Tips On How To Understand Your Dogs Barking And Deal With It
Some dog owners appear to want their dogs to stop barking…period! A dog is usually seeing as good dog if she is a quiet one…and the only time that barking is allowed is when there’s a strange man or clambering in through your bedroom window. Dogs on her part see barking quite differently. Your dog has a voice and need to be heard, just like you do, and she uses it just how you do too to send some message to the people she cares about. I do not consider barking to necessarily mean a bad thing.
Actually, I think it’s a good thing that my dog wants to communicate to me, in as much that I can overlook the extremely loud qualities of his voice. This, in enclosed spaces, is positively overpowering in favor of his desire to talk with me. It’s the idea that counts…even though I feel better prepared to stand by this obsolete belief when my ears are covered safely behind industrial quality ear plugs. Unfortunately, the language barrier between dogs and humans is just broad, which implies, it’s up to us to use the context, the body language of our dogs to understand her volley of barks.
So why do dogs bark? Of course It’s not easy to say. Why? Because, it’s like trying to answer the question, “Why do human beings talk?” in so many words. Ok, we can start here by saying that dogs bark for various reasons. And many of it is determined by the breed. Some dogs were trained to bark only when she perceived a threat.
This is especially associated with guarding breeds, like Rottweilers, Dobermans, and German Shepherds. Some dogs were trained to use their voices as a tool of sorts, to assist their owners in pursuit of a common goal. Sporting breeds such as Beagles and Bloodhounds are trained to ‘bay’ when they scent the quarry, and some dogs just like to hear themselves talk. Imagine just about any of the toy breeds as an example of a readily-articulate dog!
However, setting all breed aside, there are some instances where just about any dog can bark…may be she’s bored, she’s lonely, she’s hungry, or knows it’s time for a meal. Again may be something is wrong/someone is near the house, she’s inviting you to play, she sees another animal, and she needs the toilet. If your dog is barking for any of these reasons, it’s not really realistic for you to try to stop her. After all, she’s a dog, and it’s the nature of all dogs to bark at certain times and in certain situations.
Let’s assume you were aware of this when you adopted your friend and, if absolute silence was high on your list of priorities, then you had better have bought a pet rock, right? Of course, there are times when barking isn’t only unwarranted, but undesirable. Some dogs can use barking as a way of manipulation.
Take this scenario into consideration…you’re lying on the couch reading an interesting topic on a paper. Your dog awakes from a nap and decides it’s time for a game. Now she picks up her ball, runs to you, and drops it in your lap…and you never cared but keep on reading.
After a second of confused silence, she pushes your hand with her nose and barks once, loudly. You looked at her…she takes the ‘play-bow’ position, elbows near the floor, bottom in the air, tail waving and pants attractively at you. You return to your newspaper, she barks again, loudly and when no response is drawn, barks again. This time, she keeps it up.
After a minute or thereabout of this, sighing, you put down your paper. Peace and quiet is evidently not going to be a component of your evening, after all, picks up the ball, and take her outside for a game of fetch. And immediately she stops barking. I’m sure you’re aware that respect is an essential part of your relationship with your dog. You respect her, which you shown by taking good care of her in spite of the convenience of doing so, feeding her nutritious and tasty food, and showing your affection for her in ways that she understands and enjoys.
In order for your dog to be worthy of your respect, she has to respect you as well. Something that many kind-hearted souls struggle to agree with is that dog ownership is not about equality. It’s about you being the boss, and her being the pet. Simple! Dogs are not children; they are very much at home and best-behaved when they know that you are in charge. A dog has to respect your leadership to be a happy, well-adjusted, and well-behaved pet.
In the scenario above, there wasn’t display of respect by the dog. She wasn’t ordinarily inviting her owner to play but rather was harassing her owner into play. In fact, I’d even say bullying. Worse still, the behavior was being reinforced by the owner’s agreement. So effectively, giving in to this behavior taught her that to get what she wants; she has to make a noise. And so she has to keep it up until her goal is realized.
Affection and play times are simply necessary aspects of life with a dog. But they have to be given out on your own term and conditions. If she discovers that she can get what she wants through barking, of course then your house is going to become a Noisy Zone (and this is not going to be welcomed to your neighbors, either).
