BY FRAN JEWELL
“What do we bark for?”
“FOOD!”
“When do we bark?”
“NOW!”
“What do we bark for?”
“Attention!”
“When do we bark?”
“NOW!!!”
Sound like the mantra at your house? Truthfully, there is nothing more annoying to neighbors than a dog barking for recreation, or overreacting to people walking by the house, or barking for a plethora of other reasons. I see people with dogs that bark when they are on the phone, or on their computer.
Once a dog learns he gets something from barking, it is incredibly difficult to stop. If the dog wants a cookie and he barks at the cookie jar, and then is given a cookie, it may never stop. You might as well be teaching him to sit.
Every time a dog barks there is something behind it. Once we discover the reason for that particular bark, it becomes easier to stop. But, the best course of action is to never acknowledge barking from a puppy and to REWARD quiet behavior. If a puppy barks to get out of a crate and you accommodate him, you may never get him back into a crate without a temper tantrum. Getting out was the reward for barking. Once a puppy barks for food, and you accommodate him, he will almost always bark for food (a treat or dinner). If a puppy is barking for attention and you merely LOOK at him, you have empowered the barking. At first it can be cute to see a smart puppy telling you what he wants. But, over time, I have never met anyone that truly enjoyed an obsessive barking machine.
Some dogs or puppies are more determined than others when ignoring doesn’t work. This is where stopping becomes very difficult. It requires finding a consequence that is effective for THAT dog, but in a fashion that is not abusive or will require “damage control” afterwards. Consequences need to be swift, confident, fair and consistent, after which the dog must also be rewarded for the correct behavior of NOT barking for him to understand. Many times we forget to reward or we ignore the behaviors we DO want! A dog must have both fair consequences and positive reinforcement that is completely consistent if he will not respond to ignoring for that behavior.
With some dogs, it is very easy to replace bad behaviors with good behaviors. Other dogs are quite convinced that if it worked before, it will work again, and the bad behavior will continue, even escalate, without intervention.
You CAN have a quiet dog. Sometimes it takes a lot of work; other times, not so much. Each dog is individual, both in the reasons he barks and what he needs to learn to stop barking. But, a dog that is quiet and respectful is a JOY to live with!
Fran Jewell is an IAABC-certified dog behavior consultant, NADOI-certified instructor #1096 and the owner of Positive Puppy Dog Training, LLC, in Sun Valley. For more information, visit www.positivepuppy.com or call (208) 578-1565.