I love it when my dogs bark as someone drives up to the farm, and I’m not alone in appreciating being alerted by a dog. Masai villagers keep dogs, they told me, because they bark when lions try to break through the thorn bush barrier to kill their cattle. Tulip, our Great Pyrenees in years past, began low, deep barking whenever she heard coyotes. In addition, her barks saved her own life one cold and snowy night–she would have died if she hadn’t barked at just the right time to help us locate her, trapped under a log in the woods.
In other words, barking is good. It’s a wonderful way of communicating, from alerting us to visitors, to signaling “help!”, to intimating individuals with dangerous intents. So yup, barking is great. Until it’s not.
Few people have a problem with a dog barking a few times. It’s how to stop the barking once one has been alerted or warned that is the challenge. This must be the derivation of one of my favorite book titles ever: HELP! I’m Barking and I Can’t be Quiet, by Daniel Estep and Suzanne Hetts of Animal Behavior Associates. Of course, it’s not the dogs who are bothered by continuous barking. It’s us. When I recently asked blog readers what they’d like to talk about, “problem barking” was number one on the list.
Aware that too much barking is a problem for many of us, I thought it would be interesting to review what a range of experts say about the issue. I delved into all the books in my library that have sections on barking. Initially I was planning to review everyone’s advice but quickly realized that I could spend many hours doing so, and most everyone’s advice came down to a few suggestions, most of them very general. I’ll just summarize by saying I was a tad surprised at how little detail there actually is on teaching dogs to stop barking–lots of advice was so general that I doubt any novice training could use it effectively. But then, stopping a dog from barking isn’t easy. If it was, I suspect I wouldn’t have gotten so many requests to address it.
It makes sense that “barking” is a tricky issue because first, there are so many different types and contexts that elicit it. From “Yo, put my dinner bowl down already” to “Oh No No No, the UPS monster is walking up the driveway,” the motivations for barking are numerous and varied.
I thought it would be helpful to begin thinking about how to deal with problem barking with advice from one of my all-time favorite classics, Karen Pryor’s, Don’t Shoot the Dog. With a tip of the hat to Ms. Pryor, here are her 8 ways to deal with any problem behavior:
Method 1: Shoot the Dog. Effective, but a bit draconian. In our case, a riff on this method would be exchanging your dog(s) for one or several Basenji’s. Except, Basenji’s still vocalize and the sounds they make are, well, weird. Or you could get a cat, a lizard or a hedgehog. Individuals of these species are easy to teach to stop barking, because they never start.
Method 2: Punishment. As Ms. Pryor reminds us, (positive) punishment is a very common and human response, along with being ineffective and the least benevolent way to handle the problem. In my experience, yelling is probably the most oft-employed and the least effective method employed by owners when dogs won’t stop barking. I describe yelling at your dog to stop barking as doing little but barking back. Since barking is contagious, how would this cause your dog to stop? I found that it helps Willie and Maggie to stop barking when I join them at the window, look in the same direction as they and very quietly say “Yes, I see that. Thank You.” That is literally the opposite of yelling at dogs to stop them from barking, and I swear it seems to help them settle down.
Other popular punishments include spraying with water or “bark collars” that shock the dog when it barks, either automatically or because the owner hit the button. I am not a fan of “bark collars,” and that is putting it mildly. (I’ll leave it at that for now; I started writing more and realized it needs an entire blog. But see Turid Rugaas’s book Barking: The Sound of a Language for an important reminder that barking is an important part of canine behavior.) With rare exceptions, Method 2 is a lousy one. Moving on.
Method 3: Negative reinforcement. As example of this would be to stop yelling when your dog finally becomes quiet. You’ve taken something away (your yelling) to increase the frequency of your dog being quiet. Except, see Method 2 for a reminder that yelling is basically barking and accomplishes little but a sore throat for you. Dogs can seemingly bark forever without getting tired, but yelling is no fun for most of us. Moving on. . .
Method 4: Extinction, or letting the behavior go away by itself because it is never reinforced. This actually can be an effective method for many problem behaviors. It’s a tricky one with barking or whining however, because dogs seem to be able to do this for eons and eons with barely a pause. But, it could be effective for dogs who have learned to bark to get your attention. Just be prepared for the “extinction burst” when they bark five times as long before finally giving up.
Method 5: Train an incompatible behavior. This is one of my favorite methods of influencing behavior. I’ve trained Willie and Maggie to stop barking when visitors come by teaching “Enough,” which to Willie, probably, means “move away from the window, come over to Trisha.” I’m not even sure he equates it with “no barking” (it’s hard to teach a negative after all–ie, “Don’t think about red!”). But I don’t care, because all I care about is the behavior. I say “Enough,” he stops barking, although I sometimes have to work to keep him from starting again. I deal with that by asking Willie to go pick up a toy after he gets a treat. Harder to bark with a toy in your mouth…
Barking appears to be almost involuntary for some dogs in some contexts (note I said “almost”) and I think it’s up to us to help them find ways to do something besides barking. This is, of course, especially tricky with barking because dogs can do any number of things while still barking. Sheila Booth in Purely Positive Training suggests teaching puppies “Quiet” by putting a tab of peanut butter on the roof of their mouth in association with the word. I’ve never tried this but it sounds like it has potential: Dogs can’t bark when they are sucking on peanut butter. But be careful that it doesn’t contain Xylitol and don’t use too much. Anyone tried it?
Method 6: Put the behavior on cue (and then never ask for it). I’ve suggested this to several clients, and did it myself with one of my Border Collies years ago who was a problem barker. Also a possibility, but it does feel like going backwards to some people, and can be a bit harder than it sounds.
Method 7: Shape the Absence, or reinforce “anything and everything” that is not the undesired behavior. I’ve never tried this method with barking, but can imagine it working in some contexts. Anyone want to jump in here?
Method 8: Change the motivation. This might be described as another way of using classical conditioning to change an animal’s interior motivation or emotional state as a way of changing external behavior. A Functional Analysis perspective on this is to change the Antecedent conditions in the ABC formula of Antecedent, Behavior, & Consequence. (See Dr. Susan Friedman in her Living and Learning with Animals course and her many seminars and workshops for an in depth analysis of using clear and humane science-based methods to influence behavior. I’d advise moving heaven and earth to attend as many as you can.)
I’d guess that I’ve used this and Method #5 more than any other two, both in my career as a behaviorist and as a dog owner myself. In the case of barking, it works beautifully for dogs who are alarm barking because they are nervous about visitors. If visitors toss treats before entering, the dog begins to associate visitors with good things instead of threats, and the fearful barking is replaced by tail ways and silly grins. (See The Cautious Canine for details on how to do it.)
I trained “Enough” by first manipulating the environment or antecedent conditions to make success more likely. I simply loaded up with treats, walked to the door where visitors enter and knocked on it. Willie started barking, and as he did I said “Enough,” and moved a treat to his nose. And by that I mean one inch away from it, or less. When he focused on the treat, I used it to lure him away from the window just one step and then gave him the treat.This was all relatively easy, of course, because there was no real visitor and no other trigger for the barking than my knocking twice on the door.
That was step one; the next steps involved asking him to move further away from the window before getting a treat, or doing it when there was someone standing outside the window. I started with friends who wouldn’t mind standing there for longer than usual while we did the training. Each step was done one at a time, and gradually I began to put the elements together. I should say here that Willie still struggles not to bark when people are at the door; he does what I ask but then a bark will burst out of his mouth as if he belched. I actually feel for him, he clearly is trying, but I’m asking something very hard for him. That is part of why I help him by asking him to go get a toy. Nothing wrong with a little distraction.
I should add here that I also taught the BCs to run into a back room into their crates when visitors come. It was easy to teach, and it feels as though it is easier for the dogs to do than stand at the door and not bark. (Willie at least.) Just another example of teaching an incompatible behavior and changing the environment–they are much less likely to bark if they are standing at the window watching visitors get out of their car.)
It’s much easier for Maggie to stop barking when asked, but Tootsie has some barking issues too that we’ve basically ignored for a while. Writing about barking has motivated me to get working on polishing things up–so thank to all of you who asked me to write about it. I’ll keep you posted.
The last thing I want to say about barking to those of you who struggle with it is to first write down in detail exactly what barking bothers you, what elicits it and what you’d like your dog to do in its place. And please join in with your own experiences: What barking bothers you, what doesn’t? How have you handled it? What has worked best, or not worked at all?
Woof.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: High summer here–Day lilies, raspberries, daisies, mosquitos, gnats, & Japanese beetles are all competing for attention.
