Barking is a common behavior that can be really hard to deal with, especially if it happens a lot. It can be very stressful for people to live with a dog who barks a lot. However, barking is often a symptom of something else. It is a communication tool that dogs will use and should be free to use. But don't worry, if your dog barks a lot, there are some things that you can do! Read on to learn a bit about barking, how to assess why it is happening, and get some tips on how to reduce barking in your dog.
Why Do Dogs Bark?
Before we can get rid of a behavior, we have to find out why that behavior is happening. Dogs bark for a collection of reasons and it is important to remember that as you go through the training process to address barking. Note that I just said "reasons". Dogs have reasons for the all the behaviors they display. They do not just do things "for no reason" and the same goes for the behavior of barking. As the humans in the relationship, it is our job to figure out what those reasons are and respond accordingly.
Determining the Reason
Now that you know that dogs bark for various reasons, you need to find out what those reasons are. First, you need to know that dogs are going to talk. If people get dogs and expect them to remain silent their whole life, that would be a bit like having a child and expecting it to, well, remain silent all its life, not a realistic or humane expectation. So begin by knowing that your dog will bark. Barking is just one form of communication that they utilize.
Second, you need to look at what your dog might be trying to tell you about how it is feeling or about something in its environment. Many times this can be done by looking at two things: the environment and a dog's communication ladder.
The Environment
Dogs bark at things in their environment. Keep in mind that the word "environment" can refer to both your dog's external and internal environment. For example, your dog may bark to chase off a squirrel (a response to something in its external environment) or it might bark at the odd sensation of hiccups (a response to something in its internal environment. Note that emotion is also part of your dogs internal environment. Emotion is a common factor that plays into barking). To help you determine your dog's reason for barking you need to determine if it is responding to its external or internal environment (or both) and what stimulus in that environment is correlated with, or triggering, the behavior of barking.
For example, the next two photos you will see depict play sessions between various dogs. These dogs are using communication to respond to stimuli in their external environment (each other) and they are using communication to respond to stimuli in their internal environment (their emotional state or energy level). Barking shows up in the photos that depicts both an external and internal environment that is high energy and comes with a feeling of urgency for the puppy that is doing the barking. So as you read through the next section and look at the two photos, ask yourself, why did the puppy in the second photo bark, even though both photos display play?
The Ladder Concept
Many times barking is just a natural behavior dogs use to respond to things that are highly arousing. For example, a dog who has a high prey drive might bark at something that is moving because high energy responses are often given to high energy triggers. Dogs also bark simply because that is part of who they are; some dog breeds bark more than others because it is in their genes, while still other dogs bark because they are simply more talkative than other dogs. However, there is another concept that might be helpful to keep in mind while you are trying to figure out why your dog is barking, the ladder of aggression, or in this case, the ladder of communication.
This ladder concept was developed by dog trainers who work with aggressive dogs and they refer to it as The Ladder of Aggression or The Aggression Ladder (check out this video by Chirag Patel: 10 Things Your Dog Wishes You Knew by Chirag Patel - YouTube. The section that includes the ladder explanation starts at 29:09 and goes until 45:00, though I encourage you to watch the entire video! Also, though barking is not included on the ladder in the video, note that Chirag points out that not every dog's ladder looks the same. Some dogs use different behaviors). Since I don't work with aggressive dogs, I am not usually needing to explain why a dog would become aggressive. However, I use this same ladder concept because, in my experience, this is still a great way to explain behaviors, even when the dog is not aggressive or does not have aggressive tendencies. So for the purpose of this article, I will refer to this ladder as The Ladder Concept. Looking at your dog's communication behaviors as rungs on a ladder is a great way to see that there are levels to your dog's communication and there are behaviors that often correlate to each level. Barking is one of those behaviors.
The "Rungs" of Communication
Dogs have levels of communication that they use based on what works for them in each moment. They start on lower "rungs" of the ladder with "quiet" communication. As they go from rung to rung, they can get louder and louder as they communicate their higher level of arousal. For example, the puppies in the photo below are in a low level of arousal and thus "quiet" communication is being used. They have no need to communicate high arousal or urgency, so they simply communicate with body language instead of barking or growling.
However, there are louder versions of communication that dogs use, which can include barking. In reference to The Ladder Concept, barking might fall on a certain rung in your dog's communication ladder. This "ladder rung" that includes barking is going to often be used by your dog to indicate a higher level of arousal or urgency. The majority of a dog's communication is done through body language. Most of the time, dogs will only bark if the less dramatic communication strategies (lower rungs on the ladder) have failed or the dog has learned that those strategies are not helpful for communicating the level of value the stimulus within the environment holds for the dog (higher value produced higher arousal).
