Excessive barking results in dogs being abandoned and destroyed by the
truckload. People can't cope with it and they can't seem to prevent it,
they can't manage to solve it, and they usually don't under-stand it. So
they wind up getting rid of the dog. Perhaps they are forced to get rid
of the dog. Perhaps
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they
are forced to get rid of their dog by justifiably angry neighbors or
worse yet by the courts. Perhaps they get rid of their dog out of
desperation or out of anger. The point is that the dog gets "the gas
chamber," through no fault of his own.
One question you should be asking yourself, is "why do dogs bark
anyway?" Some vocalizations that dogs make are motivated by the need to
communicate. For example, a puppy's barking can also mean "I am angry,
scared, frustrated, lonely, happy, protective, or want attention." The
meaning of the vocalizations depends on the circumstance and the type of
bark.
However, barking can become a trained behavior. If you say a word like
"speak" just before your dog is about to bark and then reward him with
food or play, he will learn to bark on command. This can be helpful,
especially when teaching a dog to bark intelligently; that is, at the
right time.
Barking can also become an unintentionally trained behavior. Let's say
that you yell "shut up" when your dog barks. When yelling doesn't work,
you give him a dog biscuit or throw a ball to keep him quiet. Your
reasoning is that your dog won't bark while he is eating or playing. You
are right, but what you are really doing is training your dog to bark
to get his reward of food or play.
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You can unintentionally train a dog to be a barker in other ways, too.
Let's say your dog is frustrated in his attempts to get you to let him
out. So he barks out of frustration. You let him out to keep him quiet.
You are training your dog to bark when he wants out. This could be a
fine skill if it's limited, but if your dog wants to go out frequently,
your dog: and his barking can become a real nuisance.
A dog's barking can also become a problem if you don't intentionally
control the learning situation. What happens if your dog is penned up or
tied up in your back yard and passers-by taunt him or kids tease him?
The dog barks. The passers-by go away or the kids run away, and the dog
is rewarded for barking. With a few experiences like this, your dog will
begin to bark at all passers-by. Your dog can easily become a nuisance
barker in this environment. This problem behavior is an improperly
learned and misplaced watchdog skill. You may think your nuisance barker
is a "good watchdog" but he isn't really. Remember the story of the boy
who often cried "wolf?"
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Some dogs learn to start barking when they hear the door close as their
owners are leaving. Some wait until they hear or see the family car
drive away. Some look out the window, watch their loved ones, and only
start their lamentable chorus when they are out of sight. Such refined
discrimination is the sign of a very advanced skill.
How do they learn this Skill of incessant barking? Let's look at it from
the dog's perspective. You go out the door and close if. The dog is
frustrated by the barrier. He barks, you open the door and calm him
down, barking is rewarded. Or, your puppy is put in the den or a crate.
He barks, you let him out. Barking is rewarded. Or your dog feels afraid
when he is left alone. He barks for help. You come and console him.
Barking is rewarded.
If you would like to learn how to fix this kind of behavior, contact us
below and find out how to get your dog to stop barking today!
