My dog is barking too much! What do I do???

Original Post March 1, 2021

First thing to do is... do not despair?

Rest assured that you can have the enjoyable and mutually trusting relationship you planned on when you got your pup.

Like so many other training challenges we face in our lives with dogs there are good ways to address barking and other unwelcome vocalizations.  As trainers committed to fear and force free training methods, we only recommend humane, straightforward protocols that are effective and fun to practice. 

Living with a noisy dog is often inconvenient, annoying or down right impossible to live with, sometimes even putting our housing at risk if dogs bother the neighbors.  Vocalizing, barking, growling, and whining are very normal forms of communication in dogs that can sometimes be confusing to humans.  Let’s look at things from the dog’s point of view.

Getting Started

Knowing the pup’s motivation is critical to solving any barking issue.  The training and behavior modification techniques will differ depending on when and why the dog is barking.

There are many reasons why dogs bark: 

Barking when no one is home – this can have several explanations including:

·       separation anxiety or distress,

·       boredom,

·       noises outside the apartment or home that get the dog activated

Demand barking – this dog barks at you to get you to play, or give them a treat, or fill-in the blank_________

Alert Barking – this dog hears sounds outside your home or apartment and barks to tell you there is someone there.

Territorial Barking – can be a similar motivation as alert barking, but is likely to be more intense and harder to interrupt.

Excited Barking – this is the happy camper who is super excited to when greeting people and playing.

Barking at passing dogs or humans when outside on leash – this dog is barking out of fear and insecurity, triggers for barking for these dogs can include many things in the environment that they find unusual or scary.

Interventions we use:

Health Check – rule out possible medical causes or exacerbation of the problem:

• Ear infection

• Urinary tract infection

• Gastrointestinal problems

• Chronic pain related to age or illness

• Dental disease

• Proper nutrition (is the pup over- or possibly under-weight)

• Getting enough sleep and more

Management – avoiding triggers when possible to prevent practicing of behaviors we want to change.  For the barking dog this may include:

• Creating sound buffers in the indoor environment to make unwelcome barking less likely to happen when no one is home.

• Use of calming music specially created to be calming to dogs.

• Use of dog sitters or daycare when appropriate and/or necessary.

Enrichment – reviewing the dog’s daily schedule and making sure the pup’s needs are being met.  We look for a good balance of age appropriate:

• Exercise

• Potty breaks

• Play

• Independent activities like food puzzles to tire brains and bodies.

• Naps and rest time

Training behaviors – that help us to interrupt or even pre-empt the unwanted behaviors quickly. As the dog gets good at responding to cues for those new behaviors we are on the road to success.

Changing the dog’s underlying emotions – this includes:

• Classical counter-conditioning (Pavlovian re-conditioning) to change the dog's emotional response to what are currently triggers for arousal and unwanted behaviors.

• Relaxation training

• Changing human behavior in response to the dog’s triggers and more.

Over-the-counter supplementation

• Adding scientifically studied products can help speed up the training process. 

• There are an endless number of products available some with scientific studies behind them some not.  A training professional can speak to some of these products as can your veterinarian.

Medications prescribed by a veterinary professional

When all of the above doesn’t yield the hoped-for results the dog may be at risk of losing their home, or their quality of life may be so poor due to stress, that prescription medication can be an excellent choice.

In summary, there is so much that can be done to solve barking issues.  Once we look at things from the dog’s point of view and determine the factors that are leading to the problematic barking we are well on our way. 

Add a multifaceted approach using enrichment, training and management and results will follow.

You may need the help of a professional to get the less barking program underway.  Don’t hesitate to reach out!

Now go forth and get to work to help quell that barking so you and your beloved companion can enjoy each other’s company to the fullest!

P.S.

Why we never recommend bark collars or other harsh methods:

Such interventions fall into the category of punishment. 

Punishment

a.) can suppress behavior,

b.) but does not change the underlying emotion, 

c.) causes added stress which lowers the animal’s quality of life,

d.) negatively impacts the human animal relationship, and

d.) runs the risk of causing other problematic behaviors or even health problems to pop up due to ongoing stress.