For example, your dog may be stressed about its inability to reach something that it considers high value, such as a squirrel in the yard. Your dog might walk up to the door or window, then try staring out the window, then try bouncing and maybe letting out a quiet growl or bark at the window. These are all examples of "quiet" communication. These communication strategies or behaviors are low on the ladder. When all of those behaviors fail to get your attention, your dog may let loose with loud, repetitive barking, telling you it has encountered something that is highly arousing (frustration can increase arousal) or valuable but can't get to it. However, some dogs have learned that all the calm or "quiet" attempts (lower rungs on the ladder) at communication will inevitably fail, so they simply skip right to the barking (a higher rung that is used when the dog is highly aroused).
Now lets look at an example of a higher rung on the ladder or "louder" communication. The photo below is of three dogs playing. They are actually getting along quite well, but the one puppy is barking as it goes in for a play bite. This indicates a "louder" form of communication (higher rung on the ladder) due to the higher level of energy in the play session. After this moment was photographed, the adult dog calmed things down for a bit in order to prevent the puppy from continuing to escalate to the next rung in its communication ladder (high arousal communication is often stressful for all parties involved). In this situation, the barking is communicating a state of high arousal in the puppy (one could describe this as urgency to reach a highly valuable outcome, such as a playmate), which the adult dog managed quite beautifully. It is important to note that sometimes that is all that happens. Your dog barks because it had the opportunity to escalate its internal environment (emotional state) in response to its external environment (the squirrel or play) and now just needs some help calming down.
3 Tips to Limit Barking
Now that we know a bit more about how to investigate barking, and how it is used to communicate high arousal or urgency, here are three tips to help you begin to solve your dog's barking problem:
1. Taking into account the above information, see what you can find out about your dog and why it is communicating the way it is communicating. Is your dog responding to its external or internal environment? What specific stimulus seems to be triggering the barking? Is the barking simply how your dog responds because of its genes or temperament? Or is your dog using "loud" communication that is higher up on the ladder because it has learned that calmer or quieter communication does not get your attention? Is your dog using "loud" communication that is higher up on the ladder because it simply escalated and now needs help calming down?
2. Once you have determined why you think your dog is barking, you need to address the thing that is causing the barking. First, I would suggest putting together a management plan. (To learn more about this, read my blog post Behavior Management: Making Life with Your Dog a Little Easier.) To create a management plan, first make a list of ways you can remove the stimulus that is triggering the behavior of barking. For example, can you wave off the squirrels when your dog barks at them? Can you have the dogs take a play break? Next, make a list of ways you can separate your dog from the stimulus. For example, can you simply put up a visual barrier (like a curtain) or take your dog to a different room? Third, make a list of activities that your dog can do instead of barking at something. When you remove the stimulus or when you prevent your dog from having access to the stimulus, your dog needs to have something to replace that stimulus or your dog will seek it out. Make a list of fun games or work to eat puzzles that your dog can do instead of barking. When your dog barks at something and you need a quick fix, pull out these lists and find something that can help you in that moment.
3. Train your dog to "ask" politely. Management can only take you so far. Training is the long term solution. But it takes some time and effort. So make sure you are ready to put in the time and energy to help your dog and your self.
It is important that you teach your dog to "ask" for your attention using "quiet" communication (one strategy I use is to teach them to come to me, sit, and look up at me (or a version of this), when they need something, as shown in the photo above. Keep in mind that to do this, you will need to respond to your dog at the moment it "asks" you "quietly", rather then waiting until your dog feels the need to get "loud". To do this, reinforce your dog for calmly coming to get you when it needs your help and respond by helping your dog.
In situations where you do not want to, or shouldn't, do what your dog wants, such as if your dog wants you to let it chase a squirrel outside, then teach your dog to accept a "later" or "not now" cue. Once your dog knows this cue, you can give them that cue, then give your dog something else to do, such as a brain game. I would recommend getting help from a trainer to make sure you do this training correctly.
Remember to stay patient and have as much fun as you can! To get help with training, contact me at happyats@outlook.com and let me know what your dog is barking at!
Thank you for reading! Please leave a like and a comment and let me know how this article helped you!
Photo Credits
Photo 1 - Robert Gramner Unsplash
Photo 2, 3, and 4 - Dallas Kelley (Me)
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