How Do I Stop My Dog Barking?

Dogs bark for many reasons. It can be due to fear, arousal, isolation concerns, frustration, irritation, pain, social-facilitation, breed-trait, nervousness… the list goes on. Whatever the reason, they are usually trying to communicate with us an underlying concern or challenge that needs addressing. 

A bark is a short, explosive and repetitive sound. They can vary dramatically in acoustic structure, or number of repetitions, as the dog communicates different moods or needs. While we tend to focus on body language and olfactory (scent) communication when discussing our dogs, vocalisations from our canine friends can be heard in a wide variety of social situations. 

While the noises they make might be fairly similar to their ancestral relatives, the wolf, dogs bark much more frequently than other canids. This is likely due to the process of domestication and living in close proximity to humans. In fact, a study on tamed red foxes (Gogoleva et. al) - another member of the canidae family -  found that not only did the tame foxes use different types of vocalisations towards humans than their wild counterparts, but they were more frequent in display. 

As Sophia Yen explained, “The disparity in bark frequency and context between dogs (Canis familiaris) and wolves (Canis lupus) has led some researchers to conclude that barking in the domestic dog is nonfunctional. Other researchers, however, have concluded that vocal usage and response to vocalizations in mammals are strongly guided by social interactions.“

Barking should be treated as normal in canine communication, but “inappropriate” or “unwanted” barking - too much or too often - is one of the most commonly reported challenges owners have when sharing a home with their dogs.

Frequent and repetitive barking from our domesticated dogs can be deemed anti-social, through the cause of environmental disturbance. You may end up with noise complaints from neighbours or may actually suffer from headaches or distress yourself bought on by your dog’s incessant barking. By law in the UK, a barking dog can be deemed a 'statutory noise nuisance'. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 you (as the owner) could be taken to court (and potentially fined) if you do nothing to reduce this behaviour. 

When we look at the disparity between different barks - either in varying contexts or from different breeds - we find that some pitches or frequency of barks are easier to tolerate than others. A “yap” that is more repetitive in frequency and higher in pitch, for example, can be harder to ignore than a single deep bark. A study investigating whether humans could categorise played-back dog barks and the emotion attached to it (Pongrácz et al. 2005) found that:

“Humans can also categorize barks according to their emotional content, rating barks directed toward a stranger as more aggressive, barks produced in an isolation situation as more “despaired”, and barks recorded during play interactions as happier.”

We can see further patterns in the type of barking a dog may display based on different contexts. When Sophia Yin and Brenda McCowan (2004) looked at barking in domestic dogs - within the contexts of disturbance, isolation, and play, they found that:

“Disturbance barks were longer in duration with more rapid repetition than the barks given in other contexts.”

We know that some breeds are more inclined to bark, having been selectively bred with that as a ‘tool for their trade’ so to speak - particularly for in our hounds and terriers being used for active hunts. Speaking from experience, when I work with Dachshund or Schnauzer parents, I can almost guarantee that their number one challenge is going to be barking. 

Supporting your Barking Dog

It can be useful to keep a diary of your dog’s behaviours: how frequently they bark; in what context; what other activities they’ve been involved in on that particular day; and if there are any external factors (such as visiting family members, postal workers, cats etc). This can help us to build a picture of what is normal for your dog and thus allow us to decipher the emotions behind the barks. 

Barking may be displayed as a signal of an underlying medical issue - particularly when it comes to the area of pain. If your dog’s vocalisations have changed in frequency, pitch, or are being heard in next contexts, it is always valuable to have a full veterinary examination.

It’s important we don’t punish the bark. By adding in punishment we can increase the stress levels our dogs are under. It can also cause further frustration as our dog’s fail to get the support they need, leading to a reduction in your positive bond. The use of bark collars that vibrate or spray liquid at your dog's face, may actually increase the likelihood of barking - if not while wearing the collar, then after it is removed. 

When Deborah Wells (2001) looked into the efficacy of citronella bark collars, she discovered that “barking increased over the period of time the collar was worn, particularly in those dogs which wore the device every day.” She also found “that dogs generally habituate to the citronella spray collar irrespective of how the animal is exposed to the device”, meaning that in the long-run the effectiveness of the collar wears off. When trying to reduce a behaviour, we want to treat the root-cause instead of applying a temporary solution such as an anti-bark collar.

So what can we do to better understand and support our barking dogs?

Boost Happy Hormones

Chewing and sniffing are both shown to boost endorphins - it’s like adding happy juice to the brain! Calmer, happier, and more relaxed dogs are less likely to bark. Plus, for most dogs (there’s always an exception), when they’re busy chewing or calmly sniffing, they aren’t able to bark simultaneously. Teaching incompatible behaviours such as fetching a toy in their mouth when the doorbell rings, can also give the dog the “success” feeling of achieving a task.

Manage the Environment - In the House

Reducing visual stimulation by changing the room your dog spends its time or putting frosting on your windows, can help your dog be less vigilant about passers by your home. This can help enormously with territorial or alert barking - as can adding in white noise or consistent, calm music to distract from outside noises. 

Manage the Environment - In the Garden

If your dog performs socially-facilitated barking - allelomimetic behaviour - where it joins in with dogs in your neighbourhood as they perform a barking chorus, think of other activities your dog can enjoy outside. It might be that you limit time spent in the garden to only when you’re having a positive dog:human interaction through training or play. You might consider creating a digging pit for your dog to expel unwanted emotions and energy that way. Or there’s always my favourite - a cheese party! - tiny pieces of sprinkled goodies (we love grated cheese) on your lawn for your dog to sniff out and enjoy. 

Reduce Frustration

When barking comes from a place of frustration, perhaps during a training session or when your dog can’t meet another dog on a walk, is your dog clear of the expectations required in that specific context? Filming your training sessions can help you review if your directions are precise or if you’re adding in confusion. When your dog gets frustrated - try asking them for a super simple behaviour you know they can ace. If they can’t show you that behaviour it might be that they just needed a break - some time to process. Have you worked on really simple focus exercises that allow your dog an easy win when you ask them to look at you instead of another dog on a walk? When we go too complex, too early, our dogs can end up failing. If in doubt, create space and then refocus your dog onto a calming behaviour such as sniffing.

Change your Mindset

If we choose to change the way we negatively phrase a challenge we’re dealing to a more positive stance, it can aid us in making better progress together. Think less about “stopping” the barking and more about the behaviours you’d love your dog to display instead. Wouldn’t it be nice to focus on how you’d like “your dog to feel calm and happy” when it sees the mail being delivered, rather than desiring “your dog to STOP barking”? When we think of what we’d like our dog to be doing, instead of what we’d rather they didn’t, we have a goal we can positively work towards. 

For example, when it comes to alert barking, we can think of the number of barks we’re happy with and then introduce a “thank you” cue which directs our dogs onto another behaviour - while tricking our own mindset into thinking we were grateful for those few barks!

Seek Professional Support

There are some situations, such as when our dogs are left home alone, that barking behaviours might need some more in-depth behavioural support. If you’re finding your dog suffers from isolation distress, it’s worth filming their response and then reach out to use for more support. Simply leaving your dog with something to chew or lick isn’t going to address this complex anxious response.  

So what do you think? Do you think barking dogs simply like the sound of their own voice? Are they trying to communicate something important to us or other dogs around them? How will you adjust your response next time your dog decides it needs to shout about something? 

If you'd like to get some support with your dogs barking - then grab our self-paced course today for just £28: barketplace.uk/barking