Mr. Kipper is suddenly alerted to a noise that came from the back yard. He rushes to the window to investigate the potential intrusion to his territory; the squirrel in the back yard doesn’t hear the dachshund barking with all of his muster.

As the squirrel climbs up a tree and out of sight, Mr. Kipper stills barks uncontrollably at his unseen enemy.

Many people who have dachshunds can relate similar stories of their headstrong little dog, with a big dog voice and attitude, barking at nearly everything that moves.

Unfortunately, not much can be done about Mr. Kipper barking at potential prey, but let us examine three approaches that can help control barking in other dachshunds.

Start Discipline Training as a Puppy

A well trained dog is more likely to listen when you call him or command him to stop barking. Start training early (by 3-6months old) with basic commands like “sit,” “stay,” “down”, and “come.”

Short training sessions, around 5-10 minutes, work best. Use lots of praise, treats and positive reinforcement when the behavior is correctly accomplished.

Interacting early with your dachshund will begin to set the rules on who is the alpha, encouraging a good pattern of behavior early and allowing the puppy to understand his rank in the new pack.

Remember that puppy attention span is not the greatest, so training should end when the puppy begins to lose interest. The goal here is to set good patterns of behavior and obedience early. Then you will find that these good habits will follow through to adulthood and reduce bad behaviors like biting, chewing and barking.



Ready on Command

Dachshunds were bred for the hunt, displaying bravery with their short, powerful legs by pursuing small animals like badgers, even chasing them into their burrows. Being a high-energy dog, today’s dachshunds need plenty of exercise since they most likely are not chasing down prey on the hunt, but rather are laying around the house bored. Keeping a dachshund fit will make it a bit easier train even when trying to clicker train your dachshund.

Using a clicker or other device that makes a sharp, short sound is a method of associating commands with the sound of the clicker. The clicker signals that something else requires their attention and a reward is at hand – if the correct behavior is accomplished.

This works very well for the dachshund, much like Pavlov’s dog reacting to a bell. The trick, however, is to not let the dachshund outsmart you by purposefully barking just to get the click and possible reward.

Ignore Me When I Bark

The happy dance a dachshund displays on your return home is heart warming, but can be a trying experience accompanied by annoying barking and jumping. Much of that can be traced back to you making a big deal to your dachshund that you are leaving or returning home.

The extra anxiety pent up explodes into barking that seems to never calm down. In this case, your dachshund learned that barking on return (or departure) gets him praise or treats. This is where reverse psychology is needed. Control dachshund barking by ignoring him until calm. Once the correct behavior is there, only then slather on the praise.