How can I stop my dog barking?

Barking is not really the problem in domesticated dogs. It’s stopping problem barking when you’ve had enough that causes the headaches!

Barking is natural for dogs. It’s a signal to the rest of the world and they often love doing it. They use it to communicate with other dogs and with people and we sometimes encourage them to bark when we want them to warn us of strange visitors or protect our homes. They may bark at your neighbours, bark at dogs and people passing your home, bark at you for attention and more. The way they feel affects why and how much they bark. They may bark if they’re excited, if they’re afraid, if something or someone approaches when they’re guarding, when they’re left alone to call back their owners to be with them, out of habit or out of boredom. Some dogs will bark a lot more than others and under different circumstances and the problem is that it can get worse over time.

Why won’t my dog stop barking?

Interestingly, wolves do not bark a lot, although they can learn a bark equivalent if kept with dogs. Their kind of barking is used as a warning to the pack and the rest of the pack will respond to this signal. On the whole it is lower ranking animals that are the most vocal. In dog terms, a dog that barks wildly is actually somewhat less likely to be aggressive and to actually bite than a silent animal.

The problems arise when your dog’s barking is excessive or if they won’t stop barking when you tell them to.

So how can you stop your dog barking? The first thing you need to do is to work out why your dog is barking. Different barks mean different things and some even sound different. It would not be a good idea to go about stopping the barking if, for example, they’re trying to tell you that they need to go out for a pee or that a suspicious stranger is just walking up the garden path!

They could be barking for many reasons:–

Loneliness

Trying to communicate something to you

Fear, generally or of something specific

Separation anxiety

Excitement

Aggression towards other dogs

Trying to get you to do something for them

Lack of socialisation with other dogs

Dalmation barking

It’s even possible that you have inadvertently rewarded your dog for barking in the past and that they’ve learned to do it more as a result.

Try to think about the situation from your dog’s point of view. If you give your dog a lot of attention when they bark or give affection thinking they may be upset, they are likely to think that you approve of what they are doing and do it even more, as they will assume you are rewarding them for barking. If you immediately put your dog inside the house for example, they may learn that barking is the way to be let in.

Barking is also what is known as self-reinforcing. The more dogs do it, the more inclined they are to do it some more, maybe because it relieves stress, gives them an adrenaline rush or because they have learned that it results in them getting something they want.

Fearful barking is common when dogs encounter unusual things or are taken by surprise. It isn’t always easy to be sure whether or not your dog is barking through nervousness or fear or whether it’s some other cause, and you may need to ask me to help you work out the cause.

Be vigilant and stay with your dog in the situations in which they tend to bark. If possible, until you have stopped the behaviour, or at least until you have it under control, don’t leave your dog unattended in situations in which you know they’ll bark because it is far more likely to become a habit when they are alone.

In your home and when your dog is calm, practise basic obedience instructions like Sit, Stay and Come. These skills are the foundation of a balanced relationship between you both and will help your dog to recognise you as someone they should respect and will encourage calm behaviour.

Teach your dog to focus on you and to respect your authority generally. Ask them to relax and look at you to reinforce this. Teaching impulse control and calmly insisting on good manners will all contribute towards making your dog more receptive to your training.

Make sure you give your dog plenty of exercise. Dogs are much less likely to want to spend time barking at something trivial if they are happy, tired and fulfilled after a good walk or after playing stimulating games at home.

If you know something is about to happen that your dog will react badly to, you can distract them immediately before it happens with an instruction to do something that is incompatible with barking, such as sniffing the ground for treats or looking at you. Alternatively,try to intercept the behavior by teaching your dog to do something else instead when they bark, such as sitting down (nearby or in their bed) or going to fetch something when the postman comes to the door. Your dog cannot bark easily with a mouthful of dog toy!

The methods described above can be helpful if your dog is afraid. If you are sure that the barking is caused by fear it is also valuable to demonstrate to your dog that the things they fear are not a problem. Try associating whatever it is that causes the problem with something positive.

Once you are sure that they are no longer afraid of what they’ve learned to bark at, you can try exposing them to it so often that they get bored with it and give up, a process known as ‘flooding’.

One very effective way to stop a barking dog is to train them to be quiet under instruction. If you yell at your dog to be quiet they are likely to think you are joining in, not trying to quieten them down!

You can do this by putting the behavior on cue. It may seem counterintuitive but if your dog will bark on cue you have a better chance of getting them to understand when to stop.

If your dog barks generally inside or outside the house, you may think they are barking at nothing, but the chances are they have some good reason in their mind. Check that they aren’t barking at something you can easily remove, such as a view from the window or something odd hanging in a tree.

Revisit your basic dog training together. For example, practise ‘Come’ ‘Sit’ and ‘Stay’ on instruction.

Try not to leave your dog alone outside and call them into the house immediately if they bark. If you are consistent with this and they have been trained well to come when called it is not unusual for dogs to learn that a bark should be followed by a dash to the door. Perfect!

If your dog barks to get your attention or does it to ask you to do something for them, the chances are they are ignoring your authority, and this should be addressed differently.

You need to reestablish this authority by teaching your dog good manners. It may even be that your dog feels responsible for you and that is a very onerous place to be as a dog, especially if they are not sure how to deal with the world. If you are confident that your dog is trying to demand something from you, completely ignore them when they bark at you. This means no touch, no eye contact and no speaking to them until they quieten down. You may need to be very patient and it might take several minutes but it does work if you are consistent because they will eventually get the message that it is not achieving what they want. When silence has descended at last, praise your dog to reinforce what you want from them.

Dogs who bark when they are excited can be a challenge to quieten down. Identify a time when you know your dog is likely to be excited at home, but when you can control the environment, and work to help them to understand that excited barking is not acceptable. For example, if your dog barks when you produce the lead for a walk, you have a great opportunity to do this. The second your dog barks, stop what you are doing and freeze, dropping the lead on the floor. Just wait for the excitement to subside, completely ignoring your dog and wait for them to display a behaviour that you do like, such as sitting down. Then, congratulate them calmly and carry on with your plans. Be prepared to do this many times before it has an impact. They will learn that the walk does not go ahead until they are calmly sitting down.

If your dog is barking because you have left them alone, think about whether or not they bark at you to get you to do things for them generally. If this is the case, they may well believe that barking loudly is the way to bring you home again, so you will need to work with your dog to help them to understand that you do not give them attention unless you want to, rather than when barked at.

Some dogs bark when alone because they are bored and it occupies the time. In this case make sure you give your dog long-lasting, high quality chews and toys to play with whilst you are away.

If your dog really is suffering from separation anxiety and panics when you leave them, they may need a programme of desensitisation and counterconditioning to accept being alone for a period of time. If this is the case, get in touch with me as soon as you recognise it. Separation anxiety can be a challenge to deal with effectively and you may well need support.

Sometimes it can help a dog to be exposed to the pheromones that a bitch produces to calm her puppies. These can be bought in a spray or a diffuser and can be effective in reducing anxiety and stress in some dogs, but rarely solve barking issues alone. Finally, some dogs with severe barking problems caused by separation anxiety can be supported by the use of medication in collaboration with your vet and behaviourist to help them to settle enough to be able to benefit from behaviour modification programmes.

However you approach the problem, be very patient and always consistent. Your dog doesn’t know that what they are doing is not what you want and it may take time to get this fact to register, whatever the cause of the barking. When they do obey you and are quiet, always praise and reward them.

Follow these guidelines and you will find yourself with a dog who knows when to bark and when to be quiet and is happy and content.