My dog barks at me when I say no; sounds familiar?
Barking is a natural behavior of canines, but the excessive barking of a trained dog is not normal. Incorrect training may be one of the reasons for dark barking when scolded.
Besides, many other reasons urge the dog to bark. Stick with me here to know all possible reasons. You will also learn about different ways to stop him from barking.
Let’s get started!
Why does Dog Bark at me when I Say No?
The simple truth is, in most cases, it is the owner’s fault that dogs bark when restricted from something. For example, if you will reward him immediately after barking, the dog will often bark to get the reward.
Read on to know all the SEVEN REASONS in detail
He has been Rewarded in the Past
In the past, he must have rewarded him for barking. Stop it if you often give him different treats, prizes, and toys for barking. This is why he has adopted it and starts barking whenever he needs toys or something else.
Pay attention to his training and reward him in the situation when he does something good. After the complete training, he will never bark at you when you refuse him to do certain things.
He Thinks you are Aggressive
You may say no with an aggressive voice and body language. Similarly, you may have stared and pointed at him. Such behavior can trigger the dog.
Try to be as calm with your dog as possible. This is how your dog will learn calmness from your attitude and may not bark at you when you say him no the next time.
React to your Emotions
It is not a big task for pet dogs to interpret their owner’s emotional state. You are confused and inquiring why does my dog bark at me for no reason.
You must have said something to your dog emotionally. Your emotional state triggered the reaction in your dog. Again, you can train your dog to remain calm when he is refrained from doing something by behaving normally with him. Try to be cool with your dog.
He is NOT Used to “No”
Why does my dog barks at me when I say no? You must have given lavish life to your dog and presented him with everything he wished.
When we do so, dogs think their owner must fulfill their every wish and let them live with their will. In other words, your dog has never heard no from you and thinks he has authority over you, and you are obliged to fulfill his every demand within a few minutes.
This issue has been found in most puppies, and their owners often claim puppy barks back at me when I say no. It is not a big issue; this behavior is incorporated in puppies because of improper training. You can easily remove this habit and improve his behavior towards you with a little exercise.
Anxiety and Frustration
When you punish your dog and scold him, he gets stressed, which changes into anxiety with time. Punishment makes the relationship doubt full and weak.
You scold and punish your dog and then say my dog barks at me when I say no. It is not a good thing; you need to work on your behavior, and first of all, please leave the concept of punishment for training your dog.
This is a warning sign for you, so you must learn from it as it can provoke other emotional issues in your dog, and he may start hating you. If you did not pay attention to it, you would be worried about why my dog barks at me when I say no.
You can buy this set of toy, if your dog is frustrated.
He does not Know the Reason for Punishment
If you scold him or refrain him from doing anything again in the future after a few hours, he may bark at you.
He may have forgotten the issue and cannot understand the reason for punishment. That’s why your dog is showing you such rude and angry behavior.
You do not need to be sad about this situation and do not overthink that my dog talks back to me. You must rectify his actions on the spot with a soft tone and train him until he learns.
Improper Training Method
The most common problem for which a dog barks back when scolded or for no reason is improper or incomplete training. It can be due to many situations. For example, you may give him training in an environment with many distractions.
Due to those obstacles, he cannot pay attention to you; your effort was just a waste of time. You must improve your training method, and if you do not have enough time, you should hire a dog trainer.
What should I do if Dag Barks at me when I Say No?
Surprisingly enough, you can stop your dog from barking unnecessarily by just working on your behavior and understanding your dog. But how? Follow the instructions given below;
Never Reward for Barking
Dogs barks at you when you say no, then never reward them for barking. Your ability to reward him every time he is angry and sad to make him happy is responsible for this behavior.
Please wait a few minutes and not reward him until he cools down. It will teach him that barking is useless if he wants to get something.
Give Positive Reinforcement Training
It is time to stop worrying about why does my dog bark at me. Be practical and start giving him positive reinforcement training and start from the basics.
First, choose an environment where there are no distractions, and you think your dog will be able to hear and pay attention to your words.
Only reward him when he shows good behavior as it will boost his cognitive, social, and emotional capacity. All this hard work will pay you in the form of an obedient dog capable enough to interact with people in good manners and a dog who will behave well with you.
Avoid Punishment
My dog barks at me when I say no. What should I do? First, stop punishing or scolding him as you are giving your dog extra attention while punishing.
He may be doing so to gain your attention. If you don’t train, it can become his habit to bark whenever he craves your attention. Give him positive reinforcement training until he has learned all manners. This way you won’t complain that my puppy barks back at me when i say no.
Do not be Emotional
When you are too emotional with a dog, he may bark at you, do not be emotional. Be in your senses and calm, so the dog also remains calm and does not show any reactions. Don’t be emotional and frustrated that my dog talks back to me when I say no.
Avoid Snowball Effect
Firstly you scolded your dog for doing something, and now you are angry at him for not listening and barking back at you. It is known as a snowball effect.
As you are scolding and punishing him for a long time without understanding him, your anger will do nothing but make your dog frustrated and angry. After bearing this situation for a few minutes, he may bark back at you.
Do not scold him but treat him with affection and love to improve his attitude towards you.
Don’t Ignore Pathological Causes
Why does my dog bark at me when I say no? However, if he has never behaved like this in the past. This can be due to a pathological issue affecting his senses, and he is in pain.
Be serious about this situation and immediately rush to a vet and seek medical assistance. Get his complete checkup and if he is suffering from any disease.
Complete his medications and follow the vet’s prescription until he starts doing well.
Engage him in more Physical Activities
Dogs’ minds need regular stimulation; if their lifestyles become sedentary, they become anxious and bark. You need to take your dog out of this situation as soon as possible and stop thinking about yourself and assuming the dog barks at me for no reason.