We’ve had more rain recently (2.5 inches one evening), and I think I’ve learned the derivation of the old-time phrase “We’re in clover now.” It means “having a life of money and comfort,” but I never thought much about where it came from until the frequent rains turned our pastures into buffets of green, leafy white clover. We’ve never had so much good food for the sheep, and after many years of having to feed hay as early as July, it feels like we’ve won the lottery. If you lived in the country and relied on your one dairy cow, perhaps a pig or two and some sheep, being “in clover” would make you feel rich. We sure do.
You can see the clover blooming at the hooves of the lamb flock in the photo below. I snapped the picture because the second new ewe with lambs is now shedding, and has developed into her own version of “scraggly ewe,” albeit with even more style than Meryl Sheep. Any bets on how long it took that huge piece of wool/hair on her right to detach from her body? (Hint: She often stepped on it.)
I went through all the great ideas for new sheep names here and on Facebook, and here are my favorites: Hairietta, Gypsy Rose Ewe, Chenille, Anew Ewe and wait for it . . . Banana. Banana is just so ridiculous that it makes me laugh every time I think of it. But I think I’m going with Hairietta, just seems to fit her perfectly.
Meryl Sheep, by the way, is doing great. She’s all shed out, except for a tiny fluff of wool above her tail. She’s the one below on the left… looking somewhat like a two-headed ewe, but actually flanked by her two lambs, who are growing like weeds. By the way, the only thing growing faster than the lambs are the weeds, who are also growing like, uh, weeds.
Here’s a shot of the garden behind the house. Finally all the grunt work of spring and early summer is paying off.
I especially love the day lilies.
Hope things are good at your place too.
Terry Golson says
I quieted a minivan full of loud 6-year old boys by using #6. I asked them to yell as loud as they could. They couldn’t believe their good luck to be driven by this crazy mom. I asked them for this behavior about 4 times. Then stopped asking. They stopped yelling. I haven’t tried it with dogs, but you can reward your dog for one “announcing” bark, and then divert them to another task. One bark gets the reward. Lots of barks don’t.
lynn says
Prevention is usually our favorite method. If there’s a way I can solve an issue just by sticking some clingfilm on the windows, or walking in a different direction, then I am so happy! Though we do lots of other things too, of course.
The barking that bothers me the most is when I am relaxing on the couch, perhaps reading a good book, and Gila suddenly bolts upright and scream-barks right in my ear. She likes to nap on the couch cushions, and doesn’t believe in personal space, so she is often literally inches from my poor ear, and I can’t say I always react well. Many times, I can’t actually tell what she’s barking at (possibly because these episodes haven’t exactly improved my sense of hearing!), but I believe it’s usually something far-off-but-important, like another dog barking, or maybe a skateboarder thinking about trespassing on the sidewalk in front of our house.
Counter-conditioning has helped a ton, and there’s always more to be done. But I also often react with negative punishment, right in the moment, and remove her from the couch. I suppose my hope is that she will see the error of her ways, since barking results in the loss of a comfy perch and opportunity to drool down the back of my neck, but I really don’t think it’s very effective in terms of changing behavior. Mostly, it interrupts the barking, and makes my ears feel safer for a moment. Same with screaming back, which I try not to do, but when the house has been really quiet, or I am reading a scary book, it sometimes just happens.
I like your description of Willie trying-but-not-quite-succeeding, “a bark will burst out of his mouth as if he belched.” Sometimes, we ask such hard things of dogs. One of Gila’s funnier barking “solutions” is to mutter-bark, a sort of inhibited version of barking. She still barks at the intruder (in her case, it’s usually squirrels on the roof that prompt this response), but with the volume turned down. Instead of screaming “WOOF WOOF WOOF!” she gives me a sideways look, then stares at the ceiling and mutters, “muff muff muff” under her breath. She’s not really barking, so she can stay on the couch, right?
Bruce says
The Sammy is a barker. Her behavior pattern from her previous home was to lie under the bed and bark steadily at strange noises. She also barks vigorously when anyone walks in the door (including us).
We have found the following to be fairly effective at moderating her barking:
(Method 5?) When Sammy is barking under the bed, call her out from the bedroom, give her a treat or praise, and then close the bedroom door. The Sammy barks much less when she is not under the bed, which was a well-worn behavior pattern.
(Probably Method 7) Notice when Sammy is NOT barking in a situation where she normally barks and praise effusively or offer a food reward. This has been surprisingly effective. The trick is to notice the lack of barking, which is counterintuitive. I have become fairly proficient at recognizing the body language that precedes barking (ears on alert, worried look, etc.).
(Method 8?) When new people come to the door, have them immediately bend down and offer The Sammy a treat. Sammy usually responds, “Oh, I guess you are OK.” Over time this has reduced stress when new people come to the house (and we have a LOT of visitors).
(Probably Method 5) When regular household members come to the door and the Sammy barks, we say “Who is that?” Sammy knows to go to the person for a treat. This was a trainer’s suggestion, and it has worked pretty well.
Over time the Sammy has made huge progress. She will probably always be a vocal dog, but giving her alternatives to “OMG this is scary I better BARK BARK BARK . . .” has reduced the barking while also seeming to reduce her stress levels.
When people who have known the Sammy for a while see her now, they marvel at how much happier and more interactive she has become. Since progress happens slowly, it is nice to get that perspective from people who do not see her every day.
We had a Jack Russell mix whom my wife trained to “Speak” (Method 6), which worked pretty well. We also had a Schipperke who was a prolific barker until she went deaf, so if nothing else works, give it time . . . . 🙂
Trisha, your garden looks absolutely gorgeous! Hard work has paid off, indeed.
Margaret McLaughlin says
Nina’s barking, apart from a reasonable amount of alarm barking that always stops if I get up & look at what she’s barking a, ( #8), seems to be related, as my first dog Cobie’s was, to her separation anxiety, which is getting worse. She barks me home, & the worst of it is: it works. I always come home, so she is always reinforced. Most of the time (last Thursday excepted) she doesn’t start until she hears me. According to the neighbors she’ll start when the car is about 3 blocks away. When I commute by bike, which I do about 8 months a year I can do more of a stealth approach; sometimes she doesn’t start until my brake blocks chirp as I stop out front. I can’t, either at home or at a show, leave her crated away from me. If I leave more than an hour except my regular working hours, she has a meltdown. Her stress-barking is high-pitched & frantic, her alarm-barking is deeper, & her excitement-barking, (“Oh yes!!! We’re going to go train!!”) is in between, & usually accompanied by spinning & jumping against the front door.
The difficulty of all of the above approaches, with the possible exception of #2, is that she’s barking when I am not home to do them. I used a bark-activated shock collar for Cobiie (this was 20 years ago, & I was living in an apartment with angry neighbors, & could find no other options except surgical debarking; please don’t hate me) which was effective, but is not an intervention I will use now.
So I am trying #9. Anti-anxiety medication. She just started last Friday & it takes a while to reach theraputic levels, so no change yet.
Better living through chemistry. I hope.
If this does not work, I will ask for a referral to Purdue.
Kerry says
With my standard poodle, we mostly focused on an incompatible behavior. She barks out the window at people and dogs walking by, bunnies hopping by, and most of all at the neighbor’s evil white cat. We simply call her to come which removes her from the window. She has also learned to make other more acceptable vocalizations, so now she sings to the bunny instead, which is pretty funny. My collie is tougher. She barks to greet us, and whenever she gets excited. So any play leads to barking and all we can do is stop the play entirely. She simply cannot play without barking. We have taught her to go get a toy. Sort of works, but then she drops the toy so she can bark some more. We can get her to stop by ignoring her, but I would love to actually be able to greet her and play with her without going deaf.
An says
There’s barking and there’s barking… One of my biggest irritations when it comes to the topic of barking is folks who decide to get an LGD breed and then can’t reconcile themselves to the fact that they bark. A LOT! I’m all for reducing nuisance barking but it seems so unfair when we place expectations on dogs that are at odds with their genetic makeup. My Pyr barks All. Night. Long. She makes circles around the house, warning off any would be intruders with her thrice-repeated woofs. I’ve trained barking on command but she still barks when she is in guard mode and I do not seek to change that. It’s part of who she is. I think it is important that when we look to alter a natural behavior, we make sure that we are not laying a burden on the dog that is too heavy for it to bear genetically. I believe almost everything can be trained but think it is important to remember the individual dog and genetic makeup to determine what we should reasonably expect from them…
Kat says
Ranger is pretty close to the perfect barker. He alerts me to things that are out of the ordinary (favorite example is barking at FedEx but not at UPS–UPS comes several times a month FedEx maybe once a quarter) and as soon as he knows I’ve seen it he stops. I didn’t consciously train it but I grew up in the country with guard dogs–if they barked there was a reason and you better see what it was–so it was natural to me to check every time he barked and praise him for alerting to the unusual, the few times he barked at squirrels I just looked disgusted and went inside. He’s smart and figured it out very quickly.
Finna on the other hand is something of a problem barker. She barks when she’s excited, “hurry up, hurry up, let’s go outside”, she barks when she’s worried “OMG There’s a huge brown monster in the driveway and it’s vomited a person” and she barks when she’s confused “help, help, Dad is doing something, what is he doing?” We’re actually willing to live with the first two but barking at my husband whenever he tried to walk around in the house was really not going to work, especially when it would escalate to confrontational barking where she was actively trying to make him stop moving. First we taught her to find a toy when he’d move and we taught him to announce why he was moving and to wait for her to find her toy. She’d still bark at him but it didn’t get confrontational and it was muffled by having a toy in her mouth. Then we taught her that she shouldn’t bark AT him. Her take away from that was that it was OK to bark but she had to bark where he wasn’t. This resulted in a dog who would run to her crate and bark at the back wall or run into the kitchen and bark at the sink. This cracked us up and the more we’d laugh the less she’d bark. He still needs to narrate his movements and she sometimes still barks but we’ve found a balance that works for us. These days excited barking is tolerated because it does stop as soon as the leash is on. And barking at scary monsters can usually be stopped by acknowledging that we see it too and releasing her from her alerting duties with “That’s do”. I think respecting her efforts to communicate went a long way in creating a barker we could live with.
Wren Ingram says
Thank you for another blog that made me laugh again! And the sheep (and gardens) look marvelous. One of my dogs is a ferocious barker- his volume, intensity and occasional snarling bark tells me almost EXACTLY what is happening outside. Tyberius is a rescued Cane Corso mastiff so the amount of saliva that gets sprayed and splashed around also gives me a clue about the ‘threat’ he’s warning me about- and/or trying to scare away 🙂 I use Method #2 with him and it finally works wonderfully. I quietly tell him, while looking smack dab into his beautiful eyes, “Thank you for the look out” and after a lot of work with this, he stops slavering, gives me a little kiss on my chin and THEN he gets the favorite treat of all time- poached chicken! Meanwhile, my other 2 dogs wait under a table until the noise is over. It’s deafening but useful and my house will never be a no-barking zone!
lee says
Years ago I was instructed to “ignore the behavior, and it will go away because you’re not reinforcing it.” I quickly learned that barking was self-reinforcing so gave up that method. Teaching an incompatible behavior was much more effective for my two BCs.
I also taught the cue, “Quiet,” but once I was outside the house talking to someone, and they were inside, looking out the window, barking, “Hey! Hey! We’re inside! You’re outside! Open the door! Let us out!” I shouted (because I was outside and they were inside barking), “That’ll do!” Instant quiet.
Our older BC was very vocal, with various barks with which we could tell what she was communicating. She never hesitated to tell us everything we needed to know. Our male was uber quiet and only barked when someone was at the door, which he learned from our female.
But what was really funny about him was that he would “mouth” or “mime” a bark. If I’d let them out the (fenced) back yard for a quick potty together, she would bark to let me know they were back. If he went out alone, I’d see him sitting by the door, throwing his head back, opening his mouth as if he were barking, but there was no sound. I told him he needed to actually bark with sound to tell me he was back and ready to come in.
I love clover. It’s beautiful. The deer and bunnies love it, too.
Your flower garden is quite lovely!
lee
Monika & Sam says
Elsa, my rescued Standard Poodle puppy mill survivor has recently ‘found’ her voice after the first few months being basically mute. Learning just to be a dog has been an adventure for her and me. Inexplicably she will stand either in front of me or in front of Sam (my other Spoo) and pipe up with a sharp bark. I don’t mind barking at the serial killer mail lady who delivers to the house, but these very early morning barks for apparently no reason have really flummoxed me. She will do the same thing standing over a toy before pouncing. I’m going to give your “Enough” command a whirl. I’m convinced Elsa must be part Yugoslavian since her barks do not seem to be understood by either me or Sam and they make any sense that I can determine. ?
Sarah says
I’ve used Method #8 extensively with my stranger/visitor reactive dog and she has experienced marvelous improvement… although we do need to keep reinforcing thunks/voices/footsteps/etc. periodically or the problem does start to come back. Probably because we haven’t ever followed through with our conditioning to the tail-wag stage? Even without tail wags, it was amazing the difference in our stress level overall when the sudden outbursts of frenzied barking stopped… which, I am sure, helped our nervous pup relax even more.
On a separate note, I volunteer in a shelter where we use Method #7 (reinforce NOT-barking behavior) all the time to quiet the dogs on the kennel floor. It is a simple trick and works most of the time, plus it can be done very safely even by a novice volunteer through the kennel doors.
Lisa Green says
Love this blog! My American Eskimo mix is an alert barker, and I’m fine with that. She barks at anyone who comes in but it’s just a plea for a belly rub, and she settles down after that.
But how to handle anticipatory barking? My husband teaches (clarinet lessons) on weekend mornings, and prior to the first student’s arrival he sets up the living room — opens blinds, moves chairs and music stands. That’s when Zoey starts barking like crazy. Fine, that ends when lessons begin. But sometimes my husband just wants to practice in the living room, so as he sets up to start (blinds, chair, music stand), Zoey starts barking…and doesn’t stop because no students are arriving. It’s only that one boring clarinetist in the room. I’m sure distraction is the answer, but it’s just pretty fascinating to watch her make the connections.
Interestingly, once the students begin their lessons, Zoey is usually lying under their chairs, snoozing away. It’s only one adult student who she keeps barking at — the one who doesn’t give her belly rubs or any attention. We think he’s the one we need to train.
Carolyn Moser says
Before we got our two Golden Retriever puppies I went to a Puppies 101 presentation by a local trainer. She explained that barking to alert us to something was a dogs job. We should acknowledge that they did their job and let them know it was enough.
As soon as we got our puppies at 8 weeks when they barked we would give them two barks then told them enthusiastically “Good job.” then calmly “That’s enough”. It took less than a week for them to get it. When they barked and heard the “Good job”” they’d turn and look at us and maybe get another “Good job” followed by a “That’s enough”.
Now our Ridgeback mix rescue was a completely different story. We finally hired a Karen Pryor Clicker certified trainer. She observed that our dog was fear barking and guarding barking. We needed to let her know we had her back and that we recognized she was doing her duty protecting our/her territory. So when she started barking, we’d go into the backyard with two small treats. We told her “Good guarding”. Being very intelligent she quickly learned, I bark. I get treats.”
We modified our system to “Good guarding” Then walked to the house, meaning she had to follow to get treats. Once inside, she got “Good guarding” and two treats and was kept inside for 15-20 minutes.
We’ve added going out and asking her to “Show me” because we have Bobcats, Javelina and deer that use the animal trail north of our house. When we identify what she is alerted to we say, “Good job”. If she barks again we quietly say, “That’s enough. Good job.”
Jan says
I use #5 with some variation . . . . all my dogs have been alert -‘ there’s something there’- barkers, so I consistently (as puppies and adolescents) get up and reward the initial several barks by acknowledging “what is it?, I see it, or Let’s go check it out” and will go to the door, or outside with them and say (while petting them around the head), yes, I see the person, bunny, dog, etc, walking by, what a good boy. They have almost always been so excited that I’m looking at ‘it’ with them and petting them, they usually quiet down and I really praise and pet for being quiet. If he is still barking at x,y, or z, then it’s “ok that’s enough now, let’s go inside and get a cookie”. Occasionally I’ll have to tug on the collar to get them to come in happily to get the cookie, or gently tap the muzzle or chin as a reminder, but I’ve never had to do anymore than that. Granted, while they are learning, it may take several iterations, in which case the toy comes out for play.
I feel bad for people with problem barkers as that’s such a hard habit to erase as it’s so self-rewarding. In those cases, I’ve recommended the #5 – get a toy behavior.
Grandma Mary says
Always go to see what is causing the barking concern, and when I am satisfied with the problem I say QUIET to my GSP, not in a loud voice but an “in charge” voice saying “ok, I will take care of it, good dog” and have a treat on hand. Seems to work. Seems to me smaller dogs have this problem more than larger breeds, and I always have had hunting breeds which are often more responsible and responsive. No yipping.
Love your information and photos.
Alice Richbourg says
Great topic! We use “enough” too. Arlo (2 years) barks at the front door when he sees dogs with people that dare to walk on our sidewalk or the one across the street (apparently, he owns both). I tried the “good job” approach, but instead of stopping, he would become more excited – “great, you’re here, look how terrible!”. Now we use “enough” which I trained by being somewhere else andbecoming more exciting than the dog out the window by jumping and dancing like a maniac and feeding a handful of treats one at a time. He would run back to the door, but the show was always gone by then so no problem. I’m pretty sure he thinks enough means “there is going to be a party, and I don’t want to miss it!” rather than anything about barking.
The one we are working on now is only at night in the backyard. No dogs around except the ones being walked and we have woods in the back (animals?). He developed the habit of barking a lot at night. I could always call him back, but then he didn’t get a chance to pee. Typically, this is the last bedtime backyard trip. One day when I as ill and going to bed early as it at dusk I discovered he was running for the back fence turning on it and running the perimeter barking his head off. I then realized that I had let him practice that route regularly. We are two floors up in the back with steep stairs I cannot navigate at night so hmmm? What to do? Taking him out another way wouldn’t retrain him so we could use the backyard again (so useful when you are ill or undressed). I’m in the process of retraining with a very long lead so that I can keep him in the bathroom area without him being able to run the fence. It’s working well so far. When I test with no lead, he will do well a few days then returns to the behavior so I will continue this for much longer before I test again.
Lee, your dog that pretends to bark cracks me up. Arlo will pretend to pee if he really doesn’t want to be there like when he knows someone has driven up and will be visiting. I started making sure he’d peed before visitors because he submissive peed for a long time. Luckily it’s on command so I can just say “nope, go there” and so he will resentfully pee to get what he wants. These guys make me laugh.
Beverly Ann Hebert says
My Border collie started barking whenever she saw a dog on TV. Before she did this I never noticed how often dogs appear in TV commercials – not only for dog food, but also for drugs, cars, insurance companies, etc. There is rarely a break in programming without the appearance of a dog in a TV ad and now she has progressed to start barking as soon as the ad begins, anticipating the appearance of a dog even before it appears. Even if she is in another part of the house she comes running and barking as soon as she hears an ad begin. I can’t simply mute the sound to prevent this because I am also often not in front of the TV when an ad starts (I work at home and have it on to listen to CNN news while in other parts of the house). What makes this behavior even more annoying is that she also often runs to the TV and jumps up, with her front paws against the screen.
Mary Ann says
I have competitive hunting dogs & generally drive with 4 dogs in my van. As we approach the hunting/swimming grounds they get excited & will start barking vociferously until they are let out of the van. The sound can be deafening & the roadways into the grounds can run for a couple of miles.
To change this behavior I stop the van every time they start barking. When they stop, I continue driving. As soon as they start barking again, I stop the van & so on. It takes some time but I’ve found it works.
lee says
Hi, Alice!
Yes, the “pretend” barking was quite comical. But after reading about Arlo, I remembered our female would “pretend pee” too! I realized she did it if I asked her to “go,” but she didn’t need to.
I’m pretty sure the look on her face was, “I’ll go when I need to, but I’ll do this to make you happy.” I’d crack up every time and thank her.
Sounds like a good idea of using the long-line until you have consistent behavior. Sometimes it’s difficult to trump the rewarding environment; you may want to have really special treats (liver? stinky cheese?) just for that occasion. Have you ever read Eileen’s blog? She recently posted a video about recall from “fence running.”
http://eileenanddogs.com
We have lots of stairs in the back, too, but have side and front entrances with less stairs. I never allowed them to go out at night alone (because of potential of confrontation with nighttime critters….and, okay, my neuroticism that they were out of my sight). When I had pet sitters, I insisted on long lines for quick potty breaks out the side/front doors. With me they both had excellent recalls so I didn’t use a long line.
I taught them to do a hurry-up potty (pee and run back to door, no dillydallying) and a great treat awaiting them *each* time, or I’d bridge with cheers all the way to the kitchen. I teach it to dogs I’m pet sitting too. It’s convenient if in a hurry to leave but want to give your pups a potty break and for potty breaks before bed-time.
(-:
lee
Diane Mattson says
This article is very timely for us. Just moved from small village where there were only occasionally fun things to bark at to a small city, where OH BOY!, Look Look, Bark, Bark! Distraction works a little, especially with small treats. Time will tell. Anyway, it’s great having a wealth of ideas to try.
Casper 'O Hane says
THE UPS MONSTER AAAAAAAAH!
I’m not sure if the UPS guy hates our dog because she hates him or the other way around. I think it’s the other way around but I may be biased. Regardless, there’s always that moment of, “oh crap, the UPS guy is here, get the dog inside!” Funny the little insignificant things that become significant when you get a dog.
Christy Paxton says
Oh my what a huge and wonderful topic! My favorites:
Window/door barking (nuisance ie everyone walking by): Turn off dog TV by closing drapes/blinds or otherwise blocking; when dog quiets, say Good and turn dog TV back on.
Also have done the walk up/look/got it thanks method with some success. Another variation is the “What’s that?” voice: “What’s that? What IS that? Ohhh I see. All right. Good job!”
Barking at you (attention, food prep, leashing up): Since this takes a loooooooong time to wait out, after maybe 10 seconds from start, I insert a quick, small body movement (eg head turn, shoulder pivot) that catches the dog’s attention and momentarily stops the barking. I jump in and mark/reward then return to what I was doing till the barking starts up again. Repeat. It works so fast! I used it with a beagle mix who was screeching through the entire food prep sequence and had him quietly waiting in 10 mins.
I also use Enough, and a simple leashed walk away (break eye contact plus distance calms; good for fearfuls).
One more to mention since my old girl is losing hearing but still loves a full-throated bark at the cat going by the window: I’ve taught her a calm hand placed on her haunches for Enough; it also helps me redirect/reassure her.
Sue says
Amend Method 1: get a greyhound.
Perhaps Tiffany is exceptionally quiet, but in all the 5 years I’ve had her, I’ve never heard her bark ‘properly’. Very occasionally she’ll do a short woof (mostly at other dogs), but that’s it. Oh, and curiously, she sometimes woofs in her sleep. This does come with a down-side, i.e. her guard dog abilities are pretty non-existing, but mostly I don’t mind that!
Ellen Jefferies says
I’ve had fantastic results with a bark collar with our rescue great dane. It only goes on after she starts barking and comes off after she stops.
But you don’t want to hear about how bad consequences are a great teacher for not doing things, so I’ll give you a story you’ll will like. First, keep in mind that bulldogs were originally bred specifically to be impervious to negative consequences (as were many breeds in the working group. So I’d never dream of using a bark collar on a bulldog. Second, bulldogs don’t usually talk “just to hear their brains rattle”; they’re attempting to tell you something. So I think it matters what kind of dog you are training; one size doesn’t fit all.
I had a lovely little bulldog female, my pick of the litter puppy, who started “yapping” both in the show ring and at home, and it rapidly became a real problem. Nothing worked until finally I decided to try rewarding stopping barking. This was not easy. I had to stand there waiting with treat poised in hand and when she finally took a breath shove the treat in her mouth, which she swallowed while continuing her yapping. Eventually (a long eventually) it dawned on her that she was getting treats when she stopped, and she started expecting them (you could see her body language). Then, I started hesitating a split second before delivering the treat, and with time the hesitations got longer. When I had a one second hesitation, I added a signal (finger to lips). Now we had a game. She had what she wanted, my attention and an entertaining game and eventually (it took a long time, bulldogs are really not easy to train because repetition is boooring) I could turn off the barking when needed (mostly in the show ring).
Later she went to a family with 2 young children who paid constant attention to her and in that situation she had what she wanted without having to ask for it so barking was not a problem.
There is a VERY fine line here between rewarding the barking and rewarding for stopping, obviously
HobbesMom says
Being a Vizsla, Hobbes is a talker with an entire vocabulary of barks and other vocalizations. He will talk back to us when we have food and send him to his bed or sometimes he vocalizes I think, just to be involved in our conversation.
Barking has been an issue off and on though and I really wanted him to stop when asked and we are slowly getting there. It became a safety issue for us however, when he decided he had to resource guard the car. He is always in the back so we were often startled when he would bark at someone he saw walking or riding a bike on the side of the street. Not a good thing when you are driving! Now we don’t go out without treats and I always stage some so he knows they are there. If we go by someone and he doesn’t bark he gets a treat. Often he will vocalize (low gurgling – not a bark, not a growl), letting me know he sees someone and I will tell him ‘no barking’. If he doesn’t bark he gets more treats. It has worked wonders.
At home he jumps against the windows barking at the gardeners or anyone approaching the front door. I want him to bark when someone is coming to the door but I don’t want him jumping against the window, at all. It is still a work in progress but I try to calmly tell him ‘enough’ and send him to his bed. He now knows that his bed is a no bark zone and will earn him treats but sometimes it is just too exciting to see who is there. I think I will also incorporate getting a toy behavior too. It would be a great distraction.
