Barking

Barking can be broken down into 5 categories.

Demand barking or request barking,  low threshold watchdog barking, frustration elicited, fear-based and under-stimulation barking.

Request barking is the dog asking for attention, door opening, give me food, etc.  One of the problems with request barking is that we like some types of request barking.  For example, your dog letting you know he needs to go outside for a potty trip.  When dogs bark, most people react, looking at the dog, telling them quiet, etc.  What we are inadvertently doing is reinforcing the behavior.  Request barking is best stopped by repeated ignoring.  Don’t give the dog any attention whatsoever!  Even a slight twitch or dirty look is sometimes all the dog needs to continue.

Watchdog barking is common for most dogs.  We can start by putting the behavior on cue, “speak” or “bark”, maintain barking on cue with praise and then cue “quiet”, “enough” and reinforce with something more potent then praise.  Once the dog understands “speak” and “quiet” on cue, start introducing harder stimuli to work with.  Another option is to have the dog pick up and hold an item on cue, go to a certain place in the house, or do a down stay (most dogs do not bark in a down). 

Frustration elicited barking or thwarting is usually caused when a dog wants to do a certain behavior but is prevented by either a leash, fence, crate, etc.  Frustration barking is best worked with by increasing the dog’s distance from the stimulus.  Redirect the dog’s attention away from the stimulus to you or an object.  

Fear based barking should always be addressed from a positive reinforcement direction.  Whenever we are talking about fear, we don’t want to compound the problem by punishing the dog.  We need to change the way the dog feels about whatever it is he is afraid of.  Fear based barking is best treated by pairing the stimulation with food.  Starting at a good distance and slowly moving closer to the stimulus.  Once we change the way the dog feels about the stimulus, the barking will go away. 

Under-stimulation barking, also called boredom barking, needs to be addressed by adding more stimulation to the dog’s life.  Most under stimulation barking is with dogs that are mostly, or entirely outdoor.  Dogs love to be stimulated and it is our responsibility as a dog owner to give our dogs things that cause mental and physical stimulation.  Exercise is most important to dogs and a growing 1-5 year old dog needs between 3-5 miles of exercise a day.  Exercise is best done in the morning when the dog is most active.