So to avoid this bullying behavior in your dog from assuming a familiar role in her means of communications, you have to prove to her that you can’t easily be manipulated. And it’s simple to do this. All you have to do is ignore her. I don’t meant about passive ignorance, where you pay her no attention and simply continue with whatever it was you were doing. You really need to take more of an active role.
This implies making it known to her through your body language that she is not worthy of your attention when she acts in such an undesirable manner. The best bet and most effective thing for you to do here is to give her the cold shoulder. Whenever she starts to ‘bark you’ into doing something for her, simply don’t give her your attention…back on her straight away. Get up, avert your eyes and face, and turn around so your back is towards her. Don’t look at her, and don’t talk to her, not even a “no”. She’ll probably be puzzled by this, and will likely bark harder. This is particularly true if you’ve succumb in to her bully-barking before now. The more times you’ve reinforced the behavior, the more persistent she’s going to be.
In fact, the barking certainly will be worse-off before it gets better. In any case, it has worked for her the past…so it’s quite understandable that she’ll expect it to work again. Virtually in all aspects of dog training, consistency is inevitably important. You must make sure that you don’t change your mind halfway through and give in to what she wants. Why? Because by doing so, you’re teaching her to be really, really persistent. She’ll say, “ok, so I just need to bark for twelve minutes instead of six to get a walk,” is the message she’ll get.
But what can you do in other situations where bullying isn’t an issue and you just want her to stop the racket? If you want to get the message sent that you’d like her to stop barking and be quiet. The most effective thing you can do is to use your hands. No, No, I’m not talking about hitting her… this is a perfectly humane, use impact- and pain-free method of send to her that what you need right now is peace and quiet.
Here’s what you can do: When she’s barking, give her a second to ‘get it out of her system’. It’s a lot ok, and a lot more alright, to give her a chance. However, brief to express herself before asking her to keep shut. If she doesn’t calm down under her own steam, reach out and clasp her muzzle gently, but firmly, in your hand. At this time, she’ll try to shake you off, or back away, in order you can place your other hand on her collar to give you greater control.
This method is useful for two reasons. First, it effectively calm down the barking since no dog, no matter how loud, can bark with her mouth shut! Second, it reinforces your authority – you’re showing her through direct physical action that you’re a kind and helpful but firm leader who will tolerate no nonsense. And who won’t balk when it comes to implementing your guidance. Hold onto her muzzle and collar until she’s stopped trying to break free.
It’s only when she calms down and stops twisting does it signifying that she’s accepted your authority. When she’s calms down, hold on for one or two more seconds, and then let her go and praise her. In addition to this short-term fix, there are also a few things you can do to reduce your dog’s need to bark in the first place.
The number-one cause for unwanted barking, as in, the kind of barking that’s frequent and is directed at nothing is nervous, agitated energy…the kind she gets from not getting enough exercise. Most dogs function is always at her best with one and a half hours’ exercise every day, which is a considerable time commitment for you.
Of course, this varies from dog to dog, depending on factors like breed, age, and general level of health. You may think that your dog is getting as much exercise as she needs, or at least as much as you can possibly afford to give her. But if her barking is associated with an agitated behavior – fidgeting, perhaps acting more aggressively than you’d expect or want, restlessness, destructive behavior, then she almost definitely needs more.
Fortunately enough, the fix for this behavior problem is pretty simple. You’ll just have to exercise her more. You may have to try getting up a half-hour earlier in the morning…it’ll make a great difference. If this is not feasible for you, consider hiring someone to walk her in the mornings and/or evenings. And if this is still not ok by you too, you sure will just have to resign yourself to having a loud, frustrated, and agitated dog. Although even if you can resign her to this state remains to be seen.
The second most common cause of excessive vocalization in dogs is too much ‘loneliness’. Dogs are social animals and so needs lots of attention, lots of interaction, and lots of communication. Without which, they become anxious and on edge. If you’re at home with your dog, you’re not paying attention to her, and she’s spending a lot of time barking at what seems to be nothing, she’s probably bored and lonely and would benefit from a healthy dose of affection and attention.
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About the Author
I’m Alphonsus Isusu, an Internet Marketer who is keen at sharing what I know to others and always ready learn from others too. I believe that nobody is an island of knowledge. Thanks for reading.
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