I have found that sending him to his bed to stop barking has also taught him to stop barking when he lies down. Often when we are at class (agility, rally, etc.) he will decide he needs to bark at anyone walking by the training area, I can signal him to lie down and he stops barking.
Grace says
Before anyone decides to try Method #1, while Basenjis are known as the barkless dog, they can and do make other noises. While my 3-1/2-year-old male is usually quiet, his repertoire includes grumbling (complaining), talking back (we call it jibber jabber), moaning like a ghost, guard-barks mixed with yowls, high-pitched squealing when he is excited (sees a jack rabbit or other varmint on the other side of the window, or when he realizes we are going to a “fun” place), and ear-piercing shrieks (first time I put him in a pool). We try to limit the opportunities for shrieking, and we have learned to live with the squealing (I have a pkg of ear plugs in my purse). I have tried many of the methods above with little success. To the people who have suggested I try a bark collar I say, “If the cost of eliminating the barking means I never get to hear the howly growly yodel that accompanies the tiny tail wags I get every time I come home from running errands, I will gladly live with the other noises!”
Gayla says
Shucks. I was hoping for the website where clients could buy their magic quiet wands…
Interesting how many have found that us acknowledging the ‘threat’ (for alert/alarm barking) seems to matter so much to our dogs. That’s been my most successful method with my own, also. Allow her to do her job, and then reward compliance after I’ve said ‘that’s enough.’
Anyone see that youtube video from a couple of years ago, where the oriental woman taught her dog to bark softer and softer? It was too cute… I’d love to be able to teach my dog that!
Jann Becker says
Funny story here: our driveway goes over a bridge over a sometimes creek. The old 10′ wide bridge just had planks over an iron frame; they rattled when anyone drove over it. Our dogs recognized our car, those of our neighbors, and of course the UPS truck. Barks galore, especially for Dad!
Finally, we replaced the bridge. The new one is 2 feet wider and solid concrete, and we’re having fun watching them when somebody sneaks up on them!
Frances says
My dogs both seemed to reach an age – around 9 months – when they considered themselves responsible for alerting the household to possible dangers but had no idea what was, or was not, dangerous. So they alerted to everything. Every leaf against the window, every twig dropped by nesting jackdaws, every car on the road outside, every bird landing in the garden… I read Turid Rugaas’ little book just in time to save my sanity, and realised I had to be the one to help them learn to be a bit more discriminating. It has worked up to a point, and would probably work better if I could train myself not to join in, even when they start yelling when I am on the phone or in the bath!
The best way of stopping my two barking is to investigate, thank them for telling me if it is something I need to know about, tell them it is nothing to worry about if it is just a neighbouring dog playing, or take them out if, Oh joy!, it is the neighbour who always has a pocketful of treats leaving his house next door. Next best is to quietly call them to me and ask them to settle down – lots of praise and treats went into teaching that. But what I really need is a programme of positive reinforcement to stop me joining in by yelling…
Ellen says
Continuous barking is an unnatural behavior as dogs in the wild do not stand there barking. It’s a lack of coping skills and mental problem solving to alleviate stress. Dogs gather stress daily and with no place to relieve it, it grows. That is how many comments on here sound to me.
Mental exercises (i.e., box work), rules and structure, and a solid “place” command will alleviate nuisance barking. “Place” is a state of mind that is relaxation, not a working command, and dogs should not be looking forward to being released.
Pam Riek says
Recently , as in four days ago, adopted a four year old sheltie. Owner rarely took him in the car, except to vet, and rarely walked him. He’s already walking on leash well, except barking at everything he sees–cats, people, other dogs. The worst, however, is barking, growling, and attacking the car windows while riding in the car. He eagerly gets in the car and riding doesn’t seem to be the issue, it’s what he sees outside. Tried ignoring. No. Tried a dog seat belt to restrain him from racing around from window to window, but he can also see out the front and back. It makes driving with him unpleasant, and I doubt letting him get that worked up is good for him. Suggestions? This isn’t our first Collie.
Barbara says
I share my life with Tibetan Mastiffs meaning, barking included. After 14 years I can tell that there is just one method to keep it short and informative – rewarding. It sounds bizzare, but when I hear barking I go out asking “what´s going on?”, look around and if I see anything, I name it and reward my dogs for informing me. They get praise, attention and something to chew on – and they are satisfied that their job is appreciated. If I see nothing, I check on the dog who barked – barking might mean that water is gone, tick bites in the ear or a beloved toy got stuck somewhere. Easy to find out and stop “messaging”.
Christina says
We have a tenacious Pekingese rescue that barks incessantly when one of our others dogs has a bone or a treat. She hears them and knows, even if we place the other dog in another room. We have tried the offering her a treat as well but this is just not good enough she wants ALL there is to offer and demands no one else have anything. We have resorted to putting her in another room when treats or toys are given, its the only thing that calms her down. We feel terrible about doing this and call it her timeout but she seems unfazed and is less stressed being away from the stimulus.
Terrie says
“I’m barking and I can’t be quiet” is a great description of my chihuahua mix. He’s an excitement barker and there are times he gets so wound up that you can tell he can’t stop. A couple times, it’s even seemed to scare him. So the focus is on breaking the cycle that he gets stuck in. Usually, just picking him up and plopping him in a lap helps. He then gets a treat, because it’s hard to bark and chew at the same time. Outside of those moments, he’ll bark, but the moment you say “Hey” he stops and comes over to see you. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to have made the connection that barking=attention. Of course, he gets so much attention, he really doesn’t need to.
Susan says
I read this with great interest because I have two standard poodles with different issues. One is perfect when it comes to the guard dog job – he has a “big boy” bark that is very impressive and when people come in the door, he is just so happy and would help the burglars load the truck in exchange for bum rubs. But he has an excited bark and a “hurry up” bark and I’m working on those, slowly. My other boy was a year old when I got him and was never socialized. We don’t have a lot of company, which doesn’t help, and I live alone. He’s very anxious and barks at anything and everything. When people come in the door, he keeps barking at them until they sit down and then will bark at them again if they move. He likes the treats they give, but doesn’t trust them one bit. If they sit in the livingroom, he’ll lie under the kitchen table and glare at them. It wouldn’t be such a big deal, my friends understand, but my grandchildren are coming for a week and the youngest is autistic and noise sensitive. It could be a long week. I’m going to try the peanut butter.
Tana says
Our neighbor had an Akita that had in-and-out access when they were gone via a doggy door. We always knew they were home because the dog didn’t bark, but when they weren’t home, oh my! The dog barked every time we stepped outside and even when it could hear things we were doing inside (like flushing the toilet). This dog was about 6 months old when we moved in. The previous owner worked all day and was never seen outside while we homeschool so are around all day with kids going in and out randomly throughout the day. When this Akita was about a year old, they got a puppy (same breed). Once the puppy was the same size as the first dog, the first dog quit barking. I think she did it for entertainment/boredom and now with the dog her size and breed, she has a companion to play with. They also have an older dog which is hardly seen outside (and obviously didn’t help with the barking issue). So this is another idea, FWIW.
Trisha says
I too am struck by how many wise readers report that acknowledging alert barking has a big impact on helping dogs to stop barking. I find myself wishing that puppy classes taught more about how to deal with barking, and how to teach a cue that means “Thank you, your job is done now.” Dogs barking out a window are, after all, trying to alert the pack, and if the pack doesn’t respond, then what is the dog’s options? Given it can’t go to investigate or protect, its pretty much stuck in a loop.
It’s clear from the responses, and my own experience, that the hardest barking to stifle is barking related to internal arousal. I find myself thinking more and more that dogs in this context need either distracting or exercises that help them handle being excited. Some of these exercises might have nothing directly to do with barking, like lie down and stay, or “settle”. Tootsie falls into that category; she has a high pitched bark in situations in which she is emotionally aroused that can be painful. I’ve been working on her while she anticipates dinner (kibble delivered while she’s quiet, taken out of her dinner bowl while I finish the prep) and that’s working extremely well, although one could argue I’m not solving the problem, I’m just finessing it. But I’m big on solutions that work, and love practical, simple solutions.
To Pam with the new Sheltie who barks on walks or in the car. Have you tried the Calming Cap? It was developed by Trish King for dogs who bark incessantly in the car. Dogs can see out of it, but the visual stimuli is damped down enough for many dogs to be less reactive. I’d give it a try.
Pam says
It wasn’t until I adopted a Basenji that I realized just how MUCH other dogs bark! My current 3-ring circus make those “weird” noises (kind of like a rooster crowing or a banshee screaming, depending on their mood), but I don’t have any problems with nuisance barking. 🙂
Trisha says
I also think Ellen’s comments are important, at least in terms of teaching “place” meaning “settle down” and the impact of helping dogs learn to quiet their emotions as well as their mouths. (I actually say Settle Down, which means pick a place, lie down and chill out.) I couldn’t agree more about mental exercise being important, although I’m not inclined to generalize that incessant barking is due to stress. But it is important to look at the big picture, especially I think if you have a dog who barks when he or she is aroused.
Marianne Cyr says
I taught my yappy chihuahua terrier mix what the word “Quiet” means. As soon as he stopped barking of his own accord for 2-3 seconds, I popped a treat in his mouth. I repeated this a few times, then I raised my index finger in the air and said “quiet” and popped a treat in his mouth. For the next week or so, when I found him being quiet, I raised my finger, said “quiet,” and popped a treat in his mouth. Thereafter, whenever he started barking inappropriately, all I had to do was raise my index finger and he’d stop barking. Great for when you’re on the phone.
Verne Foster says
I have a perfectly appropriate barker who alerts when someone is at the door or on the property. Once I confirm, as you do, that all is well. It stops. My problem is in social situations visiting someone who has another dog, Sloopy will bark at other dogs to get them to play. And then when playing he barks like a fiend.
As a little puppy he barked at my older dog to get a reaction. I thought it would work itself out as the older boy ignored him. Little Sloopy was relentless and even when the older dog walked away he would keep at it. Finally I thought we had a break through and older dog laid down ignored him and puppy stopped. Yeah.
HOwwwever , the next time Sloopy did his barking the older dog engaged and that did it.It was that way until the older dog passed. Their play sessions were excruciatingly noisy. But if I insisted the noise stop so did the play. That’s not fair.
So now after being an only dog for 3 years I have moved and I am interested in getting another puppy, but live in a community that is quiet. Plus I don’t like the constant noise that he makes when he engages. If I ask for a command like come to me or go get a toy the games stop. I don’t want to be a buzz kill and interfere with the play session between the two dogs so not sure how I would handle the “play-with-me-now” barking that Sloopy would do. Nor do I want him to teach a puppy that barking is cool.
Any specific suggestions.
Susan says
Thanks for sharing your ideas – our two Border Collies bark a lot when playing (we call it “plarking”) and we allow it because it’s never incessant and it’s clearly part of their play routine. They bark at all visitors, and we’re OK with the alert, just not the repetition. We have tried the distraction method with some success, just not consistently enough. The ideas you (and your commenters) offer are helpful, thanks.
It’s a work in progress!
Aliesha Shepherd says
I have tried teaching the bark on cue, but I found that then the dog would throw the bark cue in when they were excited and trying to get your attention. Just like they offer a hi-5 or a spin that you have taught them. The most effective way I have found is teaching that the doorbell is a cue to go to their crate, or bed. Then follow that up with a down stay. Then they can get their bark out once or twice, then run to their bed and sit and stay. I start by calling their name and clicking and treating for them stopping their barks to look at me. Then I reinforce the “quiet” or “enough” by again clicking and treating. However I found it best to simply set it up where they are being conditioned by the doorbell or knock, to run to their bed and wait for you to bring them a cookie.
Kim says
Method 6 (put the behaviour on cue, then don’t give the cue) has always seemed problematic to me. If it really works, it would seem to have some bad implications for behaviours that we do want that we put on cue. For example, I teach my dogs to go potty on cue. Will they be less likely to go potty on a walk if I don’t give the cue? If I think they have already gone, so I don’t give the cue, will they end up holding it and possibly having accidents? Or the puppy that had been taught to sit, but no other positions. Will he stand (or down) around his owner if they don’t give the sit cue? If they are one of those dogs that doesn’t like to down, will that leave them standing and unable to relax?
I have taught two of the seven dogs I have owned over the years to bark on cue. (Not because either one was particularly barky.) I certainly didn’t notice a change in how much they barked before and after teaching it, although I did not take data.
Maria says
Our first dog, a Beagle mix from the shelter, barked maybe 10 times in her life with us (each time for a Very Good Reason). When she barked (it was an “aarrrooo!”) we dropped everything and RAN to see what was wrong, because–every time–she was barking to alert us that there was something Very Wrong that needed our immediate attention.
I guess she taught our second dog, a rescue Papillon, that it was important to “save your barks for a good reason,” because–although he was more barky than she was–he typically only barked to tell us about something, and seldom barked in the house at all unless it was URGENT. (Like, when there was a rabid fox sitting in the front yard.)
This Papillon had internalized the “barking rules” to such an extent that he *enforced* them with any visitor dogs (we often dog-sat for friends). I remember especially when we dog-sat for a friend’s very barky collie, who was driving us crazy with his inane barking, especially since we weren’t used to much in the way of barking at all. The collie was standing next to the sofa, barking at something he’d heard outside. Our Pap climbed up to the top of the back of the sofa (for better leverage, I suppose) and leaped down on the collie while he was in mid-bark. His jump was aimed so that he hit the collie right on the junction of neck and torso, and it knocked the collie (who outweighed my Pap by quite a lot!) right down.
The timing of this application of Punishment (#2) must have been perfect, because the collie didn’t bark in the house for the rest of his stay. On later visits, he’d forget and bark once–then my Pap would glare at him, and he’d stop and not bark again unless he was outside (barking was “allowed” outside, according to the Pap). Apparently, punishment can work sometimes if it’s dramatic enough, the subject understands exactly what he’s being punished *for*, your timing is perfect, and you don’t mind being the Mean One.
Holly Peteron says
Any ideas for a Border Collie that barks only when he’s excited that he might get to go out and play? I swear his eyes glaze over when he’s barking like this and he cannot be distracted. I’ve even tried those horrid spray bottles, spray collars and the noise collars and he just barks right through them. We’ve tried teaching him to bark on command and quiet but when he gets in this state of excitement there is nothing that distracts him. Like I said his eyes seem to glaze over and he just continues to bark.
Zabby says
Bella barks to alert, for joy, for attention. If she wants to play and she’s feeling frisky and we are not being attentive, she barks. When we’re mountain biking and stop, she barks to get us going. The most annoying is the latter. We’ve tried rewarding for not barking (in general), but she’s such a food lover that I don’t think she sees the connection. We’ve tried the treat in front of the nose, and that often works, but not when mt. biking. We’ve tried redirecting her behavior and same story–good in many instances, but not with mt. biking. We haven’t figured out our way around this dilemma in the woods. Asking for different behavior sees no reduction in her noise level. Only getting a move on will she stop.
Trisha says
Maria: You realize you could make a fortune by renting out your Papillon?
Chris from Boise says
Holly –
Your “eyes glazed over/unable to be distracted” description of your BC matches my BC Habi’s behavior when she’s over-aroused. She’s literally unable to think, and is running on sheer emotion. Once we learned that it was “can’t think” in a given situation rather than “won’t listen”, we started to make progress. We had to get her into her thinking brain before we could work on an issue (barking was just one of many). We are now pretty good at reading her and keeping her under threshold, and she’s turned out to be a pretty wonderful girl.
Good for you for recognizing that your pup is having a hard time containing himself at playtime. There are some good resources online about modifying that kind of behavior. I bet that Trisha’s book “Play Together, Stay Together” (with Karen London) would have some good ideas. Just remember that he’s finding himself in a situation where he truly can’t control himself; it’s the human’s responsibility to change the situation until you have a good bag of tricks to change his behavior. Good luck!
Louise Mann says
I have a corgi. Enough said. I’ve been working non-stop on barking for his entire 4 1/2 year life. I tried the “putting it on cue”, but just have the closed fist (open fist=bark) left and the word “quiet.” I’ve been most successful shaping the absence — if I’m putting on my shoes (clear indication of possible walk) and he doesn’t bark, he gets a reward for that. If he does bark, I’ll whisper (modeling the behavior I want from him), “quiet”. When he stops barking and stays stopped for 30-60 seconds, he gets a treat. If he stays quiet from then on til the shoes are completely on — another reward.
The barking I can’t get stopped and bothers me and others most is the barking once we head out on our walk. I can’t get him to stop this “I’m so happy you are with me. Oh and one of your friends came too, so I’ll bark even more. Plus I have to tell all the critters in the woods we’re coming so they’ll vamoose before we get there. Etc.” He’s a corgi, what is there to say? He’ll quiet down once we’re into the walk, if I’m walking him alone. With a companion, not so much.
Thanks for the opportunity to share. I love your work!
