This article is the first in a series which I am calling the #betterDog project. It will endeavor to demystify some of the dog behaviors that can make your relationships with dogs not ideal. The series delves more into human training than dog training and will not be for everyone. Some of the lessons that are taught will be hard and you may think it is not that important, but having a happy dog and a happy human is my goal, so to me it is imperative.
The furry friend in the picture is my 8 year old Australian Cattle Dog X named Brodie. He has been a good friend since I rescued him from a shelter 7 years ago. He has caused many a challenge and moment of joy over those years and I am grateful that we found each other.
Introduction
Barking dogs are a pain in the butt. No one wants to be the owner who the neighbors dislike due to their barking dog. The barking dog poses an issue for the whole neighborhood as when one dog barks the rest of the furry community may feel they need to join in the celebrations.
Dogs don't have a language which is understood by other dogs. They can't bark in a specific way and all other dogs know what it means. So we have the problem of one dog's bark shows excitement but a similar dog may be signaling that is a stranger around.
Before we talk about stopping the woof, lets make it clear that a barking dog is not always a bad thing. Dogs that bark on command or when there is a stranger lurking around is a good thing, I don't care what anyone says.
Knowing this, how do we stop the barking? In the words of many a great permaculturist; `it depends'. Let's cover some of the reasons and what to do.
Barking from excitement:
Trigger of behaviour:
When you get home, when you leave, when the neighbor gets home, when the kid 3 doors down screams as it jumps on the trampoline, squirrel.... you get the point. The dog has gone to a heightened state of awareness and has learnt that when they get into this state they should bark.
Suggestions for changing behavior:
Changing the mindset of the dog to be in a calm state is the plan. See my post on 'changing the mind' but for a brief summary: make a noise or touch the dog to distract the mind. Continue to distract and calm the mind until the dog is in a state that you desire (think quiet mind). Once quiet mind has been achieved then ramp up the excitement in a way that suits. This is something like going back out and coming in again straight away, or banging on the door. The goal is to ramp up the mind so that you can put the dog back to quiet mind in an incremental way.
Barking at Nothing
Trigger of behaviour:
Often this sort of behavior is occurring when you are out, you may have no idea that it is your dog that is even barking. Here is where I would like to bring up that the first time people often learn about the barking is when you arrive home with a neighbour brandishing a tyre iron screaming at the dog to "Shaaaaaduuuuup". This is a time for you to get your calm assertiveness up to 10 quick smart. You will need to deescalate that situation right now, take full ownership of it, assure your neighbour that you were not aware and tell them that you will update them on the progress you make. The reason for this, is that as soon as a complaint is made to the `department of making you sad' then you have a lot more problems on your hand. Get your ego in check, thank the neighbour and get to work.
Suggestions for changing behavior:
Step one is knowing that you have a problem. Barking at nothing often stems from when you leave the dog in a heightened state. You say goodbye to the dog in "stay, stay, bye, bye, we'll miss you, good boy, stay, stay..." and then Bang, the door closes, Fido is all amped up and you just went and left them in a cage for dog knows how long.
Solution: Stop it. Stop getting the dog all excited and then lock them away from you. It doesn't matter how big the yard is, if the dog is excited at the door, it will stay excited at the door. Keep the dog calm, don't sneak out, don't run out, get the dog to a calm mind and walk out the door. No talk, no touch, just go.
I will certainly answer questions on this as I am aware that every situation is different, but really it's not, I can guarantee that each time you think it is the dog...its you.
Barking at intruders and threats
Good dog!
You see, no one should be being identified as an intruder unless they are. It is up to you to ensure that the dog can pick up what you want. This is a little out of my expertise as it falls into guard dog behavior, but I can say that working out with your family what you want and then training for that behavior is a good start. If you want a guard dog then I wish you all the best in finding someone to help, this is not what I do.
In saying all that, Brodie will bark once, maybe twice if someone unknown walks past, comes to the door or jumps the back fence. He does not bark at the mail delivery, the neighbors, the kids playing in the street.
Final comments
Nuisance barking sucks, it can disrupt a quiet day or night with a bit of the `boy who cried wolf' situation. If it's your dog, put the work in and sort it out. If it's not your dog then time to be a good neighbor and actually converse with the person. I know this may be more terrifying to most than losing internet for 10 minutes but if you get the local council in before you have at least spoken to the owner, you are the problem and need a Ssss for your behavior.
It will be work, it will not be fixed overnight, you will want to give up, but you chose to have a pack member, so time to sort it out.