Guides and tips
How to reduce my dog's barking
Tips for reducing the excessive barking of your favorite pet, facilitating your life and your neighbors, allowing everyone to live together in harmony, without tensions and stressful situations.
Undoubtedly, barking is the most distinctive trait of all canine breeds. We cannot deny that it is an instinctive reaction, but it can develop into a serious problem for the owner and their environment. Many times, owners try to manage the situation using methods that provide temporary solutions, such as yelling, rewarding bad habits, and inconsistent discipline, which do not lead to the desired long-term outcome.
To train your dog to bark less and stop when commanded, it will take time, practice, and consistency. It won’t happen in a day or even a week, but with the right techniques and patience, you will soon see progress that will encourage you to keep going. First, you need to understand what triggers excessive barking and then address the issue accordingly always using positive reinforcement.
Guides and tips
Reasons and types of barking
Causes That Contribute
To address the barking problem, you must first identify the cause behind it. Some breeds are much more vocal than others, making the training process more challenging.
Don't forget that barking is a dog's natural way of communicating. A dog that receives sufficient physical and mental stimulation is less likely to bark excessively. Don't let the problem persist, as the more it happens, the more it becomes a habit.
- Separation anxiety/Compulsive: When dogs are left alone they usually have other symptoms as well, like incessant pacing, destructive tendencies, depression and some times even make repetitive movements, such as running in circles or along a fence.
- Seeking attention: When it wants something, like going out to play or food.
- Boredom/Loneliness: Dog is an herd animal. When left alone for long periods, either at home or in the yard, is affected by loneliness and barks because its unhappy.
- Territorial/Protective: When a person or an animal enters an area that it considers as its territory, most of the times, that causes excessive barking. As the threat approaches, the barking often gets louder and the dog is alert and often aggressive.
Voices stimulate your dog to bark more, because it thinks that you also are participating in the bark. Talk to him calmly and steady, without yelling and excessive reactions.
Without training, it doesn't know what you want when you shout random words at it. Train it to understand the words that you say, by the method of rewarding (treats).
- Frustration/Desperation: When it can't access the place it wants, when it is restricted or chained.
- Alarm/Fear: Reaction to any noise or object that draws its attention, or startles it. This can happen anywhere, not just at home. When its in a state of fear, it's ears are back and it's tail down.
- Greeting/Play: Often barks to greet people or other animals. It's usually in a happy mood and is accompanied by wagging tail and leaps.
Reasons and types of barking
Causes That Contribute
Barking gives a dog a rush of adrenaline, making it enjoyable. Therefore, allowing a dog to bark in certain situations, such as when the delivery person arrives, can eventually lead to aggressive behavior. Other reasons that may cause excessive barking include insect bites, various physical or neurological conditions, and persistent severe pain.
Older dogs can develop a form of canine dementia that causes excessive vocalization. It is always a good idea to visit a veterinarian to ensure there is no medical reason behind it. Once you understand why your dog is barking, you can begin training to address the behavior.
Guides and tips
Management based on each type of barking
Ways to manage the behavior
- Separation anxiety/Compulsive:The separation anxiety and compulsive barking is difficult to be address and you should seek help from a veterinarian or a dog behaviorist. Often, it needs medication to help it deal with it, along with the training.
- Seeking attention:
You should never reward barking. If your dog barks whenever it wants something and you keep offering to it, you are teaching it to bark for getting anything it wants. If it barks to go out, train it to ring a bell that you will tie on the door handle, by hitting it every time you take it out for a walk. Tap the container of its food and water before you fill it and soon it will start doing the same when it wants food. Find ways for your dog to communicate without barking. If it barks because its plate is empty, wait a few minutes, hit the bottom and then fill it, so it will understand that barking was not effective. Remember not to yell at it, since it's still considered attention, the key is to ignore it until it stops barking. - Boredom/Loneliness:
If your dog is barking too much while you're gone, you need to provide some activities or companionship so it won't be alone and bored. Bringing a dog which up to now, was solely in the yard inside the house, will reduce the barking outbursts in the neighborhood. It won't only will stop shouting all night but it will also be protected from hazards (weather events, getaways/theft, poisoning) and will provide extra security for your house. If your dog barks while you're at work, use a dogwalker to take it for a walk or play with it for at least an hour a day. Use toys for food distribution, which come in different shapes and sizes and can keep it busy for several hours.
Giving your dog something to do instead of barking, like a toy, will help keep its mind busy.
- Territorial/Protective/Alarm/Fear:This type of barking is often driven by territorial, fear or threat reasons and it can be reduced by restricting the dog's visual field. If it is fenced in a yard, use durable opaque materials while indoors, you can restrict access to windows and doors, or cover them with opaque membrane. Also in this case, is it to wise to ask help from a dog behaviorist.
- Frustration/Despair/Greeting/Play: A dogs will often bark when it's excited about something. If it barks everytime you come in the house, everytime the doorbell rings, everytime it wants to go outside and play with children that hears outside, evertime that wants to go for a walk or that it wants to chase a cat that passed outside... then the only thing you can do is training. You'll have to teach it a different behavior, training it to sit and stay there quietly, always with the method of reward (treats). Never reward it, if it barks when it asks for something, don't pet it and don't have visual contact until it stops barking and sits quietly. Then, compliment and reward it, for calming down. Continue with persistence and consistency and you will soon see progress in its behavior.
You must never use violence on a pet to make it obey you, apart than being a crime and you will be criminally prosecuted, it never generates the desired long term results.
Sometimes, the simplest solutions work, especially if your dog has related barking to energy release and fun. However, it is likely to need the help of a dog trainer to help you, since training is not an easy process but it is definitely worth the effort.
