Why Won’t My Dog Stop Barking!?
Barking is a very common (and very frustrating) issue amongst dog owners. But before delving into how to reduce it I want to preface with the fact that barking is a natural behavior in dogs. A barking dog isn’t “bad”, unruly, or trying to bother you. Barking is a natural way dogs communicate with each other and with us which is important to understand before seeking help to get rid of it.
Unfortunately, there is no single solution to reduce barking. This is because there are many different types of barking and the purposes they serve.
We are going to talk about 3 common types of barking that occur inside of the home which are:
Boredom barkers
Watchdog barkers
Demand barkers
Boredom Barkers
Picture this: you're hanging out with your dog in the house and everything seems quiet and calm. Your dog's body language is loose, his tail is wagging and he seems relaxed until all of a sudden, he hears a car go by and starts barking like crazy! He disturbed the peace, but you let it go because the car is gone and he's no longer barking. Now, another dog barks outside and your own dog starts barking as well. Before you know it, your dog is barking at a leaf blowing by!
If this sounds like your dog, you may have a Boredom Barker on your hands. There are many behaviors in dog training we can stop by simply ignoring the behavior, but unfortunately, boredom barking is not one of them. This is because barking is fun for dogs! It is a self-rewarding behavior because it helps reduce stress, meaning your dog might feel good when he barks!
Before we jump into training, it is imperative that we evaluate why our dog is barking. For a Boredom Barker, they are barking because they are seeking out something to do. To help manage this, we need to verify that all of our dogs' physical/mental needs have been taken care of.
Boredom barking can stem from lack or excess amounts of stimulation. Meaning, if your dog isn't getting enough exercise during the day or is given activities they can choose to do on their own, they may resort to barking for “entertainment”.
On the flip side, if your dog is running around too much, is constantly disturbed by activity or is unable to rest throughout the day, they can resort to barking. This can be considered “over arousal”. A dog that does not get enough rest can get “over tired” just like people do, and will sometimes show increased levels of barking due to the inability to relax. If you aren't sure how much activity your dog should be getting, check out our article on Canine Enrichment.
Now that we know our dogs' needs have been fulfilled, we can tackle this boredom barking.
The number one, and probably the hardest rule, is to remain calm.
If we choose to yell at our dogs, we are adding energy and can inadvertently make our dogs more frantic. Instead, we can be better leaders for our dogs by calmly showing them this is not an acceptable behavior. A way you can do this is to calmly walk up to your dog and physically remove them from the location they are barking, which is normally by a window or the door. Once removed, you can ask them to lay down and provide them with something else to do like a chew or toy. If your dog cannot handle this and wants to keep going back to the window/door, place them even farther away like in another room until you can dedicate the time to work with them on this.
With this method, you are not only telling your dog what is wrong, but more importantly, telling them what is right. By giving your dog an alternative activity to barking you are communicating what you expect from your dog in a clear way. In addition to enrichment, you can choose to occasionally reward your dog for not barking by slipping them a treat or giving them attention when you notice they are being quiet. Dogs do what is rewarding 100% of the time, so if being quiet gets them good things, they will be quiet more often!
Watchdog Barkers
Although similar to Boredom Barkers, I like to put Watchdog Barkers in a separate category. With a Watchdog Barker, the body language and tone of the bark is much more intense. You may see raised hackles, ears pinned, tail straight and a sharp bark. These dogs are barking to alert us of a perceived threat.
Many dogs were bred to alert us to changes in the environment, especially the guardian breeds. A Watchdog Barker might also be fearful of the new stimulus as well, causing the barking response.
This type of barking is self-rewarding as well to our dogs because a lot of the time when a trigger, such as a person walking by, causes our dogs to bark, they will eventually pass by. From our dogs' perspective, their alarm bark succeeded! They saw a threat, they barked, and the threat eventually went away. This is why ignoring a Watchdog Barker does not reduce the barking. Yelling at your dog will not solve this either, and may even cause your dog to escalate or become more fearful. Attempting to comfort your dog is not a great solution, as you may be reinforcing the barking behavior with that attention.
Because our dogs are trying to communicate to us there is a potential threat, I recommend going up to your dog when they are barking and acknowledge them for doing their job to alert you. Then, it's up to you to take over the situation by investigating what exactly they are barking at.
For some dogs, simply acknowledging the alert and calmly checking out the situation is enough to calm the barking.
After that, I would give your dog another job to do by either going to lay down somewhere or redirecting them to another activity. Similar to our Boredom Barkers, if they cannot handle that, place them in another room to calm down.
Demand Barkers
Demand barkers are different in the sense that they aren't barking at a squirrel, stranger or another dog out the window, they are barking directly at you! I sympathize with those with demand barkers, as my own dog, Charlie, has struggled with this in the past as well.
Demand barking has a single, very clear goal: to get your attention!
Before we work on getting rid of demand barking, it's important to remember that barking is one of your dogs main avenues of communicating with you, so ask yourself these questions before you label a demand barker:
Has my dog gotten enough exercise?
Does my dog need to go potty?
Is it close to dinnertime?
Does my dog have access to water?
It's possible that one of these needs has to be taken care of, and that is why your dog is barking at you. If you are sure all these are clear, read along to see how to handle demand barking.
If our dogs are repeatedly barking at us and we tell them to be quiet, pet them, or throw their ball, we are reinforcing that behavior and it will continue to get worse. Even if it's “bad” attention, attention is attention to our dogs and we need to be careful to not reward their barking.
The best practice for a Demand Barker is to not acknowledge your dog when they are barking at you. If the barking continues, remove the reward by either taking your dog to another room or removing yourself from the situation. If you teach your dog that barking = attention removed, this will help decrease the attempts of your dog gaining your attention this way.
I also like to practice treating my dog when he disengages from me during situations he normally would want to bark at me. This might be when I have guests over and he decides to go lay down in another part of the room versus sitting by me and demanding attention. You can help your dog be successful by recognizing and rewarding them for making good choices, as well as setting them up with things to do on their own so they don't rehearse barking at you.
Although this is not a complete fix to all barking, these tend to be the three most common types I see with dog training clients. It is important to have empathy and recognize why your dog is barking in the first place to determine the best course of action and be a strong leader for your dog. If you believe your dogs barking is to the point that it's a danger to their health and overall quality of life, it's important to talk to your veterinarian to rule out any health/behavioral anomalies and/or hire a professional to help.