When it comes
to barking
dogs, there are 2 types of people most affected…Owners that
wish
their dog knew when and when not to bark, and those poor souls who have
neighbors whose dog won't stop.
Understanding why dogs feel the need to bark in the first place, goes a
long way to solving the problems that come with it for an owner, or
offering creative solutions for those living next to a problem barker.
It's easy, and understandable to get upset at the dog itself, yet in
essence, your neighbors dog, or your own, has a voice just like you do,
and she uses it just as you would: to communicate something to the
people she cares about.
Unfortunately, the language barrier between dogs and humans is pretty
well impermeable, which means it’s up to us to use the
context,
the body language of the dog, and the circumstances of the vocalization
to parse meaning from a volley of barks.
So what is the reason dogs bark in
the first place? It’s not an easy question to answer,
it’s like trying to
answer the question, “Why do humans talk?” in so
many words. Let’s start off by
saying that dogs feel the need to communicate for many different
reasons.
A lot of it depends on the
breed:
some dogs were bred to bark only when there is a perceived threat. Such
is true
of guarding breeds in particular, like German Shepherds, Rottweilers,
and
Dobermans. Some dogs were bred to use their voices as a sort of tool,
to assist
their owners in pursuit of a common goal, like sporting breeds such as
Bloodhounds and Beagles, that are trained to ‘bay’
when they scent the quarry.
And some dogs just like to hear themselves talk, one can take just
about any of
the toy breeds as an example of a dog that can talk up a storm!
However, all breed
specificities
cast aside, there are specific reasons why most dogs bark, it's
because…
They're
lonely
They're bored
They're
hungry, or knows it’s time for a meal
Something
is wrong/someone is near the house
They're
inviting you to play
They
see or hear another animal
They
need to use the toilet
Of course, there are times
when
barking isn’t only unwarranted, it’s downright
undesirable. Just ask someone
how they liked being awakened, once again, in the middle of the night
by a dog
who cared less that they were sleeping! Needless to say, it doesn't
take long
to see how anger can build towards not only the dog, but towards the
owner,
even if that person happens to be you!
Considering the fact that
not all
dog barking is bad, and that most owners and neighbors WANT a dog to
bark if
someone is hurt or breaking into the house, it's the unwarranted,
untimely
"nuisance barking" that most people want stopped.
So how does one go about
stopping a
dog from barking? How do you gain control over the situation, whether
it be
your own dog or your neighbors? Here's some insight addressing both
situations…
Stop
Dog Barking…
Stopping
Your Own Dogs Barking Now!
Most dog owners know that respect is
an essential part of your relationship with your dog. You respect her,
which
you demonstrate by taking good care of her regardless 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 her to be
worthy of
your respect, she has to respect you, too. Something that many
kind-hearted souls
struggle to come to terms with is that dog ownership is not about
equality:
it’s about you being the boss, and her
being the pet. Dogs are
not children; they are most comfortable 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.
Unfortunately, many owners
"love" their dogs so much, that they can't bear to discipline them.
So the dog senses this and realizes that even through misbehaving
(barking in
this case) he can get what he wants, in a sense, bullying the owner.
To prevent this bullying
behavior in
your dog from assuming a familiar role in her repertoire of
communications, you
have to prove to her that you’re not the kind of person that
can be manipulated
so easily. It’s simple to do this: all you have to do is ignore
her. I’m
not talking about passive ignorance, where you pay her no attention and
simply
continue with whatever it was you were doing – you need to
take more of an
active role. This means conveying to her through your body language
that she is
not worthy of your attention when she acts in such an undesirable
manner.
The absolute best and most
effective
thing for you to do in this case is to give her the cold shoulder. When
she
starts trying to ‘bark you’ into doing something
for her, turn your 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
confused by this,
and will likely bark harder. This is particularly true if
you’ve given in to
her bully-barking in the past – the more times
you’ve reinforced the behavior,
the more persistent she’s going to be. In fact, the barking
will almost
certainly get a lot worse before it gets better – after all,
it’s worked for
her the past, so it’s understandable that she’ll
expect it to work again.
As in all aspects of dog
training,
consistency is very important. You must ensure that you don’t
change your mind
halfway through and give in to what she wants – because by
doing so, you’re
teaching her to be really, really persistent
(“OK, so I just need to
bark for ten minutes instead of five 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 across that you’d like
her to cease fire
and be quiet, the most effective thing you can do is to use your hands.
No, I’m not
talking about hitting
her: this is a perfectly humane, impact- and pain-free method of
conveying that
what you require right now is peace and quiet.
Here’s what you
do: when she’s
barking, give her a second to ‘get it out of her system,
it’s a lot kinder, and
a lot more effective, to give her a chance - however brief –
to express herself
before asking her to be quiet. If she doesn’t calm down under
her own steam,
reach out and clasp her muzzle gently, but firmly, in your hand.
She’ll try to
shake you off, or back away, so you can place your other hand on her
collar to
give you greater control.
This method is useful for
two
reasons: firstly, it effectively silences the barking since no dog, no
matter
how loud, can bark with her mouth shut! Secondly, it reinforces your
authority:
you’re showing her through direct physical action that
you’re a benevolent but
firm leader who will brook no nonsense, and who won’t balk
when it comes to
enforcing your guidance.
Hold onto her muzzle and
collar
until she’s stopped trying to break free: only when she calms
down and stops
wriggling does it mean that she’s accepted your authority.
When she’s still,
hold on for one or two more seconds, then let her go and praise her.
This is only one of many
long term
solutions and products available to stop dog barking.A comprehensive listing can be found
here…
Should your ears be the unlucky
recipient of a neighbors dog who doesn't know when to quit barking, you
have
more resources at your fingertips than you might think.
Unfortunately, you can't
force
another person to stop their own dog from barking. In light of this,
unless the
dog is trained for security work, and thus bark, your frustrations at
it's
barking should be directed at it's negligent owner, and not at the dog
itself.
Now mind you, this is not to
say
that behind every barking dog is an owner that doesn't care, many dogs
with
barking problems have kind and considerate owners. I am saying that if
that dog
isn't trained specifically to be a guard dog, yet barks way too much,
that in
many cases some form of neglect is taking place….thus
causing it to bark.
Is your neighbors
dog…
Left unattended for
long periods of time while the
owners at work?
Hardly ever exercised or played with?
Abused or taunted by the owner or the
owners
children?
Hungry for any attention and needs to
bark to get
it?
Or is their dog in need of
training?
There are many owners who want their dog to stop it's barking and are
aware of
it's problem, but not of training techniques required to get them to
stop.
So in order to stop dog
barking,
whether you own a dog that barks too much, or have a neighbors dog that
barks
too much, over the next 5 days you'll be receiving an e-mail that will
share
just a few of the secrets to stop these problems and achieve some peace
and
quiet in your life. Ahhh! peace and quiet!
Watch for your first e-mail
coming
to your mail box soon…If you'd like help immediately, you'll
probably be
interested in taking a look at Stop Dog Barking Now! It's a great A to
Z
resource when having to deal with a neighbors dog, or your own.
You can check out Stop Dog
Barking
Now! By clicking the link below:
