Michele, how do I get my dog to stop barking? That question comes up a lot with students in my online course and in the Facebook group Puppy Training with Michele Lennon. I wish I could tell you just to do A B and C and the problem would be fixed, But life doesnt always work like that and dogs.
Definitely dont work like that, But dont go away just yet.
I can help you by providing you some ideas for what might be causing the barking, which then leads to what to do about it Before we begin be sure to hit that subscribe button. So you never miss when another video goes live Michele here with HTTADD.
Ok lets talk about how to get your dog to stop barking.
This question is similar to Michele. How can I get my baby to stop crying? Well, I dont know your baby and I dont know about your schedule. Is he hungry
Is he mad? Is he hurt? Is he tired I dont know, But together we can probably do some problem solving to figure it out.
So thats what we are going to do today, We have to understand the full context of the barking behavior to figure out what we can do about it: Dogs, bark, for a lot of different reasons and depending on the situation, it may not be as simple as Teaching the dog to be quiet Simply suppressing a behavior, can result in further behavioral issues and can actually be rather dangerous, not to mention unfair to the dog. All behavior, including barking, serves a function.
You heard me talk about that in this video, where I go over some of the top training phrases that we apply to your dogs, behavior
Your dogs, behaviors, are showing their emotions, like fear, frustration, stress, boredom overarousal or physical pain And its up to our more complex human brains, to figure out what to do about it.
It is extremely important to get to the bottom of why the dog is barking and to implement all of the elements needed in order for you both to meet common ground. Is she barking for attention?
Is she reactive barking? Are there particular times or locations What is happening in the environment when the barking occurs? Have we accidentally reinforced the dog for barking As part of our online course? You can learn how to better, be your puppys detective and understand the behavior in order to shape it to something more acceptable for your household
The more you work with your dog on training games and learn about canine communication.
The better youll be able to work through this. One reason for barking is attention-seeking. In this case, we want to make sure that we are not accidentally reinforcing the behavior by talking to touching or even looking at our pup until they are quiet. Just a side note here about attention: barking..
If you think your pup is trying to tell you they need to go outside with all this barking, maybe youd like a quieter, less demanding way for pup to signal to you In that case, grab the free New Puppy Starter Kit for the bell training lesson and More free resources to help you with potty training, your puppy Now back to that pesky barking, Do not say or yell out quiet while they are barking.
Since puppies dont understand what the word quiet means you are actually just giving attention. ( negative attention still counts for most pups, ) and reinforcing the bark. You will also teach your pup to either ignore the word quiet because we are overusing it or that it means to bark.
If the timing happens to be just right.
Remember puppies, don't understand the words we speak until each word is taught to them through a one-to-one association with the behavior. We want it to mean
During times that your puppy is barking at you for either attention or something they want take away all forms of attention, This includes eye contact speaking to them, touching them, etc.
Wait until the exact moment, your pup stops barking and then say: `` quiet'', while rewarding for quiet behavior. In the beginning, you will capture the quiet behavior as soon as they offer it.
Once your pup gets, the hang of this say quiet as soon as they stop barking and then wait 2-3 seconds to give the reinforcement. This will help you avoid your puppy chaining, the behaviors of bark quiet treat Later.
You can ask for the command `` quiet'' when your dog barks, and they will understand that it means stop barking. Until then, your pup just thinks that you are barking along with him/her or that barking is what you want.
The thing I like about that method is that it teaches our pups an alternate behavior
Just like I go over in this video when we are trying to change a behavior, its really hard for dogs to simply stop doing that, Youre going to have much more success if you offer an alternative behavior and put a lot of value in that Lets.
Talk about dogs barking at things outside This is so common. Have you heard me talk about the mailman theory?
That theory goes like this: the dog sees the mailman outside
He barks, because hes stimulated by this new thing in the environment After delivering the mail, the mailman moves on to the next house. The dog then starts to chain the behaviors together.
Mailman arrives, bark mailman leaves So the dog thinks that the barking is causing. That thing to go away:
You and I both know, thats not the case, but it happens like this all the time so to your dog thats, how it works.
Reinforcement builds behavior, which is another common phrase.
I use to explain training concepts to my students, Dogs, barking at other dogs. Doesnt really follow the same pattern thats, why its so hard to advise people when they ask how to get their dog to stop barking Barking at other dogs often comes from overstimulation over-excitement. It could be fear or anxiety or even a request to play.
This is where the context of the situation plays a huge role, and we also have to look at a dogs body language to understand what is his intent and what to do about it.
We have a great game in our training course designed to help your dog be calm and relaxed when he sees something exciting in his environment.
For all of you guys doing the DIY level of my course its in module 1 and its called the Blocking Game.
Boredom barking is another habit that puppies form If your puppy is barking, because they are bored evaluate how much mental stimulation and physical exercise they are getting each day Have you started decompression walks, yet
I go over those in this video. These walks are designed for your dog to just be a dog Sniff, explore meander and just enjoy it all.
They are done on a long leash, with a back clip harness for safety and during these walks, your dog gets to determine where you go Within reason. Of course,
These walks can be really helpful in getting out pent-up energy and emotion and can help your dog settle better at home, Puppies, also bark out of fear or to give warning that they are uncomfortable.
In this case, we want to counter-condition the pup to learn that the scary thing actually means a really tasty treat is coming their way and they do not need to be afraid. Throughout the first 18 months of your puppys life, he will go through periods of more pronounced fear.
Things that normally were no big deal are now very scary, e
G. garbage cans, cars even a chair that he sees every day. The good news is that these periods, usually don't last for too long, but there is likely to be multiple periods before he grows out of them. Your job during these periods is to help your puppy gain confidence by slowly, exposing him to these things that make him scared and giving him encouragement and rewards in the presence of them.
Your walks during this time might look a little bit different. You might not go very far since you are spending a while with each scary thing.
But this is an important part of the process and resist the urge to stay home and avoid all the scary things, The exposure to new things and things that make him scared.
While you work with him to change his association to something more positive is important.
These periods can be challenging for puppy parents, but using the familiar training games, hes known for many months, can be a source of comfort as he approaches these newly-unfamiliar objects.
Before I wrap up for this week, I want to address one final question that comes up a lot. People ask me Michele: my puppy is barking. A lot. Does this mean hes, aggressive
Well before I share my thoughts on this be sure to hit that subscribe button, so you never miss another valuable lesson like this. One Aggressive is not a type of dog.
Aggression is a functional, behavior (, the threat of harm to another by using growling snapping biting barking. Lunging ) Do not mistake. Aggression with normal puppy, nipping biting barking growling. The intent to harm is missing from the equation.
One must understand what is normal puppy behavior and the reason why the behavior is happening in the first place before we can determine if a dog is acting out with aggression, Puppies often nip and bite at moving objects, including hands, kids and pants legs.
Puppies growl and bark when they want to play or in an aroused state of mind, Dogs that are acting aggressive in nature, are doing so because the presence of the stimuli is uncomfortable to them in some way.
The context of the situation plays a huge part in determining if we have normal puppy behavior or something more serious going on Up to about 6 to 8 months, most puppies nip bite, bark and growl as part of their normal interactions with humans and other dogs.
This may include nipping at hands feet biting on the leash tugging at clothes knocking little ones down. If the dog is excited and the child is moving or making noises that excite the dog, We cannot label a behavior as aggression.
It isnt fair to label behaviors as aggression when we are dealing with normal puppy behavior, especially when the dog has not been taught any different skills, including impulse control, which comes with training time and maturity.
As you can see, barking is a little more of a complex topic that involves more investigation before it can really be understood, But it gets better..
With time and training. We talk in further detail about shaping puppy, behaviors and creating lasting solutions to troubling situations. In the 30 Days To Puppy Perfection program,
In the comments below, based on what youve learned today, tell me one reason: your pup may be barking..
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