Barking

I get a lot of clients asking me how to get a dog to stop barking.  They just can't understand why the dog barks when he does and why he won't stop.  It can be very frustrating when you have neighbors complaining or the dog wakes the baby up that you just got to sleep.  Believe me I understand!  I had a previous neighbor that would decide he had to put his dog outside at 11:00 at night for about an hour and the little dog would bark his head off and wake me up (on those rare occasions I wasn't on the computer still!).

First off it's important to understand why dogs bark.  Unlike humans the language of canines is made up more of body language than vocalization.  Wolves, the ancestor of the dog, rarely use barks as a form of communication and when they do they tend to be short single utterances.  Many researchers believe that in domesticating the dog we selected help the dog develop a wider range and versatility of barks than their ancestors had. In other words, dogs bark to talk to us!¹

So now that we realize when a dog barks he is trying to tell us humans something we have take the first step.  The next step is to translate that bark into understanding.  There are many different reasons that a dog will bark: alarm, warning that they feel threatened, play, need, and learned barking.  Most clients I talk to don't mind if the dog barks at a stranger or when someone comes to the door, as long as it stops quickly.  The question I get is how to teach the dog that a few simple barks is enough to warn of danger and they should only do it in situations that are really a threat.  How do you convince Fido that Mr. Smith who jogs by every morning or the local stray cat are not real threats and should be ignored?

The first thing to realize is that the dog probably has this problem because we (or a previous owner) encouraged the barking.  When a dog barks too much the common human reaction is to yell at him to stop barking or to go over to the dog and reprimand it.  While it seems like a logical course of action it is in fact rewarding the dog for the barking only making him more likely to do it again especially since the dog most likely starts out by barking an alarm.  When you yell at the dog he thinks you are barking along with him and therefore you are aware of the danger.  If you go to the dog and acknowledge the alarm then again his warning has been heard and it was an effective way to get your attention.

So how do you stop unwanted barking?  First of all I want to address the debarking surgery.  It should only be considered as a very last line of defense before the dog is euthanized.  The surgery isn't always effective and the vocal cords can grow back in time.  It can also lead to anxiety since the dog was barking for a reason and now their ability to communicate the problem has been taken away.  Behavioral modification is much more effective, it just takes time and effort.  You didn't teach the dog to bark continuously overnight so you can't expect him to stop overnight either.

Here are some tips on how to stop unwanted barking.  If you are unable to figure out the reason for barking or are unsuccessful then I strongly advise seeking the advice of a canine behavior expert.

1. Remove the reason for barking.  For example if the dog barks whenever a car drives by, shut the curtains or put him in a room where he can't see out.  If he barks at everybody and everything when out in the back yard, take him out on a leash instead.
2. Ignore the barking.  This is one of the most effective and yet most difficult methods to employ.  Most dogs bark because they want something from you.  Any kind of acknowledgement of their barking, a word, a look a gesture is positive reinforcement.  The hardest part is you have to do it every time.  Until the dog stops barking for even a short moment you MUST ignore him.  Giving in even once will only make him bark longer the next time.  Turn your back and ignore him until he takes a moment to catch his breath between barks and then quickly turn and praise him or give him a treat.
3. Teach him the command for quiet.  This is a very useful command to have.  It should always be given in a soft, relaxed tone of voice.  You want the dog to know there is nothing to be anxious about which is what yelling the command would do.  Clicker training is another useful tool for teaching this command. (There are many sources for direction on how to do this)
4. Desensitize your dog to the stimuli.  Find the trigger that makes your dog bark and slowly introduce your dog to it.  Reward the dog for positive behavior when the stimulus is present, but don't scold him for negative behavior.  Just take him far enough away that he no longer feels the need to bark and then reward him.
5. Train your dog to do something other than bark at a certain stimulus.  If you don't want your dog to bark when the doorbell rings, teach him to come sit by your feet or go lay down in a certain spot.  You train him just like you would train him to sit, you just use the doorbell as the command instead of the verbal word.

 Remember, in any sort of behavior modification there are three rules: be consistent, be consistent, and be consistent!  That means everybody living in the house has to be on the same page or it is doomed to failure.

1. Pongrácz, Péter, Csaba Molnár, and Ádám Miklósi. "Barking in Family Dogs: An Ethological Approach." The Veterinary Journal 183.2 (2010): 141-47.