Last night I was serenaded throughout the night by my neighbor's noisy pack of dogs. Because last night had a full moon, the coyotes were out and disturbing the neighborhood dogs with their yapping and howling. My dogs also joined in with the others when they first heard the coyotes start in, but as soon as I told them to quiet down, they obeyed. Unfortunately for me, my neighbors must be the world's deepest sleepers, because I have never heard them quiet their dogs at night.

As I thought about the all night barking, it was obvious that even though dogs may start their barking for a good reason sometimes, when it is out of control it is a problem just like any other form of barking.Really, the problem lay more with their owner's lack of respect for everyone else in the neighborhood than with the dogs themselves.

So, even though there are some good reasons for dogs to bark, it is up to  us as their owners to make sure we control the barking so it does not become a problem behavior. Whenever my dogs bark for a valid reason, I want to control it, but not stop it.

Here area some examples of acceptable reasons your dog may start to bark. These types of "good barking" examples are just forms of normal communication and are not caused by any behavioral issues that your dog may have.

• The most obvious good reason your dog will bark is when he wants to warn you that something (maybe another dog or a stranger) is approaching. When your dog does this type of barking, it is to warn his master, and this is a good thing you won't want to stop. However, you should be able to get your dog to stop his barking as soon as you command him to. One example would be quieting your dog when he barks at someone who has parked in front of your house that you know is not dangerous-he should quiet down as soon as you say so. Of course if the visitor is someone you really don't want visiting (your mother-in-law or something) you may decide to let your dog's barking continue a while-(just kidding). The key is to be able to control the dog barking. If your dog is barking a lot for other reasons then you do have problem barking needing correction.

• A dog will bark when he is very happy and excited about something that is going on. I personally enjoy playing a lot with my dogs, and their barking at me and at each other while we play is just part of the fun. Your dog is just saying how much fun he is having, and how he wants more. When we are playing I only will quiet them down in the case of one of them getting a little carried away with the excitement.  If the barking is just sporadic and playful that is cool with me, but if one of them gets stuck on "bark" then I have to do something about it. Because your dog may develop a barking habit from too much excitement if you don't limit it while playing, you need to pay attention to that.
• Often dogs will start barking when their master comes home. This type of excitement barking is typical, and not a problem if it is limited to a few greeting barks. My dogs always greet me at the gate when I come home, and I don't mind a couple barks because that is all there are. The problem is when your dog gets over-excited and barks incessantly for an extended period. This barking is a problem if it is excessive, and should be controlled.

• My female Lab will bark at me sometime when she wants to play.  However, some dogs will try to use their barking as a way of bullying you into playing with them. I know because I used to be a sucker for this with my Lab, and she had me well trained to play ball with her whenever she wanted. Actually, you should be the one to initiate the play or at least decide when to play. If your dog does not see you as the boss of the relationship, all your training attempts will be made very difficult. You have to be the Alpha dog in the relationship between you and your dog, so don't let your dog's invitation to play become a bullying act.

I think you'd agree the above barking behaviors are not troublesome-unless they are out of control. However, most of the other reasons dogs bark create a disturbance and should be corrected.

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