The Barking Basics
Barking is a natural means of communication for dogs. It becomes a problem for us when it is excessive and associated with other concerning issues.
Does breed matter? Of course, it can have an effect but generally that barkiness can exist in any breed. We also want to be careful that we do not limit our dog’s ability to learn by our limiting beliefs.
We want to pay close attention to what is triggering our dog, this is the key to solving the problem. Typically, we will add more noise to their barking and tell them to “be quiet” or “shut up”. Doing this rewards our dogs, we join in their party and bring the noise as well.
There are many reasons why our dogs bark including alerting, being territorial, attention, boredom to loneliness.
Alert barking satisfies our dogs needs to let us know that an intruder is nearby. Maybe that is ok with you, the key is to have that ability to stop the barking when you need to.
Territorial barking is also a self rewarding behavior. They bark out the window or yard as people are walking by. However, in your dog’s mind they just made that person leave the property. Your dog will choose to continue practicing this, and it will likely keep getting worse.
Attention seeking is learned, they want human reactions and attention and will experiment with different ways to gain that from us. We need to change the rules of the game which can feel like it gets worse before it gets better. Being consistent is crucial.
Boredom can also create a habit of barking excessively. Providing enrichment and sufficient exercise and breaks can be key to managing their day to meet their needs.
Using prevention and management is key to helping you be successful. It prevents our dog from practicing the barking which works against all of your training. We want to set that solid foundation. This may mean blocking off access to watching other dogs out windows and only having supervised time in the yard to start.
Our goal should never be to punish our dogs but rather teach them what we want them to do instead. Provide an alternative behavior and start working toward rewarding and reinforcing that behaviour. This is much less confusing to them and will instead strengthen your bond. Our dogs love training, make sure our sessions are short and fun.
We also want to help our dogs begin to feel comfortable with their triggers through counter conditioning. Use your rewards and high value treats pairing those positive associations to change their emotional responses.
We can also teach our dogs to speak and keep quiet when we need. They are brilliant with learning cues and love to learn.
Your trainer will be able to help you identify your dogs’ triggers and create a plan to help you and your dog be successful.
They will also help you identify any fearful or concerning behaviors that you can work on modifying together. No doubt, you will all enjoy a much more peaceful household.
