Maltese Bark – How To Stop It

If you’ve decided it’s time to stop the ever-unpopular Maltese bark in your home, then you will most probably already know that your options are rather limited. This is mainly because dogs were born to bark, or so it was when they were primarily wild animals. Despite all the centuries of being in captivity, being carefuly bred and meticulously refined, the urge to vocalize and express their feelings and needs still hits them at the most inopportune of times. Unfortunately, the only dog that does not ever bark is the Basenji- not quite the solution to your Maltese bark problem.

Understanding exactly why your dogs bark is paramount to knowing how to make them stop! They bark for any number of reasons, particularly when it comes to emotional or physical excitement. Usually, the times that they choose vocally express themselves are during moments of alarm, for purposes of enforcing territorial rules, when greeting somebody, when frustrated, when injured or under certain ill conditions, and during compulsory moments. Because of all the broad range of conditions that may trigger barking, it is difficult to teach your dog that it is not quite a good thing. The Maltese bark problem is only accentuated by the fact that is a natural watch dog (most small breeds are, in fact).

When the dog refuses to stop barking, one should first go about determining if their noise is warrented. The vast majority of the time, the barking can be controlled. Should the barking be unwarrernted, ask yourself when the dog chooses to bark, what the Maltese bark may be aimed at, and if there seems to be a specific trigger. If the problem is based on territorial or danger issues, yelling at them may in fact trigger bitting and excessive aggresion as an instinctive response. Instead, you must assert yourself as the “alpha male” (even if you are female!), and show the dog that you are the one in charge of protecting the house. Draw the blinds that show the outside so the dog no longer sees all the passing “dangers”, and close all the windows to muffle noises.

If the Maltese bark seems to stem from anxiety issues when you are gone, the dog may have more serious problems on the horizon. Excessive barking can be a precursor to destruction of property or other signs of restlessless. This behavior stems primarily from the fact that they may have been rewarded for this type of behaviour in the past. When you arrive home, ignore the dog for about 10 to 15 minutes at first to show them that their behavior does not warrant anything good. This will stop them from associating your return with attention being directed to them.