So, now that you know why he's barking (see "NOISE!BARKHOWLWOOFBAROOOOOoooooooo!" article; Sept. 2014) how on earth do you help quiet the cacauphony? I wish I could say it was a fast, simple solution--and in truth, it IS simple, but which method you choose, must match your particular dog's personality, and his propensity for making noise, in order to have any kind of success at all. Therein lay the complexity of helping to calm the verbal chaos.
Over the next few articles, we will address a few of the more common "personalities" when it comes to this obnoxious habit, and a few ways to create more calm and quiet in your life. Once you have identified "why" your dog is barking, then you can have a more educated approach to how you "fix" this.
Personality Number One: The Neurotic Noise-Maker
This is a guy who has an initial stimulus of unknown origin, and just can't seem to stop barking. I'm not talking about a dog who barks AT something, or someone, he can hear or see, and then eventually slows, or gets distracted and does something else. No, this guy barks in a continuous stream of obscenity at nothing. He barks when you open the back door for him, and continues to bark as he races around the yard, as you throw a ball for him, or even better......he barks as he squats to poop. There is no cessation of noise. No break in the insanity. He just barks.
For this sort of issue, as with most behavioral "problems," please start with a visit to your veterinarian. There is such a thing as OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) in canines, and such a thing may well warrant a short-term course of medication. These problems can be, and frequently are, helped without drugs, but if your dog is suffering, why wouldn't you give them every advantage to a more relaxed, calm way of being?
With or without neurologically altering drugs, some training is necessary. Bad behaviors can become mental addictions, and in order to change that pattern, you need to build some alternative behaviors for the dog to work with.
1. Never let your dog out of doors without a long line, or leash of some kind attached to you. If your OCD barker is not attached to you in some fashion that will allow you to reel him in, how are you planing to control his actions?
2. Get your dog going on some basic obedience in an environment that doesn't send him into the fits. Even if this means you must start your training in your bedroom, with soft music playing and your dog attached to a leash (and a whole lot of whatever treat/toy he finds most appealing), do it. Learning how to "Sit" "Down" "Come" and "Leave It" may seem irrelevant to the issue, but getting your dog to do things that require thought, instead of simple reaction, helps change the way his head works. They also give you ways to begin to show your dog how to "shut off the crazy."
3. Build some controlled crazy by increasing the play with your dog. As you teach your pup to do some basic obedience, and more tricks, start incorporating it into play sessions. In your controlled environment, have your dog play. In the middle of this play, stop and suddenly ask for a "Down" or other such behavior that you have taught your pup. This will help him learn to change gears, as it were, on his behavioral patterns. "OHMYGAWD!!!MY TENNIS BALL IS SOOO....wait...did she say 'sit?' ok...now i'm sitting....and now she made me down....hmmmm....OOH TENNIS BALL IS BACK!!!YAY!!!"
4. If at all possible, increase your dogs level of physical exercise. Just as this has been proven effective in managing certain mental disorders in Humans, this is a vital part of a healthy dog. I feel like a broken record, but please, DO more with your dog. Yes, I know, he is super annoying to try to walk with all that noise happening. But if he's annoying AND full of excess energy, it is going to be much, much more difficult to break this habit.
Ok, OCD dog blasts out the door and .... No...wait, come back here (use long line to reel dog back into house)....Sit yourself. Thank you. Let's try that again. Wait...(open the door as the dog waits patiently)...and he's off again!!!!....come on back....try it again. Sit....Wait....(open the door again)...this time he waits....
Getting over the first step of teaching OCD guy that hitting the threshold at Mach 9 is only going to result in your patiently, and gently pulling him back into the house to try a softer, slower entry, is the most important step. Most of these personalities have built the reactionary association that "going outside = high speeds and noise," so reprogramming him to have a calmer approach to it altogether is key. Yes, it will take you "forever" to let him out to pee, but guess what? He's going to learn to do it without spazzing out.
As you work through this, each and every time he looks as though he's becoming too intense, or you feel an episode of barks coming on, reel him towards you, and ask for some behaviors. Silly tricks like "High Five" or "Dance" don't require your pup to sit on ground that may be muddy, cold, or otherwise uncomfortable, so get creative. The point is to redirect all that chaos, into a controlled, quiet, enjoyable time in the back yard.
Next Time:
Personality Number Two--- The Easily Distracted Barker.....
