Barking is the dog's own form of vocal communication. In some cases, however, the barking can also be a symptom of behavioral problems. If you think your dog has developed a habit of barking at the wrong times or for the wrong reasons, you can follow the tips in this article to address the problem and its causes and to educate your dog to behave better.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Preventing Wrong Behavior from Triggering in Your Dog
Step 1. Do not gratify the dog's barking by screaming
Prevention is better than cure, and this also applies to dog education: preventing your four-legged friend from adopting bad habits is much easier than working later to make him lose them. The secret is to be careful not to reward or give importance to the dog's bark. If your dog barks and you yell at him to be quiet, the dog will not understand the message of your shouting, but he will think that you are supporting his barking by joining him. The dog, in fact, could even interpret your screams as a sort of response bark: by mistaking your noisy injunctions to silence as approval, it is likely that your dog will repeat the bark in the future.
Step 2. Ignore the dog when it barks
Instead of yelling at your dog to be quiet, try ignoring him first. If the dog never has the opportunity to associate the barking action with a reaction on your part, it will be less likely to replicate that behavior in the future.
Step 3. Distract your dog
If, even ignoring it, the dog does not stop barking for several minutes, try to divert attention from the object on which it is fixed. Always continuing to ignore the barking, throw something on the ground, open a door, do anything that usually prompts your dog to investigate what happens.
Step 4. Direct the dog's attention to something that you can positively reinforce
Once you have distracted the dog from barking and brought it closer to you, use a command it already knows, for example "Sit", and reward it if it sits down. In this way you will have reinforced positive behavior, putting barking in the background.
- The need to dedicate yourself to the basic education of your dog is obvious. Distracting your dog with basic commands he already understands is the best way to avoid accidentally reinforcing the propensity to bark. To learn how to teach your dog basic commands, see this article.
- Training your dog with the clicker is a great way to let him know that he has done the right thing, providing him with positive reinforcement that he can always recognize, in any situation.
Step 5. Bring the dog indoors when it barks outside
If your dog barks at passers-by when he is in the garden, bring him back into the house, without making your action seem like a consequence of his barking; wait for him to calm down, tie him on a leash and take him out. As soon as the dog barks at the next passer-by, bring him back to the house immediately, leading him on a leash. This way, by acting during the dog's behavior, you will let him know that barking means the end of the fun in the garden.
Step 6. Get plenty of exercise
For dogs, barking is a natural way of expressing themselves and they often use it to give voice to the emotional state they are in, especially if they are bored. Involving the dog and engaging him in educational exercises means both making your puppy feel part of the group and keeping him away from the possibility of barking because he is bored. Have at least two fifteen minute training sessions with your dog a day and go out twice every day to play throw and fetch - for a total of at least one hour daily of exercise, especially for large, energetic breeds..
If your dog continues to bark in boredom despite the two daily outings, try increasing the duration of the training sessions
Method 2 of 4: Uncover the Cause
Step 1. Investigate the underlying causes of the barking
The first step to remedying your dog's behavior is to understand why he is barking. You will have to work in deduction, especially if your dog tends to bark when you are not around.
- To find out the causes of the barking, talk to the neighbors. Ask them about the context of the barking and if there are any repeating behavior patterns. Showing your neighbors that you are aware of the problem and that you are working on it will help you to be frowned upon by them, especially if they are people who are bothered by your dog.
- Record your dog's behavior while you are out and about. It is better to have both audio and video, since observing the dog's attitude can offer clues to the causes that lead him to bark. Shoot the dog during your hours of absence for several days in a row and go through the recordings thoroughly. You will have more material to read the reasons for his behavior.
Step 2. Determine the cause of the barking
Once enough data is gathered, move on to investigating recurring behavioral patterns and triggers. The most common are:
- He wants to get your attention in response to a need. The dog may bark to get your attention due to a pressing need - the urge to defecate, hunger, thirst, etc.
- He feels bored or frustrated. A dog confined to an environment devoid of stimuli is subject to boredom; more energetic dogs can react to boredom with destructive frustration. Barking could be a way for the dog to relieve anxiety or create a distraction.
- He is concerned. If a person, object or noise frightens him, the dog may react by barking. There are clear bodily signals that allow us to understand when a dog is afraid, such as a fearful pose involves ears pressed back against the head and tail between the legs.
- Territorial intrusion. Dogs are territorial animals; any intrusion - whether by other dogs or people - in its territory can push it to bark to intimidate the invader. When the dog stands in defense of the territory, it keeps its ears straight and its tail high.
- He is very excited. Dogs bark in response to strong emotions and seeing the owner is the strongest emotion of all: your puppy may bark for the sheer joy of seeing you again.
- Not feeling well. At the basis of compulsive and neurotic barking there may also be various health problems: deafness, pain, confusion.
Step 3. Take your dog to the vet
If there is a possibility that your dog is barking due to health problems, make an appointment with your veterinarian right away.
Keep in mind that, in older dogs, neurotic barking is one of the symptoms of canine senile dementia. If this is the case, your vet will be able to prescribe specific medications to treat this ailment
Method 3 of 4: Correct Wrong Barking
Step 1. Eliminate the motivation
Once you've discovered the detonator that makes your dog bark, you'll need to focus on defusing it.
- The dog barks because he derives some kind of fulfillment from it. With the gratification removed, the dog will no longer have incentives to continue the behavior.
