German Shepherd owners will feel less depressed if they exercise with their dogs and spend more time with them.

This shows that this way of spending more time with your German Shepherd is good for both of you. 

It will help you both a lot, and if your dog feels closer to you, it will feel more at ease and might stop barking as much.

Give the dog a treat for being quiet.

This method works well for all kinds of dogs that bark for different reasons. 

It’s the same as the other tips, but this time you reward the German Shepherd for being quiet all the time, not just when you want to stop a German Shepherd from barking.

When the German Shepherd is quiet and you give it a treat, it will figure out what’s going on when it barks and you don’t give it anything.

This helps it get used to the way you respond to its actions. 

Even though this guide talks a lot about treats, don’t give your German shepherd too many.

When you want to reward it for being good, only give it a couple of treats at a time. 

Don’t give your German Shepherd treats more than once a day, because this can lead to bad habits.

That’s all you need to know and how to stop a German Shepherd from barking.