Excessive Barking

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See this. Typical home. You walk in, the dog goes crazy excited, and you reach down and pet him. Now the dog thinks that's the behavior that gets love. He does it tomorrow, the day after — self-reinforcing loop. You're rewarding a negative behavior. We took this as the example of what not to do. The fix: dog's jumping around, barking — don't touch him. Stay away. 'No' in a deep voice, two-second pause. You wait for him to actually calm down. The second he's in a good behavior — cool, collected — that's when you pet him. The touch is the reward. Petting the crazy reinforces the loop. You save the touch for the calm.

— Steve Holland, One Dog Trainer

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