7 ways to stop your dog barking!
Barking is a natural dog behaviour. It's one of the ways they communicate with us (and each other) but when it becomes incessant it can lead to problems. It can be frustrating, exhausting and affect the relationship you have with your dog (and your humans!).
Read on to discover some effective strategies and useful techniques to stop your dog from excessive barking!
First things first - Why do dogs bark?
(and no, it's NOT dominance!)
Barking can be a coping strategy for an emotion they are feeling - usually fear, excitement or frustration. Barking can also be a form of goal-directed communication - essentially your dog is barking because they want to achieve a particular outcome (e.g. I need to wee outside! I want that piece of food in your hand! I want to get out of my crate!)
Some super important points to note first before we get started:
Dog behaviour is COMPLEX and is affected by a number of different things.
If your dogs barking is a sudden change in their (otherwise quiet) behaviour - please see your veterinarian to make sure there are no underlying health issues.
Every dog is an individual - there is no one size fits all solution to any behaviour struggle - so it's always best to seek tailored advice from a qualified trainer (like me!) and/or a clinical animal behaviourist.
1) Keep a bark log!
It's a good idea to keep a barking “diary” so that you can measure your dog’s progress and their transformation. Sometimes we get stuck in the old version of our dog and we don’t recognise this new version that is now capable of making much better decisions!
The diary also makes you much more aware of what is happening.
Things to keep a record of include:
When did the barking start? When did it finish?
The type of barking and the suspected cause (e.g. barking out of the window at the postman/postlady)
What was your initial response to the barking? Did this settle them down or did they start barking again?
2) Catch them doing something right!
Dogs become more of what they do every day. What they rehearse they become. If they are (currently) practising barking every day, then they become more barky! So, we need to turn this fact to our advantage. The more they are reinforced (rewarded) for a particular decision they have made (e.g. being calm, being silent, disengaging from another dog) the more they will make that choice in the future! Winner!
3) Create calm situations
If you are one of my existing clients you will know how often I talk about the concept of calmness. Ask yourself right now - How calm is my dog? Spoiler alert - a calm dog doesn't bark when you expose them to particular events (scary or exciting).
Things that cause your dog not to be calm
Day-to-day events that are positive (exciting!) or negative (frustrating/worrisome) can all have an impact on your dog’s stress levels. "Stress" in this context can be positive (super fun) or negative (going to the groomers) and is individual for each dog.
Barking can be a symptom of a full stress “bucket”. As the stress (bucket) fills - barking will increase. Which of the following could be filling your dog’s “bucket”?
Physical health can pay into their bucket. Itching, pain, GI upsets, allergies….the list goes on.
If your dog has had a stressful day because they've been to the vets and they have chased a squirrel in the park - do they need to go to the pub tonight or could they be left at home to rest and recharge? Geeky fact - did you know it takes up to 72 hours for a dog's arousal level to return to normal after a stressful event!
Spend some time thinking of the events or situations that happen in a week that could potentially be adding to your dog stress/arousal levels and consider what your options are in relation to those. These could be distractions (the delivery driver coming over), lifestyle choices like group classes or a long walk where there are loads of other dogs, going to doggie day care or having visitors over.
Sometimes there are things in our dogs' lives that are not good for them at this particular time. Is there a walk that you really like BUT is just so stressful/arousing for your dog that you just need to stop going there for a short time? Think: “is this right for my dog at this time”?
Perhaps you take your dog to the weekly agility class which you know will create (positive) stress for them, but there are things you can do to reduce those stress levels;
such as giving them a long-lasting chew when it's not their turn. Or, you take them out of the arena when it's not their turn so they can have a sniff!
4) Invest in stress reducing activities
Give your dog lots of passive calming activities (lick mats, kongs, safe long lasting chews, puzzle feeders).
Make sure they rest - away from all of the many choices they make. Dogs need around 15 hours sleep a day - is your dog getting that? If they are - is it undisturbed?
Does your dog have a calm place to be? Invest in teaching your dog to value being on their bed/in their crate. To increase the value of the bed - reward them for any interactions with their bed, then reward them when they pop any paws on the bed, and finally reward them when all 4 paws are on the bed. Do some ninja feeding - pop a treat down on the bed when your dog is not looking so they start thinking “hey, this is a great place to be, I keep being fed on here!”
5) Train your dog to disengage from distractions
We want our dogs to think, in the face of distractions, “that scary/exciting thing is none of my business”
The most basic way of teaching this is by marking using a calm word (OR using a clicker - there will be a blog about this so keep a lookout for it!) and rewarding them when your dog sees/hears something (e.g. someone walks past the window, you drop the remote control on the floor, a car pulls up outside (etc).
It goes something like this. Your dog notices a van pull up outside, you mark this ‘event’ with a calm word like “good” (OR a clicker) and then calmly deliver a reward.
Repeat this for many different events and eventually your dog will start to see all of these events as no big deal and stop reacting to them.
Top Tip: Always have some treats on you for moments when they don't react to something and you can then reward that good choice!
6) Management (an essential training adjunct!)
If your dog always barks when he sees next door’s cats out of the window - consider closing the curtains/getting some frosting on the bottom of the glass whilst you work on their struggles.
Remember - dogs become more of what they do every day so breaking that cycle of “I see cat at window and I bark” will help!
7) Investing in your relationship with your (barky!) dog
There is no doubt that having a dog that barks incessantly is a real strain on your relationship. It's important to think of your bond with your dog as a bank account where every interaction serves as either a deposit or a withdrawal. Deposits (remember these are unique to your dog) include positive experiences like playing, petting, training, or exploring together, while withdrawals are perceived negatives such as vet visits, nail clipping, or car rides. It's important to prioritise positive interactions to maintain a healthy balance. By consistently depositing fun and caring moments, you build a strong foundation of support, fun, and companionship that can offset inevitable withdrawals and keep the relationship flourishing. Yipee!
Whilst the diary is super important - try not to get too hung-up on the exact reason your dog barks. Just think “ is this a way of them coping with an emotion” or “is it goal-directed”? If it's the former - teach them the skills they need to cope (calmness, disengagement etc)
If its goal is directed - teach them an alternative way to achieving that goal. For example - if they want to go out the back door - why not teach them how to ring a bell!
Remember you will have good days and you will have bad days. Behaviour improves at an average rate of improvement (small ups & downs but generally on an upwards trajectory) but there will be clues that your dog is improving!
If you enjoyed reading this blog, please share it far and wide and follow me on socials! If you live in Hampshire and want some bespoke training or behaviour advice - email me at sarah@barkerandhounddogtraining.com I would be delighted to help
Sarah-Jane x