DOG BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS
Excessive Barking
We know that dogs bark but how much is too much? Sometimes it’s necessary to “switch off” the barking. We need to find out why the dog thinks it is appropriate to bark, then we can switch it off in a way that’s fair and the dog will understand.
Dogs bark, it’s part of being a dog, but that doesn’t mean they have to do it all the time. Owners need to learn how to convince a dog that it doesn’t need to bark at everything and when it does bark, to reassure it that it has done its job in alerting you and it can now stop.
There are probably times when we want our dogs to bark.
If someone unexpectedly came to our home most people would be reassured that the dog initially barked. It’s normal and useful for a dog to alert the pack leader to a potential threat. The tricky part is to convince the dog that it has done its job and that you’ll take it from here.
Not everything needs to be barked at.
The home should be a place where the dog feels calm. They need to feel that the postman putting letters through the door is not a reason to bark and it doesn’t disturb their calmness. It happens most days of the week so we need to teach the dog that it can let this one go. There are lots of other events just like this that the dog doesn’t need to get excited about.
Other reasons a dog might bark.
Dogs can bark for other reasons too, maybe they don’t like being left alone, or are frightened. These situations need to be identified and the root cause must be addressed. These situations can be complex and the solution could be quite detached from the barking itself. In cases like these, we need to be led by the dog to be fair and humane.
Some people rely on an anti-bark collar to stop barking. I am not an advocate of these. They do not differentiate between the different types of barks or what might be the reasons behind the barking, all they do is punish the dog for the symptom. I am far more in favour of firstly identifying the root cause and then using a relationship-based method to convince the dog that it doesn’t need to behave in that way.