Take him for regular walks and let him do different physical activities so he can burn his energy and release the stress. Be precautious for the future and make such situations for him that do not give stress and keep him physically active.
I found this water soccer ball for your pet to involve in physical activity and stimulate positive behavior.
Spend Quality Time with him
If you do not spend quality time with your dog and do not communicate well with him, you do not have any right to complain that my dog barks at me when I say no.
Keep in mind that dogs only obey their owners when they spend quality time with them and give them all the attention and they want. So please take a few minutes from your daily routine and spend time with him.
Keep an eye on his body language and learn how he communicates and demands something from you. Once he gets attached to you, he will not bark back at you when scolded.
Understand and Respect him
Dogs are canines that have their way of expressing their emotions, and if you stop them from showing their instincts and force them to behave opposite to their nature, it will cause nothing but weaken your bond with them.
Thus he will bark at you without any reason. To avoid such a pathetic condition, do not be too strict on your dog; instead, understand and respect him and provide him with the compliments.
There are many ways to compliment yours and someone’s dog.
The more you respect and communicate with him, the stronger your relationship will be with him, and the dog will understand and appreciate all your commands.
Decode the Bark
Be curious for a few seconds and think, why does a dog bark at me? Try to decode and understand the bark of your dog. It can demand a bark. He is maybe looking for attention.
He may be giving you an alert bark and wants you to be aware of the threat and take preventive measures as dogs are very protective of their owner. He might be anxious at that time and wants to spend time alone.
In addition, think if it is a playful bark, he may be teasing you for fun and wants to enjoy your company. However, if your dog is barking with growls, he is afraid and asking for help.
This bark is often mistaken for aggression and anger, but your dog is in danger and wants you to defend him.
Seek the Help of a dog Educator
You have tried all the methods mentioned above, but nothing works for you. Immediately contact a dog trainer. A dog who barks excessively without reason may have a mental issue.
Your dog may have gone through physical abuse before you adopted him. Such dogs need re-socialization and reeducation for behavioral improvement and to remove stress from their life.
However, ensure you hire a highly qualified and skillful trainer who can handle this sensitive situation and calm your dog.
How To Train Your Dog to Understand “NO”
Logically, understanding “NO” should be the first lesson your dog should learn. When you say “NO” he should leave his activity immediately. This could be anything he was doing, such as nibbling, biting, or even chewing up something.
Understanding “NO” is essential as this will provide the dog with self-control and thus becoming a good family member.
Here’s what you can do to help your dog understand the “NO” and thus no barking back.
Demonstrate the behavior you want him to adopt
It is said “lead by example“. This is the exact thing that would do the trick.
Your main goal should be associate the “NO COMMAND” with your desired behavior. You need to begin with showing him the behavior you want him to adopt while teaching him to understand the commands such as “NO”, “STOP” or “LEAVE IT”. But connect it with the positive reinforcement.
Step 1: Showing him his favorite food or toy, but not giving him
- Show his favorite food or toy in your hand.
- Say “NO” and close your hand tight around that object.
- Let him snuggle around your hand, he may sniff or lick your hand, but you will not be giving him that object.
- In few moments, he may turn down, as he may think you are not supposed to give him.
- Once he turns down, now its your time to praise him for his turning down.
- Now offer him his toy with the other enclosed hand.
Pro tip: Use your other hand to give him his treat. Please note that he will remember your first closed hand, and associate it with “NO” command as “if food or toy in your closed hand, you will not be giving him his treat.”
- Use stern and firm voice for saying “NO” command. Make sure your tone of issuing a “NO” command is neutral which is neither happy tone that you usually have with your dog and not a cruel one at the same time. Happy tone is not recommended because, the dog may associate with a positive reinforcement, which is not required while training for “NO” command.
If you yell “NO”, he may think you are punishing him and it may result in more aggressive behavior in your dog.
He will understand that a closed hand with food or toy and a firm neutral voice saying “NO” means he needs to stop what he was doing before.
Step 2: Maintain your cool
It is important that you maintain your cool and be patient while repeating this excercise. You may see that dog barks back when scolded, therefore, you must maintain your temprament and be relax.
Your dog may take time before understanding it that he will get the treat while leaving your closed hand.
You may need to patient during this entire phase. However, do not over do this excercise, as this may result in frustration in both of you.
Step 3: Your body language should also reflect the same
Stand tall and use an authorative tone while issuing the command. However, don’t be cruel, because, it may frighten your dog and he may act aggressive. Remember, he is an animal and is unpredictable too. Also remember, that your focus is to make him learn to obey, not to scare him.
Step 4: Teach your dog it is you who will offer the treat
You should emphasise that not only your dog should stop and leave the object but also be attentive towards you when you say “NO”.
Here you do not need to offer praise when he turns away from your enclosed fist, don’t say or do anything. Since this isn’t what he expects to happen, he’ll look up at you for instruction.
As soon as he does, offer the praise and appreciation and the treat (still from your opposite hand).
Repeat this activity with until your dog immediately looks up and makes eye contact with you when you say “no” instead of staring at your fist for several seconds before looking to you.
However, this may requires lots of repeatition and your patience before he is trained for it.
To Sum up
So the recap is that do not scold your dog in the agony that dog barks at me when I say no, as maybe your improper training has made him do this. Never rewards your dog for barking and never fulfill his all wishes.
Furthermore, the dog may bark at you because of a weak bond between you, or he may not understand the reason for the punishment.
Positive reinforcement training is the best way to stop your dog from barking when you say no. Additionally, behave well with him, do not be rude, and do not give him punishments.
Above all, spend quality time with him. Once you start following all these instructions, your dog will not bark when you say no unless he is suffering from a pathological issue.
If you have any confusion feel free to ask in the comment below. Thank you for your read!