Like many dog behaviour problems the amount of dog barking that an owner will accept varies from person to person. Some owners prefer their dogs to be almost silent; others are more relaxed when it comes to their dog’s noisy outbursts.
A good starting point when considering your dog’s barking is to accept that this is how your dog is attempting to communicate with you – it’s not his intention to annoy you.
Like many other areas it’s important to try to work out what your dog is trying to communicate through what you may perceive as annoying barking. To do this we’ll need to understand when our dog barks and take note of any additional body language that he is using when he barks.
There are some common circumstances where most dogs will bark. These include when they’re hungry, when a stranger is near their house, when they see another dog or animal, or if they need to outside, for instance to go to the toilet. These are the sort of situations that most owners will accept their dogs’ barking.
What Causes Excessive Barking?
The main reason for problem barking, which appears to have to no purpose, is excessive nervous energy. This is normally due to the dog not getting enough exercise. The amount of exercise our dogs need varies as it will depend on the actual breed, how old our dog is and its health. This kind of excessive energy can also show itself if our dog is fidgety, overly aggressive or destructive.
On paper this is perhaps one of the easiest problems to solve as we will basically have to exercise our dog more often. Even an extra half an hour per day could be sufficient to produce a calmer and quieter dog.
If you’re unable to spend more time exercising your dog then you may wish to consider hiring someone to do this for you. Professional dog walkers offer this kind of service. Alternatively you may find that a neighbor’s children will be happy to do this for a small fee.
A common reason for excessive barking, which is often made worse by this lack of exercise, is that a dog spends too much time on its own. It’s important to remember that dogs are pack animals and that they need and enjoy regular social interaction. This is one of the reasons that dogs have been able to develop such a strong bond with humans. We all lead busy lives and it can be hard to juggle our various responsibilities. It’s important however to allow plenty of time for fun interaction with our dog as this will stop them getting bored and anxious.
For more help and advice on how to stop your barking dog please check out part 2 of this article – stop dogs barking