Is your Pomsky driving you nuts with their barking? Are your neighbors starting to complain that your dog won’t stay quiet while you’re gone? What most owners don’t realize is that this can be easily fixed if you address the issue properly. Some owners result to getting frustrated and yell at their poor pups, this only makes the situation worse! What if I told you that it doesn’t have to be so frustrating? Let’s take a look at the most common reasons why Pomskies bark, and the best methods on how to fix each specific cause of barking.

Reasons why pomskies bark

Reason 1 – They’re in pain

Sometimes bark if they’re in pain. Before looking at any of the other reasons why Pomskies bark, you should rule out this possibility. 

How to check 

A good way to check if your dog is in pain is to gently check each body part by touching it with your hand, if your pomsky reacts negatively to you touching a certain spot, they may be in pain. Please consult with a professional veterinarian if this is the case.

Reason 2 – They need more exercise

Pomskies are full of energy, if you let it get too pent up by not giving your pomsky the proper exercise, they may start barking in order to release energy.

Tips for increasing exercise levels

• Try increasing the number of walks as well as the duration of the walks. What many people do not know is that the majority of the energy released during the walk is not from walking and running around, it’s from sniffing, listening, and looking at the environment. If you’re just letting your pomsky out into your backyard every day they don’t get the same release of energy as going on a walk. If you know you’re not going to be home for a while, it’s always a good idea to go on a slightly longer walk to tire them out – they’ll be way less likely to bark while you’re gone.
• Try going to the dog park! Dog parks are great for releasing energy and socialization. If you’ve never been to a dog park before with your pup it might not be a bad idea to start them off on a leash until you see that they’re getting along with all of the dogs at the park. A bad interaction at a dog park can make the situation worse, so please be careful to control their interactions so they stay as positive as possible.
• Hire a dog walker. If you’re not home throughout the day, or if you’re too busy to provide your dog with more exercise, consider hiring a dog walker. Many services such as Rover and Wag allow you to view your local dog walkers’ profiles and how much they charge for their services.

Reason 3: There’s too much going on

Pomskies, much like Pomeranians, are very reactive to their surroundings. The best way to fix this cause for barking is to change the environment to isolate what’s trigging the barking.

Tips for changing the surroundings:

• Turn on white noise or dog music. Here are a few that we use on a regular basis: Youtube: Dog Relaxation Sounds, Youtube: TV for Dogs. This is a game-changer when your pomsky is home alone! We recommend giving it a try.
• Cover their crate with a blanket. This replicates the coziness of a den and makes your pomsky more comfortable in his little home. Make sure to throw in a doggie bed and a toy or two to keep them entertained.
• Close the blinds. This prevents your dog from getting worked up about what’s going around outside. Seeing squirrels running around, birds flying, and other dogs running around are all common triggers for barking when your pomsky is alone.
• Try moving their crate to a different room.

Reason 4: They’re bored!

Sometimes when they have nothing better to do, they start barking!

Tips for keeping your pomsky entertained:

• Teach your dog a new trick with treats as a reward
• Hide treats and let them sniff them out, it’s super entertaining to watch too!
• Rotate your pomsky’s toys, rather than keeping all of the toys out all of the time, make an effort to rotate them out in order to keep your pomsky interested
• Buy them some new toys
  • Our personal favorite is the Kong Classic! Dip their kibble in water, stuff the toy, add some peanut butter on top and freeze it, they’ll be entertained for up to a hour. This toy is nearly indestructible, i’ve been using the same one for over a year now and it’s still in great shape.
    
  • Hide N’ Slide Puzzle Game
    • This toy comes with compartments that slide shut, put treats into the compartments, and let your pomsky go to town!
• If you are certain your pomsky is barking because they’re bored NEVER acknowledge their barking – don’t even look at them! This encourages the barking because they receive the attention they were looking for.

Reason 5: They need to be socialized

Although pomskies are super sweet and friendly, they need proper socialization to behave nicely around other dogs and people.

Tips for socializing:

• Make the extra effort to socialize your pomsky with other dogs while on your walks. Make sure these experiences stay positive, if the dogs are not getting along keep the walk going and try again a different day.
• Visit the dog park – again, make sure to keep the interactions supervised in order to prevent hindering progress and keep your pomsky and other dogs safe.
• Notice your dog is barking at something specific? For the next few walks try to encounter the same scenario and provide comforting to your dog so that they have a positive experience with the barking trigger, treats and praise, when they are doing well, are great for this!

How NOT to deal with barking

Make sure you avoid the following mistakes that can make the situation worse

• No yelling! At the end of the day, your pomsky is a dog, dogs bark! Yelling at your dog rather than addressing the triggers themselves will only make the situation worse.
• Lack of consistency – Stay consistent with addressing the barking trigger once you have found out what’s causing the barking.
• Using shock collars – using shock collars might seem like it works in the heat of the moment. However, the only reason your dog stops barking is from the stress and anxiety of the pain. This will lead to agression and only make the problem worse in the long run.
• Barking back – Just kidding, but seriously this Tiktok trend is a Terrible idea!

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