Excessive Barking

Excessive barking is one of the most common complaints against dogs. The word excessive is a major part of the cause of the dilemma. Since it is open to interpretation, it brings on problems with neighbors, animal control officers and local governing bodies. Interestingly, most dog owners are not bothered by their dog's barking, either because the most offensive barking takes place when the owner is absent or because the owner believes that by barking, the dog is fulfilling its role as a "watchdog". Many dogs are allowed and even encouraged to bark when the tendency begins at between four and six months of age. However, the owners are bothered by the complaints of their neighbors and the troubles that these bring.

There are a large variety of pricey antibark shock collars available at pet supermarkets and through those pet supply catalogues that are always stuffing your mailbox. The key here is large variety. Usually, when there are a number of solutions to a single problem, it means that none of them work well. Often, these collars cause other behavior problems such as panicking the dog and causing it to run away. Or, the dog figures out when he or she is wearing the collar and is forced to wear this cumbersome and even dangerous, because it can get caught on things, device all of the time.

Tranquilizers can be used, but their effectiveness usually wears off with the dosage. Surgery can stop the problem, but it is not something that I would recommend. Just a personal bias.

Most excessive barkers are assertive dogs. The Puppy Aptitude Test is administered to a puppy between the age of five and seven weeks. In the Social/Dominance portion of the test, the puppy is scored on a scale of from one to six with six being the most assertive or dominant. Dogs that will eventually develop a problem with excessive barking usually score around five or five and a half. That gives us a profile of the type of dog that will be a barker, but tells us nothing about the causes of the barking.

Before we can begin a program to correct excessive barking, we have to determine the root cause of the problem and for this, we have to take a close look at the owner and the owners relationship with the dog. Just about all cases of excessive barking fall into three categories; a nervous owner, prolonged periods of forced isolation for the dog, and a frustrated dog.

In today's society, many people feel anxious about their environment. A strange noise in or around the home, a suspicious car passing, or a group of boisterous teenagers walking or driving by can put an owner on edge. And, this is communicated to the dog, setting off a round of barking.

To correct the dog's barking, the owner should work at not seeming to be anxious. Notice, I did not say don't be anxious. That would be similar to telling someone not to worry about the bills that they owe or not to worry about their next pay raise or promotion. In many environments, the feeling of anxiousness is justified. But, if want to control your dog's barking, don't let the dog know that you are anxious and let the dog know that you are in control. Teach the dog a few basic obedience commands such as sit, down, and/or heel. Then, each time that a situation arises that causes the dog anxiety, give the command and highly praise the dog. This will relieve the anxiety, divert the dog's attention and let the dog know that you are in charge. Doing this consistently for a week or two might even end the dog's barking while you are absent.

If the problem is prolonged periods of forced isolation, then the relationship between dog and the owner must be examined. Isolation should never be used as a punishment, especially long periods of isolation. When a dog does something wrong, correct it, discipline it, and then get on with it, it's over. Start to build the dog's self-confidence. Many years ago, when I worked with youngsters, I had a supervisor who used to tell us, "You can verbally knock a kid down and drive him into the ground, but you have to pick him up again, dust him off, and tell him that he's still a good kid." Pretty good advice for raising children or dogs.

Fences, windows and tethers restrict a dog's freedom and frustrate the dog. Where possible, dogs should be kept away from windows and fences, or the windows and fences should not allow the dog to see through them. Dogs should not be tethered for any length of time, especially if the owner is not present. If a dog is left tethered, barking is going to be the least of the owner's problems.

Correcting the dog that barks when the owner is absent requires a little more time and creativity. First, begin a pattern. Every time that the dog begins to bark, or better yet when the stimuli for barking begins before the dog starts barking, introduce a noise. This can be an ultrasonic device or something far less sophisticated. I use a coin against a glass window. After you have corrected the dog a number of times in your presence and you are getting the results that you want, you are ready to correct the dog "in your absence". Make believe that you are leaving for the day. You may have to pull your car out of the driveway, park it down the street and walk back to your house. Now, watch for the stimuli. What you are trying to do is to correct the dog by introducing the noise at the onset of the stimuli before the dog begins to bark. By doing this, we involving the dog's orienting reflex and, as the researcher Sokolov pointed out, repetitious stimulation of this reflex causes a quiet well being.

Perform this exercise for about fifteen to thirty minutes at a time. Then, "return home" in a happy, relaxed manner. Do this three or four times a day for two to three consecutive days and the problem should be cured.

Anthony Cherubini