Is your furry friend disrupting your movie nights with incessant barking at the TV? It’s a common challenge for dog owners, but fear not! In this guide, we’ll unravel the mystery behind your dog’s TV-induced barking and provide you with five vital steps to bring peace and quiet back to your living room. Discover effective techniques to curb this behavior and strengthen the bond between you and your canine companion. Say goodbye to the TV tantrums, and let’s embark on a journey to a harmonious coexistence with your four-legged friend.
Have you ever thought why dogs keep barking at the television only when it is on! Because the moving pictures and animals confuse and excite them. And unfortunately, restricting them from watching tv with you, will not help. Follow these steps to stop your dog from barking at the tv and they will start enjoying it by seating beside you.
Are you now restricted to what you can watch on TV? Sick of dog adverts on the telly causing your dog to bark excessively? Is your TV unit scratched and chipped due to your little doggie paws running up and down the edge? Ralph regularly jumped and barked at the TV. We were told that if we got him neutered this would help calm him down. IT DIDN’T. If anything, he got worse. Knowing we were not alone with this problem, we searched the internet and found many different techniques to try. However, after several failed attempts, we came across 5 Near Perfect Ways to Stop Your Dog from Barking at the TV.
After several attempts, we came across the below 5 Near Perfect Ways to Stop Your Dog From Barking at the TV.
What Causes Your Dog to Bark at the TV?
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Each dog has its reasons for barking. Some don’t bark at the TV at all. All are different and unique in their own right, and understanding the triggers is key to stopping this problem. Animals suddenly appearing and moving on the TV screen is often a trigger point for dogs to suddenly become interested. Generally, dogs will bark at the TV as they become excited or frustrated. Some dogs can do it as a defence mechanism to showcase who is boss (even though the dogs cannot hear the barking). Others bark out of fear or frustration. Any of these is frustrating for you as a dog owner when trying to watch your favourite TV shows.
Ralph barks at the fact another animal is on the screen, and he sees it as he is protecting us / defending us. Because it is excessive, it becomes increasingly louder and seems more aggressive. He cannot hear us shouting at him, so, in the end, we have to pick him up and move him. Once Elliot started getting scared of this barking, we had to stop it and find a suitable solution to ensure this didn’t continue.
5 Ways to Stop Your Dog from Barking at the TV
- STOCK UP ON TREATS: Get plenty of your dog’s favourite treats in your hand/pocket. The last thing you want to do is start the training and be unprepared. Then, you will have a whole world of barking and panic on your hands.
- Find the perfect set of animal/dog videos (initially 5-10 minutes long) and play them on your TV. This will trigger your dog’s bad behaviour. YouTube is full of high-quality video’s that you can watch. You may have your favourite programme in mind that you can play clips from. Plus, this will prevent annoying ad breaks from interrupting your training.
- Being armed and ready to go with your treats and your animal videos/documentaries, it’s time for the training to commence. Most people start with something that only triggers a small reaction however, we went straight in with a full barking explosion. At first, he was a little confused as he wanted a treat and bark. So, he chose to bark. He only entertained the treat when we turned off the video. Once we knew this was the case, we tried a different tactic. Showing the treat first and then playing the video whilst using the ‘Stay!’ command really helped, albeit for a very short time.
- As with any dog training, treats are essential to ensuring your dog follows your orders. A constant supply of treats will help your dog know that they behave correctly by not barking. The more they stay sat with you, the more you give them pleasure. Whilst they have the treats, they are not too bothered by the animals on the TV. Keep an eye on your dog’s behaviour throughout because initially they will become agitated and want to do what they always do. After a minute or two turn off the video and reward them again.
- Keep repeating this every few hours trying to achieve a longer time on the videos. A 10-minute video is a great place to aim for as this is generally when there would be an ad break. Continuing to treat and reward your dog will help this process. Using your recognised commands, for us it was STAY and NO, will help your dog continue to understand what they need to do. If Ralph starts to growl, then we will say NO. If he does let out a bark, we use STOP.
Silencing the Screens: A Harmonious Finale
As we wrap up our exploration into stopping dog barking at the TV, you’ve gained invaluable insights into understanding and managing this common canine behavior. From creating positive associations to consistent training, these five vital steps have paved the way for a more tranquil viewing experience. So, the next time your dog eyes the TV with suspicion, armed with the knowledge from this guide, you can confidently guide them towards calm and quietude. Embrace the serenity, and let the screens be witness to the newfound harmony between you and your loyal companion. Happy watching!
I hope that you now understood the tactics to stop your dog from barking at the tv. Overall unnecessary barking becomes stressful and irritating when it’s a continuous cycle. Training your dog, and finding your ways to stop your dog from barking at the TV, correctly can be time-consuming but overall extremely beneficial. Rewarding your dog with treats is always the good method to train them and stopping them from barking unnecessarily is no exception. Many dog owners start with a slow build-up of animal programmes such as birds. Then over time build their way up to dogs/cats to help a slow training process. However you decide to train your dog, you need to have time, patience and above all else, BE CONSISTENT. Dogs can get very excited and very barky extremely quickly. You cannot always have treats to hand but make sure they are not too far away.
