Salutations!
Do you ever have one of those days where your dog is barking as if his life depended on it, over and over, all day and all night? Does he (or she) bark at every leaf that falls in the yard, or at every person that walks by?
If you do, or have had one in the past, then you know what I'm talking about. That kind of barking goes beyond the normal "there's someone at the door", "I'm so happy to see you!", "Hey I want to go over there and see that gal down the street!" kind of barking. Dogs that bark like this do so for three main reasons.
They are
1. Not enough exercise. 2. Boredom. 3. Loneliness.
Others could include breed (as some hounds are bred to sound off when they get on the scent trail of game (prey)), expressions of emotion, warnings, and many others . What I'm discussing today is behavior that, when taken to extremes, can cause you to lose friends/neighbors, get the police/animal control called, get cussed out after the umpteenth night without sleep, get fined for a dog with a nuisance bark, or make you give up your dog to the shelter or worse.
This type of behavior, if caught in the early stages, can be easily corrected and that pent up energy can be redirected. If it has been going on long enough to become an established habit, it will take a bit more work on the part of the pet parent to correct. Because harsh corrections or bark collars which give an electrical jolt aren't effective in the long run, and even worse, for sensitive dogs, can make them shy or fearful, I don't recommend them. Since surgical silencing has it's own set of physical complications, I recommend a more thoughtful approach.
The first thing is exercise and mental stimulation to deal with too much energy and boredom. If a dog is getting enough of both, he will be too tired to bark and not care so much that there is a leaf that just fell in the yard because of that squirrel up in the tree taunting him with thrown nuts and insults. Depending on the size of the dog, and his breed, this could be as simple and a 30 minute walk down the street, or a hour-long hike with a full dog backpack. The best time to get in this exercise is when you get him up in the morning, to burn off some of those barking-calories, and again in the evening to tire him out before bed. If he's been trained, simply practicing his training exercises (and introducing a new trick or two) for an hour will work his brain muscle and tire him out mentally as well. I can't tell you how hard it is not to smile when my customers tell me they went home from their first lesson and their dog/puppy slept for two hours without twitching, especially since we do very little moving around in the first class!
The second recommendation I have is to teach your dog when it is OK to bark and when his job is done. In other words, if he is alerting you of someone coming to the door, 1 or 2 barks is fine, for which you praise him, then tell him to be quiet. Teaching the "Quiet" command requires timing your treats and knowing how to interrupt his barking so you can reward him appropriately for stopping. Smacking him across the head or butt will only make him afraid of you or make him think he didn't bark enough for you, not teach him to control himself. And it is self-control we are striving for. We want our dogs to learn to think for themselves what is the right thing to do. That way, we don't have to keep yelling "Shut Up!". He will do it himself and be happy he did a good job for you. As with most behaviors, it's best to be taught this in person by a professional trainer.
The third recommendation deals with loneliness. Dogs who act out due to loneliness are a little more challenging because, unless you want to get another dog, you have to solve this issue through training, mental stimulation, and environmental control. Exercise is again, one of the keys. A tired dog is a sleepy one, and one who is less likely to spend his day barking at the wall waiting for you to get home. One method I have used with some success is to have the owner make a recording (CD) of their voice and play it while they are away, or leave the radio on on soft music or a talk station. In addition, leave a piece of old clothing you don't want in your dog's bed, so he has your recent scent close by. Also, pheromone collars or diffusers work well here in combination with other things. Another solution I like is to take a rubber KONG (TR) toy, turn it upside down and put foil over the hole in the little end, then fill it up with a mushy food and freeze it until solid. This gives him something to keep his mouth occupied for a bit while you are gone.
An alternative, which is effective although does cost some money, is to hire a dog walker to take your dog out during the day for a nice hour long walk. Another solution would be to enroll him in doggie daycare, where he won't be alone.
Improving the Human-Dog bond, one post at a time :-)
Stephanie Ray,
B.S., M.S., Animal Sciences,
Certified Dog Training Instructor
No comments:
Post a Comment