While we all know that dogs bark, there are various reasons as to why they exhibit this behavior, and there are some breeds that are more genetically prone to do so than others. Herding breeds, (shelties, border collies, cattle dogs, shepherds and corgis), hounds (beagles, foxhounds), terriers (just about all of them!), and many of the toy breeds tend toward being more vocal than some other breeds. On the other hand, guarding breeds (akitas, chows, mastiffs and rottweilers) are prone toward escorting you off the property with a low growl, rather than a bark fest, so their propensity to bark is lower than most dogs.
Boredom Barking – Dogs that bark because they are bored are usually the dogs that are left in their yards all day, and sometimes all night, with nothing to do but patrol the yard and announce the presence of anything and everything! The sound of this type of barking is often a monotonous tone, and can go on for hours. The easiest solution is to bring the dog inside, where he will likely be quiet and happy in the house. Crating and confining are a good idea until you can trust your dog to have run of the house, particularly if the dog is still young, which makes it likely that he will chew on things you don’t want him to, and may still need more housetraining. Increasing his physical exercise (i.e., fetch, jogging, or a long brisk walk) prior to leaving him, and engaging him mentally (stuff Kong-type toys, activity cubes/balls) DAILY will also reduce the barking.
Play Barking – Dogs that are easily excited when play and movement is involved fall into this category of barking. Herding dogs are often members of this group, as they are bred to keep livestock under control, which leads to a compulsion to control anyone or anything that moves. This behavior is hard wired (fixed), and can be difficult to modify. You do have a few choices on what to do: 1) accept and allow the behavior, 2) manage the behavior (by removing the dog from the area when the behavior occurs), 3) Remove or take away the cause of the play barking (i.e., end the play time, take away the opportunity to play, remove the dog from the game); 4) encourage the dog to carry a favorite toy in his mouth. Having a toy in his mouth will make it difficult for him to bark at all. If he does, the sound is muffled!
Demand Barking – This type of barking occurs when your dog wants your attention and barks ‘at you’ to get it. Sometimes this behavior increases over time, and starts out when your dog tried to figure out how to make treats, play and attention from you happen for him. He may start out with softer barking, and if this gets him what he wants, he may develop an insistent and persistent bark. It’s always best to ignore this behavior. Over time your dog will learn that this type of barking gets him nowhere, and he will eventually stop doing it. Remember, if your dog has been behaving in this way for some time, it will take longer before the behavior extinguishes. Be persistent, consistent and patient, and your dog will eventually stop making vocal demands.
Alarm (watchdog) Barking – This barking occurs when your dog is letting you know that there is something to be alerted to. The tone is usually one of urgency or sounds more ferocious. Your dog’s judgment of what is a threat and yours may differ. We may discount it each time, but it is always a good idea to investigate the reason why your dog is barking, as there may be a real concern at some point. If you’d like to teach your dog to stop barking on command, implement the following: 1) When the dog starts to bark, take a pea-sized piece of a yummy treat (i.e., hot dog or cheese – it must be a veerrry yummy treat in order to override the urge to bark) and put the treat in front of your dog’s nose, not letting him eat it, but sniff it (your dog will be distracted from barking by the presence of the treat) 2) For 3-5 seconds while your dog is sniffing the treat (and being quiet), repeat your ‘stop barking’ command (i.e., ‘quiet,’ ‘’hush,’ ‘enough’) the entire time. 3) AFTER the 3-5 seconds of perfect quiet while you’ve repeated the command several times, then give the treat to your dog. Do this over and over until the dog knows the game. It’s important to do the following treat use sequence: Do for two weeks with treats 100% of the time; then two more weeks with treats 75% of the time; then two more weeks with treats 50% of the time; then two more weeks with treats 25% of the time. After that no treats needed!
Anxiety Barking – This type of barking usually stems from separation anxiety issues. If your dog is also displaying destructive behavior (and is older than 2 years of age), makes extraordinary efforts to escape confinement, and/or urinates or defecates inappropriately, you most likely have some level of separation anxiety going on with your dog (please see below for resource information to assist you with this issue).
Not all barking is bad. It is useful for your dog to let you know when he needs to go outside. There are service dogs that are trained to alert their owners for various reasons. Dogs will warn us of intruders, or let us know of possible emergency situations.
For additional information or assistance, please go to our web site at www.sspca.org where you will find behavior handouts addressing barking, separation anxiety, and other valuable information to assist you with your dog’s behavior. In addition, you may call our behavior help line at 916-383-7387 ext. 9148, and talk to a behavior counselor regarding your dog’s behavior, and to get answers to your concerns and questions.
