May have anxiety or senile dementia
All dogs bark , at least the majority. That’s a fact. And pretending that they don’t is a chimera. Unlike cats, who barely meow, and have to have a very strong reason to meow, our friends the dogs have a thousand reasons to communicate through barking and make themselves noticed.
Now, if your pet barks constantly and for any reason, it may be due to a behavioral problem that you should consult with a veterinarian or an ethologist, that is, an expert in animal behavior.
why do the dogs bark?
The barking of dogs can mean different things depending on the situation and the context in which they emit this sound, a type of vocal communication that they use to communicate with other conspecifics or with us. The most common reasons, are:
- Defense of its territory. If another animal or a person enters an area that our dog considers to be his, the dog will bark to warn and drive away the possible enemy. As the supposed threat approaches, the barking will become louder and more constant.
- Noises. The sound of the elevator, the neighbor’s door or any other noise can make him startle, and he will react by barking. This form of defense can be done anywhere, whether it is your territory or not.
- Loneliness and boredom. It is another of the reasons why many dogs bark, especially if they are left alone at home. This domestic animal is a pack being, which needs to be accompanied. Spending long hours alone can cause boredom, anxiety, and behavior problems such as barking.
- Joy. Dogs don’t always bark because they feel lonely, afraid or alert, barking is also a way of expressing their joy and communicating with you. For example, they may bark when you get home because they are happy, when you play with them, to get your attention, when they ask for a treat or when it is time to eat…
- Separation anxiety. As we said, many dogs, especially if they have not been taught to be alone at home, suffer from anxiety that can manifest itself with compulsive barking, howling, destructive behavior, etc. Separation anxiety is a problem that reduces the quality of life and the health of your pet, as well as being a disorder for neighborhood coexistence. That is why it must be treated.
My dog barks at other dogs
It is not always due to a question of aggressiveness. In fact, many dogs use barking to encourage other dogs to play. If they do it in a context of freedom, without pulling on the leash and without showing anxiety and the partner responds to the game, it is not convenient for us to intercede. Now, a dog can bark at others out of fear, frustration, or because he really is aggressive. To do?
“Good socialization is essential to prevent our dog from behaving aggressively with its peers. The ideal is to do it from a puppy. But if we have our adult pet, we can train it to relax and not see other dogs as a threat “.
The keys so that our furry dog does not bark and ends up enjoying the company of other dogs are:
- Knowledge. Knowing what your dog is afraid of, in what situations he barks at other dogs, if he does it at night, for example, or close to home. Or if he has a ‘mania’ for certain breeds or sizes, he will help you get ahead, prevent this behavior or find tools to treat it.
- Stress management. Socializing your dog does not mean taking him to the park and forcing him to interact with other dogs, the more the better. This can cause you more stress . In fact, if your pet is aggressive or barks incessantly when it meets other dogs, it is best to spend several weeks getting rid of this stress. For example, going through areas or walking at times when it is not usual to find more dogs. When yours is calmer, you can expose him little by little, trying to get him to interact with calmer animals at first so that he gains confidence.
- Mind stimulation. Your dog needs walks, but he also needs games that stimulate his intelligence , since it will help him calm down. You can use toys specially designed for it, hide his food so that he can look for it at home, etc.
- Reward him. Every time your dog comes across another animal, get his attention and give him a treat, while trying to calm him down. If your dog barks, perhaps the approach is too much for him or you have reacted too late. Take note of these situations to get ahead. Giving him his favorite food when around other dogs will help him focus on you instead of reacting by barking.
How to teach your dog to stop barking?
So that your dog does not bark, the important thing is to prevent. Therefore, it is essential that your pet receives a good education from puppyhood . A good training in which the basic commands are contemplated will be crucial for your pet to become a balanced dog without behavioral problems such as barking.
But, what if you adopt your pet as an adult? In this case, the most appropriate thing is that you seek the help of a professional to help you adapt to the new home, especially if he has a barking problem.
If a dog barks from time to time but if you tell it to shut up, it does, we should not consider it a problem. However, when an animal does not obey and continues to bark non-stop, we should consult a professional to help us. treat this behavior.
Yelling, for example, doesn’t help , as it can encourage your pet to bark more. Therefore, the first rule to stop your dog from barking is to use a firm but calm command. For example, say ‘quiet’ but without yelling while you put your finger to your lips so that your pet associates this gesture with an action.
When a dog obeys one of our orders, it is normal to reward it. However, in this case you have to be careful, warns the veterinarian, since the dog could interpret that you are rewarding the action of barking. Ideally, say a soft word like ‘nice boy’ and continue acting normal.
In the event that this behavior is repeated when you are not at home, it is advisable to record or observe it using a remote surveillance camera to find out in what situations it barks. If we observe that these are very specific moments, such as when our neighbor enters his house, but we see that our pet does not suffer from separation anxiety, we can resort to an anti- bark collar that emits a small vibration. These collars don’t have a very good reputation, and the ideal is not to have to resort to them, but sometimes they can help us. And, in fact, there are dogs that learn it the first time they shouldn’t bark at home and it’s not need to put it back on.
How to help calm anxiety
As we said, some dogs can suffer from separation anxiety, a problem that can manifest itself with barking. To treat this behavior problem, the help of a professional veterinarian who is an expert in animal behavior is necessary, who will give you the guidelines to gradually modify this disorder.
If the problem is still not very serious, you can resort to some food toys that will help calm your dog while you are away from home. As the positive training expert, explains, these toys will also help them not to get bored and prevent damage at home.
Why does he bark for no reason?
If your pet is older (over 9 years old) and begins to have different behaviors, such as barking for no reason or at odd hours, it is possible that he is suffering from something similar to what we can suffer from: dementia or cognitive impairment .
Unreasonable barking is a symptom that our dog is getting older and it is advisable that we discuss it with our veterinarian, since there are treatments that can help our pet.
In addition to this symptom, cognitive impairment in dogs usually also manifests itself with problems with incontinence, sleep, or wandering around the house.
It must be remembered that it is not a disease, but a consequence of the passage of time, but that there are ways to slow down or improve brain activity, says the expert. On the other hand, she points out that dogs do not usually use barking when they feel bad. If an owner suddenly notices that his dog is barking for no reason, and especially if he is older, he should tell his veterinarian. But he should not be scared since it is not usually a sign of illness, because it is not usually a way of manifesting pain. And if the dog is young, it is usually a behavior problem.
Mistakes That Can Make You Bark More
Finally, it is important to review our behaviors that can reinforce our dog to bark more. And it is that, inadvertently, we may be favoring this behavior:
- If he barks to defend his territory. As we said at the beginning, dogs bark to defend the area they consider to be theirs. And we often reinforce this behavior without realizing it. For example, leaving spaces through which our pet can see. Therefore, the ideal is that the fence we use is made of wood or contains a material that prevents our pet from gossiping. The same goes for windows. If we want to prevent him from barking at the neighbors, it is convenient that we prevent him from being able to access the windows and look through them if the barking becomes uncontrollable
- If he barks for joy. When our dog barks when we get home or jumps on us and we show affection and respond to this behavior, we are reinforcing it. For this reason, experts recommend letting a while pass until our pet calms down and, then, caressing it.
- If he barks because he wants to eat. It is a case very similar to the previous one. If he is demanding his food with his barking because the time has come, we must wait for him to calm down.
- If he barks out of boredom. A tired dog is a calm dog. Therefore, another mistake that we often make is to limit the walks with our animals, without realizing that they need to exercise to release energy. In fact, if our companion animal does not go out enough or have fun and, in addition, spends many hours alone, it is possible that it develops this type of behavior problem.
