My dog barks (too) much
We all know that dogs bark; it is natural behavior for a dog. However, in some cases, a dog may bark excessively, which can have unpleasant consequences. Barking can cause disturbance and irritation for the neighbors. In extreme cases, persistent barking can lead to visits from animal control or the police. Naturally, you want to avoid this at all costs.
Why does my dog bark?
Dogs don’t bark without reason; they do it to express themselves. If you listen carefully to your dog’s barking, you will hear different types of barks. By paying attention to the tone of the bark and observing your dog’s body language, you can figure out why your dog is barking. Once you understand the reason behind the barking, you can look for a solution to excessive barking. Below are various reasons/causes for a dog to bark.
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Happy/excited
If your dog barks when happy or excited, you can recognize this by the high-pitched tone of the bark. Often, your dog will bark quickly and several times in a row. In many cases, your dog will come running toward you wagging its tail vigorously or walk around you. -
Attention
If your dog wants to get attention, it may also bark. The dog will bark a few times in a row, look at its owner (or the source from which it wants attention), and then bark a few more times. This is a ‘normal’ bark from the dog. -
Play
In various situations, a dog may bark when it wants to play. This could be when throwing a ball or playing with another dog. The dog will stand in front of you or the other dog and bark sharply several times. During play, your dog may lower its front legs (with its rear end in the air), wag its tail vigorously, or make quick movements to encourage the other to play. -
Stress or frustration
When a dog barks due to stress or frustration, it may be related to separation anxiety or boredom. If it is separation anxiety, the dog will bark when left alone in a room or when home alone. This barking only stops when the owner returns. The bark often sounds monotonous and continues until the dog is no longer alone. In some cases, the barking may end in howling. -
Defense
When a dog feels threatened, whether by a person or another dog, it may bark sharply, shortly, and heavily. Sometimes this barking is accompanied by growling; this often happens when the warning bark is ignored. The dog will face forward and may attack if it feels it needs to defend itself, its territory, or its owner. -
Fear
When your dog is fearful, this is often accompanied by clear body language. The dog will not only bark sharply and high-pitched (often continuously), but it will also try to move away from the source of fear and will be restless. -
Hunting
Hunting dogs may show their excitement during a hunt by barking and whining or yelping when they see prey. The bark a dog makes during hunting has high tones. -
Pain
When a dog is in pain, it may emit a fearful bark due to shock. This is often followed by whining and squeaking.
How do you teach your dog to stop excessive barking?
Teaching a dog to stop excessive barking starts when the dog is still a puppy. Of course, not every bark should be forbidden. If the dog is happy, scared, or playing, it makes no sense to forbid barking. The dog, like humans, needs to be able to express itself. Only when it becomes a problem, such as barking when the dog is left alone or when it doesn’t get its way, is it necessary to correct the dog. This requires consistency. Every time the dog barks without a necessary reason, the behavior must be disapproved. You do this by punishing the barking with a vocal command. This can be “no!” or “stop,” or by making a loud noise, such as shaking a can. The vocal command must override the barking.
When the dog stops barking after the command, it is crucial to reward the dog. This way, the dog learns what the command means and that stopping barking brings a reward. It is very important to be consistent here. So don’t say “no” one time and let the dog do as it pleases the next. That is very confusing and often produces the opposite result.
Additionally, it is important to teach the dog from a young age to be alone. Being alone is often a cause of excessive barking. Therefore, leave your puppy alone for a few minutes and gradually increase this time; you can read more about this in this blog: building up being alone. This way, the dog learns from a young age that being alone is not a problem.
Note: If your dog barks to defend itself, it is important not to punish this type of barking. Often, this form of barking is a warning. If the source continues to provoke the dog, the dog may attack. If you punish a defensive bark, the dog may skip this warning bark in the future and go straight to attacking (without any warning in the form of barking beforehand).
