Barking

People talk, birds sing, dogs bark. Barking is one of the primary ways dogs communicate. While barking can be annoying and frustrating, we need to recognize our dogs’ inborn need to communicate. Just as we expect chimps and hippos to make chimp and hippo noises when we visit the zoo, we should expect our dogs to bark from time to time.

Dogs bark for multiple reasons, all of which are intended to express a need or emotion. If we want to reduce barking, we first must understand why it's happening, and deal with the underlying cause.

Body Language: First, look at the whole dog, not just the sound. What does his body language say? A dog who barks out of excitement will have a loose body, happy face and eager expression. A dog who is alarm or fear barking will have a tight face, a stiff body that’s learning forward or backward, and wide, hard or darty eyes. Barks sound different, too; the excited high-pitched bark of a dog playing with his bestie is very different from the low rumble or explosive bark of a dog warning off an intruder. Context matters, and body language gives us the clues to understand the intent.

Never use tools or methods intended to stop behavior, such as bark collars, shake cans or squirt bottles. Barking arises from a need, and squelching behavior creates fallout down the road, as the need still exists and the dog has no way to express it. Barking is a normal dog behavior, and when we remove his voice, he has no idea what to do instead.

Common Causes of Barking

Alarm/Alert

Timmy is in the well/the house is on fire/there’s a UPS guy on the porch. Because the dog’s judgement may be faulty (the UPS guy isn’t the enemy) it’s important to assess the level of danger before taking action. Once you’re sure the house really isn’t on fire, the use of a positive interrupter (kissy noises, calling the dog’s name, etc.) followed by the positive association of treats can be very effective. Keep calm, use a quiet voice, name the scary thing (“that’s just the UPS guy”) and scatter a few treats across the floor. Repeated over time, this use of counterconditioning is a helpful way to change his feelings about the trigger.

You can also teach him to understand that a positive interrupter cue, such as “that’ll do”, or “quiet, please” means yes, you’ve seen the threat; he can stop telling you about it.

Use other management tools as prevention, such as:

Block the dog’s view of known triggers, such as passersby, with window coverings or window film.
Baby gates or other means of containment to prevent access to areas where the trigger is visible or audible.
Soft background music or white noise to mask outside noises, or a room fan pointed at the source (which buffers the sound waves instead of merely masking them.)

Fear

This is alarm barking, only more so. The dog has gone past the “Hey! There’s a burglar/fire/kid in the well” stage, and is now completely over threshold in fear. Calmly remove the trigger and/or remove him from the cause, create an environment where he can decompress from the event, use physical and verbal comfort, and offer restful enrichment items that require licking, chewing or foraging. If there are known triggers, such as the scary neighbor or the smoke alarm beeping, use management to prevent exposure in the first place.

Anxiety

This is perhaps the most complex, as anxiety barking is part of a larger emotional puzzle. Address the source, use calming pheromone collar, spray or diffuser; provide a safe space for the dog; seek help from the vet or Vet Behaviorist, who may prescribe medication for anxiety. More here: Fearful Dogs

Boredom

Being bored makes us all want to bark (or chase our tails). When dogs are bored, they’ll come up with their own entertainment, most of which will not be to our liking, including barking. This is easily prevented with appropriate physical exercise and mental enrichment, avoiding leaving the dog alone for long periods of time with nothing to do, and meeting breed-and-age-specific needs such as foraging, digging and chewing.

"Demand"

Another pesky cause to deal with, the dog who barks just to get what he wants can drive us crazy. The best way to curb this is simply to ignore the behavior. Turn your back, walk away, go into another room for a few minutes. Return the instant he’s quiet, ask for a simple skill he knows (such as sitting or touching his nose to your hand) and reward that. In addition, reward any time the dog is quiet, especially in a scenario when he’s prone to barking.

“Bark bark bark” followed by any interaction whatsoever, including petting, yelling, saying “no” or any other action other than removing yourself from the equation only encourages more barking. All it takes is one unintentional reinforcement, such as a quick pet or a reprimand, and the "bark bark bark" behavior is strengthened.

Underlying needs must be met. Evaluate what he’s barking to get. If it’s to express needs that are reasonable, learn to anticipate these and meet them before he uses barking to summon your response. For example, if Fido barks to get petted, this is a normal, valid need for affection. Identify other clues that he’s about to ask for petting, such as approaching or putting his head on your knee, and pet him before the barking starts. Also, petting him at times when he’s not barking will reinforce the message that “quiet dogs get their chests scratched”.

