What to do when my dog barks?
This question might seem simple and the answer should be easy to find, however it is not that easy. First of all, a dog's behavior can have several meanings. For example, for barking, the dog could be anxious, fearful, excited, happy, hurt and could be looking for proximity, attention, food or access to something, etc. It is important to emphasize that barking is a normal behavior in dogs with the purpose of communicating something.
So how do you stop a dog from barking?
Well first of all, you have to find out why he is barking. A good prognosis is obtained by observing several aspects such as: what is the context, what the dog does before, after, how long has he been doing it, if there is something that triggered the behavior, what has changed in his life, when was the visit to the vet, how long has the barking lasted and when it occurs. Even after all this information, it is important to know that there is no guarantee that we know exactly what is going on in the dog's head.
Second, we ideally want to avoid or reduce exposure to the problem to reduce the barking. It can also happen that we simply add distance to the situation. Then, we need to use methods like desensitization and counter-conditioning. You can encourage alternative or incompatible behaviors. You can give the dog access to the resource at the right time. All this with the help of what motivates your dog! This could be food, toys, attention or even the environment. In some cases, it could be very important to use medication which is a great help for the dog's learning when emotions are too high.
It can be very difficult to put into practice the methods mentioned in this article, which is why it is recommended to call upon a dog trainer with up-to-date ethical training who is part of a group such as the Regroupement Québecois des Intervenants en Éducation Canine.
What should not be done?
What should be avoided in dog training is putting the dog in a situation that is too difficult, too stressful, which would immediately cause him to fail. What is also strongly discouraged is adding more stress or pain to our dog with behaviors such as yelling at him, hitting him, pushing him or intimidating him.
In conclusion
A dog barking can have several meanings and several solutions. It is necessary to look at several aspects of the dog's life to analyze the reason for the behavior. To proceed with a behavior change, it is necessary to manage or avoid the problem. Then, the ideal is to gradually find a way to change the association of the problem or to encourage other alternative or incompatible behaviors while looking at canine language. If it is an anxious dog, a dog that cries, a dog that howls a lot, medication may help the dog enormously in the situation. Finally, it is essential to avoid putting the dog in failure or adding more problems by yelling at the dog, hitting it, imposing pain or pressure on it.