Sheila Bannigan says
Living in a metropolitan area in an apartment, I hear neighbors yell and mock bark at their dogs.Dogs who bark in the park at a squirrel or at my Boxer and I as we pass by get shushed. I’m old and sassy enough to tell owners that if they’ve ever talked during a church sermon or wedding ceremony,their dog should be allowed to bark outside.
At DCHS we were required to “Click for no bark” and toss a treat in to the quiet dogs, keep walking on past barking dogs. This was done on the public side of the kennel and I always tried to get in several good rounds right before opening to the public. It was fun to work up to the level of charging up to the kennel gate and squealing and jumping as a child may, waving my arms in the air, the dog beautifully sitting quietly earned a jackpot.
While living in a house with a very nervous foster, I kept treats by the mailbox with a note asking visitors to toss a treat beyond the dog to the dog’s mat as they entered. Was not long before repairmen, etc. could exit and re-enter with the dog staying on her mat.
Back to apartment living with a Boxer. (At age 5, he knows no other life.) I’ve had him 1-1/2 yrs. I watched kikopup on youtube desensitize her rescue by, well, watch the video. I did that. But folks move in and out so often and sounds change. Patricia, I used your two light pats on top of the dog’s head with a voice neutral, “enough”, and it works! My daughter was visiting with her 7 yr. old Weim who barked at a pin drop. I told my daughter to try it. Her response: “Oh my god! Why does that work?” I said I don’t know, but I read it in Patricia’s memoir. Four months later I can just say “enough”.
After a good run in water, mud, and pollen, that order, the dog needs a bath. Then he is like a 2 yr. old child who runs squealing (barking) naked through the house. When he has trouble settling, just clipping on his collar and leash has a magic calming effect.
Today the dog leaped up and ran at the door, barking. I stood next to him as someone slid a notice between the door and door frame, verrry slowly. I remarked to the dog, “Well that was interesting”. And he returned to his bed.
Demand barking I ignored until he was quiet for increasing time, but as soon as I said “good boy” he started again. Completely ignoring it was the key. “Help my food dispensing kong is stuck under the sofa” has a different pitch. And then I’ll rush playfully to the rescue.
I try to pay attention to the environment and triggers. If my boy alerts I get to his level, knees to the sidewalk, to try and see what’s up. He licks my nose and leans on me. No barking.
Oh! He barks at a single city worker who enters the park to empty the garbage. A human entering without a dog is certainly suspicious. I started wearing the same type of reflective yellow vest to the park. Score.
What’s different, what’s different, stay calm, figure it out. Context is everything.
lynn says
As far as acknowledgement, I will say that besides a conversational remark (“thank you, I see it too”), I often incorporate physical touch. Just placing my calm hand on Gila’s shoulder, or whichever bit of her is nearest, as I also check out the trigger. She is a dog who moves into pressure, so an open palm against her side or shoulder gives her something to push herself against, which seems to be helpful to some degree (and there’s a ton of reinforcement history for collar-touches, which probably helps). I think it may be a good reminder that she’s got back-up, really, and isn’t expected to figure everything out on her own. Of course, my past dog was touch-sensitive to a degree where this might have been punitive, so it depends on the dog!
And I agree emphatically that exercises aimed at emotional control overall are far more helpful than trying to stop barking ‘in the moment.’ We have benefited hugely from basic counter conditioning (turning alarming things into predictors of wonderful things), but also from exercises like Dr. Karen Overall’s relaxation protocol, or the “look at that!” game. Also Nose Work, which has been a wonderful way to lend some structure to new and/or busy environments. Who has time to bark when they’re trying to solve an amazing scent puzzle?!
Mason says
For nervous dogs, especially those in apartment buildings or in busier, noisier environments, use white noise machines to block incoming/ alarming noise. They help a lot as you work to decrease your dogs’ reactivity, and to keep them less aroused when you’re not around.
Mat Coulton says
Dr. McConnell,
Thank you for mentioning Pryor’s “Don’t Shoot the Dog.” Wow that book was a gamechanger for me and was a big part of my journey away from dominance based learning theories. I wanted to second your endorsement of this classic!
I have to admit, I have been lucky enough not to have problem barkers in my own pack, although, I suspect part of this is a combination of breed and the fact that I engage their mind and body daily.
I have also done #6 with one of my dogs because that is just fun! My cue is “Are you sassy-molassy?” Then he goes crazy barking and I have an exaggerated “You ARE sassy-molassy!!” and we have this exciting exchange for a little bit. It’s a huge hit with company.
I think I only click-treated that in the first session…it’s self-rewarding for Tango so once he learned it, I did not have to go back to external rewards. I suspect he thinks he is getting away with something, lol.
Jill Koski says
Barking at the ground. Haven’t seen that. We have a border collie/gasp mix. When we are camping or doing things in the yard , he will start poking his nose at the ground, pounce, and bark . It is a high-pitched bark; like a play bark. And it goes on and on. It definitely is like he is keeping himself occupied, as we are usually doing yard work, or setting up camp, or wanting to just sit around the campfire. Getting his ball and playing with him does stop it, but he will play ball for hours, and that is not practical. Giving him another toy to try and distract him does not work. It does help if we are actually holdi g him on a leash all the time, as opposed to putting him on a cable, but that is also not practical when setting up camp or doing work. It seems that he is hearing or smelling critters or bugs underground when he does that. Enough works for his other, less annoying barks , but not for the barking at the ground. We have had to leave him in the truck while setting up camp, but if it is hot, we then have to leave the truck running and the A.C. on. He does not like to stay in the camper without us. We have started hauling his crate with us when we camp, but that does not always help.
Jill Koski says
It must be the border collie in our dog for the barking at the ground thing. The “eyes glazed over” And “unable to be distracted” describes that behavior very well. Now, what the heck can we do about It?
Maria says
Trisha: I know! Thanks, he was a treasure!
Unfortunately, he’s gone to the Rainbow Bridge almost a decade now (after teaching the new puppy not to bark in the house).
I’d *pay* a fortune to have him back with me–smartest dog I’ve ever met, and my heart.
The discussion evolving in these comments is certainly enlightening! I’m seeing two main “types” of barking–barks to alert and barking connected to arousal/emotion–and different strategies working best depending on the type of barking.
I’ve had good success with alert barking by teaching “Enough” and also teaching “Bark” and “Hush” on cue.
However, the emotional barking is a much tougher nut to crack! Our current rescue Pap came to us with super-barking already installed, and it’s been quite a task to quiet her down. (Alas, our first Pap wasn’t around to pass along his wisdom by this point.)
We’ve got the alert barking mostly under control, as I said before, but she also gets very emotional and overwrought and then her eyes glaze over, as Holly mentioned about her dog above, and then we have to get her down from the emotional ledge before she can control herself enough to stop barking.
My Spouse has had a bit of success with halting the immediate problem of emotional barking by “breaking her state”–doing something odd and unexpected that startles her into focusing, like raining down a “bomb” of treats nearby, or making a strange sound, or dashing off with great excitement to peer at what’s in the bathroom cabinets.
However, that just halts that particular instance of overwrought barking; it doesn’t do anything to change the overall behavior….
Alice R. says
Thank you, Lee. I’ll check that article.
We have a fenced yard and no dogs on either side so we are lucky. Our fenced yard is not too big, but he never goes out unsupervised, we play together or I watch from the house or deck. It only happens late at night. I’m not sure why he changed from a quick pee right by the house to the fence running, but I suspect it was because we don’t spend much time outside anywhere after dark and he must have heard rustling in the woods beyond the fence. He’s sensitive to anything new in the environment and does seem to feel a responsibility to keep us safe. When we come back from walks, he usually rests a minute then goes to check the backyard. He doesn’t seem to mind the long lead, and it seems to be training calm.
Susan Donetti says
I have had great success with Method 7 with both my Border Collie and believe it or not, our Pomeranian. They love to bark at each other and of course the Pom loves to bark at just about everything. So, when he was quiet, I rewarded him with ‘Good Quiet’. That’s how we started. Then when a situation arose where he would normally have barked, but didn’t, I was effusive with praise and rewards. The BC loved to run up and down in front of the horse’ yards and bark. I waited until he did a run down with no barking and praised him like crazy. It took a very short time and I was able to say ‘Quiet’ and he would stop barking. I also will open the door and show them there is no one there once the mail person or UPS person has left. I try, not always successfully I must admit, to do with calmly. Sometimes with three barking dogs, my “Quiet” ends up being a bit louder than I would like just in order to be heard. However, I know with these three that if I do manage to keep my energy in check, they will respond much faster.