“Not Now” scenario: You can teach him when it’s okay to ask and when it isn’t. For example, use a gesture such as both hands held open with the cue “All Done” to indicate that a training or play session is over. It’s also helpful to give him something else to do at this point, such as an interactive food toy or a treat scatter, so his arousal can decrease normally, instead of going from 100 to zero and leaving him hanging.

Extinction Bursts are a sudden increase in the behavior immediately before it fades away, kind of a “last gasp” attempt to make it work. It’s common for demand barking to undergo an extinction burst phase as the dog learns that this behavior won’t get the desired effect. You have been warned 😉. Take heart; if you don’t reward it, it will get better.

Demand barking vs Anxiety or Discomfort. It can be easy to miss underlying anxiety or discomfort/pain in the frustration of dealing with ongoing demand barking. Pay particular attention to body language; does the dog display behavior that’s consistent with anxiety or fear, or have any reason to be experiencing discomfort or pain? If so, it’s likely that his “demand barking” is actually driven by an emotional or physical need, and ignoring him will only make this worse. A few additional things that point to anxiety or pain in this context:

Does he bark for hours on end?
Does the barking escalate the longer it goes on?
Does he have other patterns of anxiety, such as sound sensitivity?
Does he bark in relation to a specific trigger, such as light/shadows, noises, etc.?
Does ignoring him only intensify the barking?
Does he bark regardless of what you do? E.g, comforting has no effect?
Does he have an ongoing/underlying medical condition, or visible signs of discomfort?

If the answer to any of these is yes, it’s likely he’s suffering from anxiety or pain. An evaluation by a vet or vet behaviorist may be the next step. Meanwhile, do your best to reduce the triggers, provide a safe, calm environment, and comfort him in the way that works best for him.

Frustration

A little like demand barking, except it’s usually related to a specific event, such as impatience over getting leashed for a walk, or the inability to interact with another dog. This is best handled with a calm voice, a redirect to another skill and a treat scatter, before proceeding with the activity. The goal here is to lower the emotional arousal and give his brain a reset from the source of the frustration so he can better deal with it.

As with alarm/alert barking, if the origin of the frustration is external, such as seeing other dogs through the fence or window, use management: change the environment to block visual or auditory access to the trigger to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Excitement

Yippee! I’m so excited I could bark! This is self-explanatory, but some dogs literally can’t contain themselves when they’re over aroused. Use a calm voice and body language to redirect the dog. Utilize management to decrease arousal (e.g., dog behind a baby gate with a favorite enrichment toy when guests come to visit), and reward for calm behavior. This is one instance when things like a treat scatter, which increase the level of *yippee* are not helpful.

Play

Can be a form of excitement barking, but many dogs bark (in addition to many other sorts of comical vocalizations) during play. They bark to entice other dogs into a game, to communicate the desire to speed up or slow down, to warn that play has gotten too rough, or just because play feels good. Some dogs act as “play police”, using barking as an attempt to keep things within parameters they think are acceptable. These are often dogs whose social skills aren’t fully developed; more safe, positive play interactions with a variety of dogs can help.

If your dog seems to be excessively barky during play, it may be a sign that he’s over aroused. Get his attention, take him aside and give him a little positive time-out, a chance to reset his buzzy brain and get a grip on his emotions. More here: Dog Play

Breed matters, too. Most retrievers are not bred to use barking as part of their innate toolbox of skills, but some breeds are bred to bark. Herding breeds and hounds bark as part of the jobs they were bred to do, such as moving sheep, tracking and notifying their handler of scent, or guarding livestock. As a result of breeding for size, small, toy breeds actually have nervous systems that are more “jangly”, which increases their tendency to bark. If your dog is a mix of breeds, barking may be hardwired into their DNA. Take this into consideration and adjust your expectations accordingly.

Breed

Most retrievers are not bred to use barking as part of their innate toolbox of skills, but some breeds are bred to bark. Herding breeds and hounds bark as part of the jobs they were bred to do, such as moving sheep, tracking and notifying their handler of scent, or guarding livestock. As a result of breeding for size, small, toy breeds actually have nervous systems that are more “jangly”, which increases their tendency to bark. If your dog is a mix of breeds, barking may be hardwired into their DNA. Take this into consideration and adjust your expectations accordingly.

Additional Resources

Article: Why Does My Dog Bark? (Rescued By Training)

Podcast Episode: "Pod to the Rescue" Barking by Summit Dog Rescue (February 24, 2022). A 20 minute deeper dive into causes, treatment and things to avoid.

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