- For example, if your dog barks at passers-by from inside the house, close the shutters or pull the curtains to block their view. If he does bark at them from the garden, bring him indoors as he starts.
Step 2. Ignore the dog when it barks
Throughout the re-education phase it is important that you force yourself not to react when the dog barks. Dogs interpret your screams (no matter what you say) as attention paid to them, which reinforces the motivation to keep repeating the action in progress, regardless of your anger and your annoyance.
- When your dog barks, don't give any signs of noticing. Don't look at him, don't talk to him, don't stroke him and, above all, don't give him food rewards.
- Be aware that your dog's barking will get worse before you start improving. The dog, in fact, accustomed to your reaction, will read your indifference as a failure and will think he has to bark more to make himself heard as usual. Either way, never give in and keep ignoring your dog no matter how loud he is making.
- If you have neighbors, you should explain to them that you are trying to teach your dog not to bark and that you apologize for the momentary inconvenience. It is important that they understand the goodness of your efforts; this way they will happily tolerate your dog's noise, rather than just finding it irritating.
Step 3. Reward calm
When your dog stops barking, wait a minute so he doesn't confuse the reasons for the bite, and then treat him with a snack. If you do this regularly, your dog will realize that barking doesn't earn him any rewards, but calm down does.
- Over time, the dog will begin to associate the calm state with the treat. At this point, gradually lengthen the necessary calm time before rewarding him.
- If you use the clicker, remember to "click" before giving the dog his treat.
Step 4. Shift your dog's attention
The moment the dog starts barking, involve him in an activity that absorbs all his attention.
- Ask your dog to put himself in the "on the ground" position, for example, and then reward him: there is no risk that he will associate the biscuit with barking.
- If your dog obeys, reward him with a nice treat - but only if he doesn't keep barking or starts barking again.
Step 5. Avoid too much inconvenience to the neighbors
As you re-educate your dog not to bark, try to keep him as far away as possible from where neighbors might hear him. Avoiding excessive hassle is a great way to maintain good neighborly relations.
- Be aware of the inconvenience your dog causes to neighbors; notify them of your re-education program and keep them updated on progress.
- Having your neighbors on your side is a smart choice, as well as a necessary one - better to have someone cheering on you, rather than being up against a host of angry neighbors.
Method 4 of 4: Maintain Right Behavior
Step 1. Get your dog enough exercise
Dogs are social animals and need environmental stimulation to stay healthy and balanced.
- Take your dog for a walk regularly.
- Whenever you can, take your dog to parks or green areas where he can run and move freely.
Step 2. Give your dog enough attention
Dogs need to feel part of a family; so when you get home, let your dog in and allow him to stay in touch with you and your family.
Don't leave your dog locked out or completely ignored when you are at home; loneliness will make him anxious and frustrated, more likely to manifest destructive behaviors
Step 3. Be consistent
Dogs get confused by human inconsistency - when your dog barks, you scream, but other times you don't. Therefore, he will not know whether barking is a good deed or not.
The only way to get an educated dog is to be consistent; only in this way will your four-legged companion adopt the behaviors you like and avoid those you don't love
Step 4. Teach your dog the command "Quiet"
Educating your dog to respond to the command "Quiet" is much more productive than yelling "Be quiet" or "Shut up".
- Just like any other teaching you want to impart to the dog, consistency is a must.
- Begin by teaching the dog the “Speak” command. Knock on the door to simulate the arrival of a guest. When the dog barks, give him a kibble (remember to use the clicker if the dog is already used to it). Repeat until the response is smooth and loose, almost natural, and the dog looks at you for the treat. Now introduce the voice signal that anticipates the gesture, for example the word “Speak”.
- Having reached the goal of making the dog bark on command, switch to "Quiet". Practice in a distraction-free environment. Ask your dog to "Talk", then say "Quiet". When the dog stops barking, reward him (use the clicker if the dog already knows it).
- Repeat until your dog associates the word "Quiet" with calm and reward.
Advice
- Always be kind and patient and never hit your dog.
- Be aware that changing a dog's habits takes time. You will not educate your dog not to bark over the course of a night or a few days. You will both have to work every day, for weeks - if not months. The more deeply rooted the habit is in the dog, the longer it will take to straighten it.
- Don't leave your dog unsupervised for more than 8-9 hours; you risk getting anxious and adopting destructive diversions, including barking.
Warnings
- Don't "mute" (in English, "debarking") your dog. Debarking consists of surgically severing the vocal cords of a dog, which will find itself almost voiceless, capable of producing only a subtle, croaking bark. The procedure is considered inhumane by most veterinarians and is prohibited in Italy. Complications can range from difficulty breathing to choking, chronic pain, and even death. Furthermore, since the procedure only interferes with the barking mechanics, it does not resolve the causes of compulsive barking.
- Equally not recommended is the use of anti-barking devices, such as collars that release electric current or spray bad smells when the dog barks. Like debarking, these tools try to remove the problem without acting on the causes of the animal's behavior. Furthermore, as dogs' senses are much more developed than human ones, however harmless these devices may seem to you, they are considered an act of cruelty to animals - not to mention that such objects are labeled as punitive educational tools., so they are unlikely to be effective. The dog will not link punishment to wrong behavior; on the contrary, it is now proven that dogs are able to record the causal link between action and reward, making the gentle technique the prevailing choice among dog educators.
