Barking Mad!
The number
one reason why otherwise healthy dogs get put to sleep is barking. To can cause
a lot of stress to owners, create problems with neighbours and generally make
owning a dog a bad experience.
It is
normal for dogs to bark. It is part of the way they communicate and is an
important part of how they “evolved” to be useful to people, fulfilling a
security role. Barking when there is a noise at the edge of the dogs territory
or when someone comes to the front door can be considered normal, but should
still be managed and not excessive.
Problems
come when the barking is persistent, if the dog barks at every noise every
time, or if the dog is barking at antisocial hours.
Inappropriate
barking is something that needs a diagnosis and treatment. Just the same as
vomiting or diarrhea are symptoms of an underlying disease, barking can be a
sign of an underlying problem.
Inappropriate
barking can be caused by stress, boredom, anxiety, senility, overstimulation,
pain, or because the owner has “trained” the dog to bark by coming out to see
the dog every time it barks (for some dogs the owner coming out to tell them
off is better than the owner not coming out at all).
To treat
problem barking, a diagnosis needs to be reached. Working with your vet to
reach a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan is an important step. We tend to
approach barking in the following way:
1. Making sure there are no medical or
behavioural abnormalities contributing to the barking.
2. Ensuring the dog’s physical and
mental needs are being fully met, for example a nutritional diet and plenty of
exercise.
3. Determining why the dog believes
that barking is worthwhile.
4. Removing the reason why the dog
believes barking is worthwhile.
5. Working with a professional dog
trainer to teach the dog to be quiet when requested.
6. Learning how to use distraction
techniques to give the dog something better to do.
7. Teaching the dog how to relax using
reward-based training techniques.
The
importance of a diagnosis can’t be stressed enough. Some people just buy an
electric shock collar to stop barking, but if the dog is barking because of
anxiety or pain, a collar can make the problem worse and make the dog suffer.
As with any
other problem, early intervention tends to give the most rapid resolution of
barking related issues. Please talk to your vet if your dog’s barking is
causing problems. It may save your dogs life.
