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The barking causes for dogs
Unnecessary and repeated barking can really disrupt the quality of life for your family and the neighborhood. One of the main reasons of why do dogs bark for no reason is the lack of daily stimulation and exercise. Learn about the 3 main barking causes for dog that are normal and adapted to the behaviour. We will also explain the 7 excessive barking causes for dog and when it is recommended to intervene with stop barking device.
The causes of normal and appropriate barking in dogs
The first barking cause for dogs is because it’s a normal behavior in the canine species.
Dogs express themselves with their body language to express a need, an emotion and fear. They also communicates vocally by screaming or barking to warn its fellows. In the wild, canines live in packs with a social organization that is essential for the survival of this species like a wolf. Now, his family is the human kind, but his genetic programming and behaviors remain the same.
The dog express a physiological needs:
- Go outside to poop
- Somethings to eat or for water
- Need to exercise
In addition to expressing a state of mind:
- Fear of a person, an animal, a noise, an unknown object or situation
- Desire to play or enjoy
- The dog is bored and in need of external stimulation or attention
And also communicate with their environment or their pack:
- To protect his territory or someone he likes
- To alert you or his packs of a potential danger or the stimuli’s externe.
- Communicate with his pack
- Imitate other barking dogs
The second barking causes for dogs is that certain types of breeds of dogs bark more.
Some breeds have been developed to increase this behavior. Many have learned to bark for warning when they find a scent trail such as burrows for example. Several dogs bark when chasing an animal, to locate a shot prey, to protect land or farm animals. This behavior was once very useful in helping humans with some of their daily tasks, now the increase in technology has replaced its usefulness. Our pets are now most of the time only used to meet the relational and emotional needs of humans so that this behavior is no longer useful or even disturbing. Read more informations is related in this article;
- http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/the-15-quietest-dog-breeds
- https://www.treehousepuppies.com/dog-breeds/
The last barking causes for dogs could be due to a growth period.
During his ‘teenage’ period, your dog will show signs of hyperactivity. He will want to run away to satisfy his sexual impulses, to perhaps increase his barking and be more unruly or aggressive. The dog will give you the impression of no longer understanding the orders and adopt a destructive behavior. He might dig, destroy objects, eat away at your furniture, impose in front of you by defying and disobeying you. It’s a normal period and it should starts around 5 months for small breeds, for larger breeds, it can start around 9 or 10 months, and very large breeds can start around 12 to 18 months. Depending on the size of the breed, adolescence will last between a few months to a year.
Learn about this research on the use of anti-bark collars
According to research from Cornell University: Nuisance, inappropriate or excessive barking accounts for between 13 and 35% of complaints of behavioral problems from dog owners, Houpt noted. “Harmful barking can be manageable with behavior modification, but some owners are unwilling or unable to provide consistent and appropriate corrections,” she said. “Or the barking can happen when the owners aren’t around, so they can’t make corrections when the bad behavior occurs.
Here are the 7 excessive barking causes for dogs:
1. Fear:
The dog needs to vent or express a buildup of energy or anxiety. They can also express their concerns about a situation or a certain person. It is your reponsability to teach him not to be afraid of anymore while familiarizing him more with his environment.
2. Boredom:
If your dog is usually left on its own too long in the house or outside, and/or lacking physical activity. If your dog is in your backyard and spends all of his time watching what’s moving and smelling all sorts new smells on the ground, he makes it his mission to protect his territory or find a stimulating occupation. So whether it’s a new noise or a new smell, like a passing squirrel or people stopping in front of him, everything becomes a reason to bark. By boredom, there are stimulating occupations and games such as barking and moaning. He can also make holes or destroy objects or plants. The dog barks even if his owner is present.
3. Possessive:
Dogs can be possessive of their owners or objects when they are not properly socialized or educated.
4. Pain or disease:
A dog that barks often may want to express a feeling of pain or irritation caused by an illness. In this case, barking becomes a symptom that should not be ignored for the welfare of the animal.
5. Out of aggression:
He may want to dominate other animals, other dogs, or even humans. It’s often out of control and poses a risk of biting. A dog who barks out of aggression, can be recognized by observing other signals which make it possible to affirm that it is about aggressiveness: bristling hairs, grunts, curling of the lips, fixed and sustained gaze.
6. Separation anxiety:
The dog might not be feeling good when the owner leave him alone, he might feel abandoned. That is to say, he might be so sad or scared by your departure that he would start screaming or whinning. The dog does not bark when its owner is present.
7. Bad training:
A dog that does what he wants and that has no limits and no discipline on what he is allowed to do or not, might jump on people, or bark because he’s excited. He might also destroy things and plants and start to bark at everything and all the time for nothing important.
When to use the trainning collars methods to prevent your dog from barking?
It is possible to combine the use of stop barking collar to limit unnecessary barking caused by:
- boredom
- excitement
- indiscipline
- possessiveness
Don’t use the anti bark collar if it is caused by:
- agression
- separation anxiety
- illness
- pain and fear.
- This may worsen the situation and cause more behavioural problems.
In short,
Once you identify the causes of why does your dog barks so much, you can now act directly on the reasons. It is always time for you to reduce your dog’s barking sound by meeting all of his basic needs which greatly influences their behaviors. For dogs, just like humans, there are no magic cure for unwanted behavior. We need to invest time and have a lot of patience to help our dog feel good. We offer dog owners a training program to remedy their howler dog problem, with daily tips that are easy to implement. Dog correction collars can certainly help you reduce your dog’s barking, but you must first intervene on the causes of excessive barking to maximize the results.