Layne says
I appreciate when my BC alerts my to something new. Yes, sometimes it is a false alarm – he is only 10 months old. I do want him to alert me to things he thinks are “strange”. I am confident that he will, in time, learn to discern those things that are truly important from those that are not. I would prefer that he announce “weird things” so that I can make my own assessment rather than he stay silent. I’d rather a few “false alarms” than have a dog who is not ready to express himself!
HFR says
My dog also does the “I’m trying to give you a heart attack” bark where everything is still and he may even look like he’s asleep and suddenly he jumps up and starts barking seemingly out of nowhere. I agree, it’s hard not to yell at him when he scares me like that.
I had a dog who would bark when I talked to other people on the street. I was living in the city at the time so I walked her many times a day. Inevitably I’d run into someone I know or even if someone asked me directions and she’d start barking. I could never figure out if she was saying “We’re walking here…” or if it was “Hey, what are you guys talking about?” but it was very difficult to ignore which is what the trainer suggested. So I taught her to bark on cue by making a talking motion with my hand. That helped, but for some reason while I was training that, I accidentally taught her to stop barking when I said “Speak”. Which was always good for a laugh when done in front of others.
Now I’ve got a year old sporting breed who feels so much excitement over everything that he explodes. He barks if I’m going to open the door to the backyard so I taught him to sit and stay and be quiet while I open the door. Then the minute I give him the release command he goes screeching out the door barking and whining his head off. They do know how to drive you crazy.
Your garden is beautiful, but how do you control any OCD tendencies you may have and not cut off the wool hanging down on the ground. I wish I could reach thru the screen and cut it off for you! 🙂
Rebecca Rice says
Ah… barking! I have a greyhound, who, as a breed, generally don’t bark much. Makes them get apartment dogs, along with their relatively low exercise needs. And then I got a rat terrier (or she got me, since I actually had her follow me home one day when I found her roaming the streets). As might be expected of a farm dog, ratties are known for being territorial barkers. She will happily alert me to anything out of the ordinary, and, as many others have said, that seems to be most easily stopped by getting up to check out the strange thing and let her know that everything is handled. The downside to this is that “strange things” seem to happen with distressing frequency around 2 am. The number of nights that I have had to get out of bed, go to the door, open it, look outside, and then go back to bed in order to get her to stop barking is way more than I would like! But it gets her to stop a lot faster than anything else, and I do want to go back to sleep, so… the lesser of two evils?
The barking that is more problematic is the true territorial barking. That shows up most often in class, when someone comes in late. And Pixie makes it clear that this is HER classroom, and that the new dog is NOT ok. She doesn’t do that to the dogs that are arriving on time, just after class has started. I am working that by distracting when I know a dog is coming in, since she is fine once the dog is in and settled.
The other not-quite barking that I worry about is one that she does on walks. And that’s a huff/sneeze that she does when walking by reactive dogs. Pixie had been rather leash reactive when I first got her. She was “that dog” that’s lunging and barking at the end of the leash at any dog going by (and a few people). I have managed to counter condition that so that she now walks calmly by most, with just an occasional lapse, mostly due to trigger stacking. But when we walk by fence-chargers, she will occasionally do a huff/sneeze sort of sound, which always makes me think it’s a bit of a challenge to the other dog. Sort of like a person saying “do you want a piece of this? huh? do ya?” (in an Clint Eastwood-type voice). And I worry about how other dogs will take that if she does it to one that can get to her.
Any thoughts? Or links to videos of what different types of barks sound like or mean?
Jenny H says
It is the demand barking that annoys me.
There’s strangers passing by! Thankyou.
There’s a possum/bandicoot in the yard! Thankyou.
There’s somebody at the gate! Thankyou.
It is 3 o’clock. Bone time! ! Bone time! 3 o’clock! Bone time! Bone time! . . . . while the good dogs quietly wait, Mad Millie yells at me and she had a very nasty sharp bark.
or “Let me in! Now! Let me in, NOW! Let me in! . . . . While to good dogs sit patiently waiting 🙁
Vicki in Michigan says
I’ve had corgis, which can be problem barkers…..
I think “how to stop barking” depends on why they are barking. With the corgis, any alarm barking was easy to stop. I had to see what they were barking at, and tell them “Thank you. I am on it.” Having notified the boss of the “threat,” their job was done and they shut up.
Barking when excited about playing was a whole nother story. Corgis can bark during a retrieve of a tennis ball from water…… My worst play barker had a very nice deep “big boy” bark when alarm barking. But when he was excited about play, he had an awful shatter-glass bark. He was quiet if no other dogs were around when I was throwing something, or squirting hose water for him to chase and bite. But if he had company — ai yi yi. I never did figure out how to stop that sort of bark……..
When we lost the last corgi we still had a dog who looked houndy (but barked, never bayed). I thought he must be deaf when he became an only dog, because he never barked when the mail carrier came, nor when people walked by on the sidewalk, nor for any of the other things the corgis would have alerted me to.
But no. He could hear just fine. He Just. Did. Not. Care. Odd, after many years of vigilant watch-corgis.
Anne says
I like it when my dogs do their alarm bark. However, I have one dog who is just noisy. She barks anytime things are exciting. Which could just be me trying to get the dog dinner bowls ready, or the other dogs running through the house, or us walking out side, or the other dogs playing fetch. She does not find lying down or holding things in her mouth incompatible with barking like many other dogs do!
The one thing that did help was teaching her to walk behind me. I haven’t been totally successful in this, but made some progress. For some reason, her running ahead means barking time, but if she has to walk behind me, she won’t bark??? Not sure why.
em says
I’m lucky that none of my dogs has ever been a problematic barker, but I’ve been fascinated to read about all of the ingenious management techniques that people have found.
A few comments about gently touching a dog to calm them reminds me of something I stumbled upon with Otis, (whose problem was intense staring, rather than barking). When Otis “locked on” to an object of attention, staring intensely with his ears up and forward, I found it helped tremendously to rest my hand on top of his head and gently push his ears down and back, out of “aroused” position and into “relaxed”. It actually did seem to affect his state of mind, allowing him to relax and break focus much more easily, though whether it was pure distraction or whether adjusting his body language actually changed his emotional state, I couldn’t say.
So interesting that a head pat may have a similar affect on a barker!
Jocelyn says
Taz, the rotten-lab has a huge big scary loud bark. And a rumbly grumbly growl. And lately he’s been “squeaking barking” like the neighbor Chihuahuas. And he communicates constantly. And I’ve learned to recognize what he’s trying to say mostly. When he makes a sound I don’t recognize, I know something is up!
That said his alert barking at the window, or at a light on the ceiling at 2 AM, or another dog outside the car…can blow out my ear drums.
He is most responsive to a “come here”, or a “thank you” and the new trick we’re working on, “whisper” where he…whispers.
But we don’t yell back at him anymore ….
Maria says
Living in an apartment, barking, especially at odd hours, is not only annoying but also risky. when my dog and I first moved he loved to bark out the window at the pigeons roosting on the opposite windows. Unfortunately, I had always let this behavior go on the street. With a time crunch to get the barking under control, I fell to negative punishment to get the job done quickly. I began removing him from the room anytime his vocalizations at the pigeons became full blown barks, and rewarding him whenever he was interested in them without descending into full blown barking. Within three hours he had ceased barking and resorted to standing up, wagging, and growling at the pigeons, which was totally fine with me.
Elizabeth says
I rescued a 10 year old large breed dog and had two small dogs in the house already. The new dog barks incessantly when a gate is erected during feeding time. This barking frenzy frightens one of the smaller dogs to the point that she refuses to eat. The rescue has such a strong food drive that I must separate them for feeding – and then we deal with the barking. It’s early in the process and I know the dogs are not yet fully acclimated to each other. Is there a panacea for the barking at the gate?
Jon says
I raise and have Maremmas patrol my fenced ranch. I never stop them from barking as they alert with a person call or predator call. They are like having 10 security guards here. It is what they do. As I am on unincorporated and agricultural land, the city folks moving in nearby may complain but no authorities will come out to our agricultural zoned ranch on a barking complaint.
The dogs are working animals and not pets and are a valuable part of my livestock.
.
Mary Grace says
My girl barks when we go for a walk. As soon as we start down the driveway she will start barking and not stop for an entire block or 2! Most times, no one is there, at least that I can see (or smell)! But she continues to bark. And loudly! (She is a 22 month old mini dachshund.) Maybe the peanut butter on the roof of her mouth as I read, but how will that work if she stops walking to lick the peanut butter?! HELP!!
Trisha says
Mary Grace: Our Great Pyrenees barked at the beginning of every walk around the farm. We called it her “announcement bark.” I’m here, we imaged her saying! What would happen if you just ignored it? Or laughed?