Dog Barking – the ultimate attention getter
Vocalising is the canine communication channel most familiar to humans. Much of domestic dog social behaviour is accompanied by vocalisation. Auditory signals have many advantages over other types of communication. Dogs can reach an audience over long distances at any time of day or night. Dogs do not need your attention to be effective; in fact, they are the ultimate way to get attention.
Dog speak can fall into two broad categories: go-away signals and come here signals. In general come-here sounds include variations of whining and howling. In contrast, go-away signals are variations of barking and growling. Sounds produced during play sequences and attention seeking are the exception here.
Every dog is unique. Every word they utter varies in its volume, direction, speed and frequency. Subtle differences give the sounds different meaning.
Without exception, dog barking is the centre of most dog behavioural complaints.
Barking is a normal form of communication for dogs.
Barking is a normal form of communication for dogs. With increased urban density tolerance for barking has diminished. Barking complaints keep our rangers busy and negatively impact on community relationships. Barking to some extent is normal. The majority of complaints are due to persistent and loud barking. This type of barking is often chronic and limited to occurring when the humans are not home. Excessive barking is always a sign of behavioural problems.
What is your dog saying?
The first step is to identify the underlying motivation for the barking; what is your dog trying to tell you? The aim is to decode the message as it is often not immediately obvious to you or your neighbours. Start with a visit to your vet to rule out underlying health problems. Any disease can affect your dog’s emotional resilience and may precipitate behaviour problems. Failure to address these problems will limit the success of a behavioural strategy.
The second step is to identify all the factors that are contributing to the dog barking problem. Questions to consider when identifying potential contributing factors include:
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Your dog’s external environment: What is your dog’s environment? Where does it spend its time during the day/night? What access does it have to the indoors/outdoors? How often is it alone? What access does it have to the front yard/backyard? What level of activity occurs at your property boundaries? Has there been any change in the environment? What is your dog’s diet? How do you feed your dog? What is your dog’s average daily activity? Where does your dog sleep? When does your dog bark? What resolves the barking (if anything)?
- Your dog’s internal environment: for example what is your dog’s age and developmental stage? What other medical conditions does your dog have (pain? itchy? hormonal disease? Seizures?)?
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Your dog’s past experiences and what it has learnt from them: for example where did your dog come from? Have there been any traumatic experiences while alone (storms, break-ins, and house alarms)?
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Your dog’s genetics: What was its siblings/parents/relations behaviour like? What was your dog like as a puppy?
Define the problem
It is also important to define the problem: What is the frequency and duration of barking? Home video or sound recordings are the best sources of accurate information. Premiers Bark & Activity Counter is a good option for monitoring activity levels and barking. There are better devices for activity and tracking (e.g. whistle GPS tracker) but these are not yet available in Australia.
Be sure about what is causing the barking to provide focus for the treatment program. The aim is for permanent resolution or management of the problem. Set yourself up for success and have realistic expectations. Barking can never be totally eliminated, nor should it be, for the welfare of your dog. Equally, be aware that anxiety is frequently the driving force for a barking complaint. This may manifest as separation related barking, compulsive type barking, part of a hypersensitivity/hyper-vigilance disorder, noise sensitivity/hypersensitivity or phobia, relate to social fears or be secondary to other diseases (e.g. dog dementia).
Keys to a successful resolution
Successful resolution of a dog barking problem needs to focus on resolving the cause, reducing exposure to triggers and modifying your dog’s behavioural response to the trigger. The key to success is a multi-modal approach including environmental interventions, behaviour modification and medication where appropriate.
Environmental Interventions
Environmental interventions aim to improve your dog’s independence as well as exercise their brain and improve their feeling of safety. See if you can develop an enrichment plan focused on ‘saying no to the food bowl’ and using food to engage your dog with its local environment. Google ‘DIY dog puzzle feeders’, whip up a puzzle feeder for your dog out of things from your recycling bin. Challenge your dog’s senses with simple puzzles. Receiving a food reward for solving a problem is a great way to exercise their brain.
Its use it or lose it with the brain. The more your dog can focus on problem-solving tasks the less it is able to engage in anxiety-driven behaviours. Other strategies may include addressing triggers by changing the visual access to barking targets, changing indoor/outdoor access and providing other sensory stimuli (e.g. dedicated digging pit or herb garden). Environmental interventions must be paired with behaviour modification for ultimate success.
Behaviour modification
If you don’t want me to bark, what should I do instead?
Behaviour modification is very different from training. Training centres on what your dog can do. Behaviour modification is not what your dog can do but how your dog feels when it is doing something. In all cases, the aim is for a lower level of emotional arousal.
All dogs with a barking problem have learnt that barking ‘works’ when they feel worried. Success for dog barking problems relies on teaching your dog an alternative response. Let your dog know what you want them to do instead of barking. Be specific. Kalmpets trainers can introduce you to a behaviour modification program that focuses on rewarding calmer behaviours but also how to teach your dog cues for interrupting barking behaviour and redirecting to a more desirable behaviour.
Medication
The brain is an organ. Any organ in the body can become diseased. Medication is sometimes indicated for behavioural disease. If the level of anxiety is prolonged and very high then medication may be considered. For this type of anxiety, your dog will operate as if on autopilot to survive the perceived threat. A hallmark of this is that your dog will not be able to respond to your request for quiet and calm. This is a sign of behavioural disease.
If medicine is needed then it should be used for the shortest time at the lowest dose.
Anti-bark devices
Punishing anxiety always makes it worse.
There is an overwhelming supply of stop-barking devices. None of them addresses the underlying cause of barking, all they seek to achieve is a decrease in the signs. These collars should not be used as punishing anxiety always makes it worse. In some dogs, these devices can cause aggression. These devices are a clear sign that we have no interest in what your dog has to say and why. Many countries have banned these devices. Queensland and WA are the only states where these devices are still legal.
Debarking
Following debarking a dog will still be able to bark although with the volume turned down. De-barking does not address the dog barking problem. Your dog may still be anxious or in pain and just unable to adequately vocalise. All other avenues should be addressed first.
Too often a barking problem comes to consult well after it first begun. Treating a barking problem early can save a dog’s life as well as salvage the human-animal bond.