How do I stop my dog barking?

Barking is a natural and normal behavior for a dog and a key method of expressing himself.

Excessive or nuisance barking is where a dog barks constantly and this can be set off by a car passing by or a rustle of a plastic bag. Certain breeds are more vocal than others and many breeds were bred to bark, this includes guarding and herding breeds and terriers.

Why do dogs bark?

Dogs bark to communicate. They bark to alert or warn others, to defend a territory, seek attention or play, identify itself to other dogs, response to boredom, excitement, being startled, lonely or anxious. Often it is a learned attention seeking behavior e.g he barked before and he was let come inside. So the next time he barked louder and longer before he was let in and so on. Thus rewarding and re-enforcing the behavior. Dogs have a more acute sense of hearing and smell and sight. They may be aware of something in the neighborhood you may not be e.g. cat prowling. Or the result of pent up energy.

The first step in dealing with excessive barking is trying to establish the root cause of the barking e.g boredom or defense. It may be possible to avoid the barking stimulus completely by putting in the back garden when the postman is due for instance. Never reward barking. If it is likely to cause a problem for your neighbors you need to call round to them to make them aware you are doing everything in your power to alleviate the problem. Nuisance barking has lead to countless feuds between neighbors so possibly better to tackle the issue head on.

Dealing with the different causes of barking

Alert & warning barkers: Typically barking at the postman or at a by passer. The dog thinks the barking has worked as he barked and the ‘postman’ left and so the behavior has been re-enforced.

It may be ok to bark once or twice in these situations but that is all, so teach a ‘Quiet’ or ‘Enough’ command. Reward for increasing longer periods of quiet time. Another strategy is to befriend the postman and give him a bag of treats so he can throw him one every time he comes, thereby the dog associates the postman with good experiences.

Fear barkers: If your dog is barking because he is genuinely concerned about something e.g. the sound of the lawnmower, start by recording the sound and re-playing it over and over again, softly at first and then louder once he has learned to be calm in its presence. This acts to desensitize him to the object or sound he is afraid. If it is a person or object, spend time re-socializing him with it, rewarding calm behavior only and teach him to associate it with good things e.g. treats. Never play to the dogs barking by patting, cuddling or talking to him as this may make him believe there was really something to be scared of.

Attention seeking: Never ever give attention even in the form of shouting or yelling as this attention is a reward in itself. Completely ignore the behavior which will then get worse but once they realize that barking louder and longer does not work the behavior will cease. Use a loud noise e.g shaking coins in a can or a fog-horn will distract him and will not be seen to come from you. Quiet behavior can then be rewarded.

Play or excited barking: All play should be immediately stopped and the dog ignored until he has calmed down. Repeat if required he will soon catch on.

Calling to other dogs: If he is being set off by other dogs barking in the neighborhood, teach the quiet command, then offer a substitute behavior e.g. chew and secure him in a kennel or indoors at night.

Boredom barking: Excessive barking is often a result of pent-up energy. This energy needs to be used up in more productive ways. Longer or more frequent walks, perhaps in differing environments, mental challenges e. obedience games or agility training. Lots of chews and toys e.g. kongs or treat balls which are changed daily. A tired dog is a quiet dog.

Separation anxiety: Complete re-training required to ensure they are comfortable with being left alone as these dogs have panic attacks when left alone of which barking is as part. Seek advice from your local vet and/or canine behaviorist.

Useful aids

Useful aids are available to help with nuisance baking. These should only be used as an adjunct to behavioral modification but NOT instead of it. These include collars that emit:

• Electrical stimulation – Picks up vibrations of vocal cords when dog barks, it gives a warning but if ignored gives an correction
• Irritating Sound – When the dog barks a loud sound is emitted startling the dog
• Citronella Spray -  A spray is emitted when the dog barks which both startles the dog and they hate the scent of the spray which deters them

All of the above provide a negative association of barking and so helps deter unwanted barking. A muzzle might also be used in the short term to prevent unwanted barking. Only behavioral modification works in the long term as these devices will not deter the most diligent barkers and are probably unsuitable for anxious barkers. However they can provide an immediate solution and so have a place in stopping constant barking especially if the neighbors are complaining and gives  respite until the root cause is established and the problem sorted.

By Una. Filed under Dogs, Pet Care.

3 Responses to “How do I stop my dog barking?”

• paulmcdonnell says:

  May 24, 2011 at 6:25 pm

  my neighbours dogs wil not barking none stop i need some ides to syop them barking .plesae help me
• pauline joy mehlhopt says:

  August 17, 2011 at 12:25 pm

  my dog barks at anythink and everthing from brids to people walking past next door dogs he cant see, and their car when it gets home, one little move out side he barks and barks, i have tried quite but he just doent listen and anything, had dog collors and didnt work what to do
• John says:

  January 1, 2012 at 12:56 am

  Is it normal for a do to bark kn-stop for 5 hours? Should I report this to animal welfare?