Dog Whining and Barking Tips

Barking and whining is the way dog’s ,talk, to us. However like popele, some dogs talk too much.   Sometimes preventing a dog from barking is as easy as figuring out what he is trying to tell you.   What is it that he is trying to point out to you?   Is there a big shadow or something he is mistaking for a stranger in the place?   Is he trying to tell you it is time to take him for a walk? Is he hungry? Or, like some humans, is he just making noises because it affirms that he exists.  Dogs bark for a lot of reasons.

\Here are just a few of them.  

1.                 He is calling the pack.   This urge is a primal leftover from the days when a missing member of the family needed to be howled to so that it could return from a straying away.

2.                 He is lonely.

3.                 He is frustrated.

4.                 He is hungry.5.                

He needs to go outside.

6.                 He is afraid.

7.                 He might be in pain.

8.                 He is excited (he sees another animal out the window.)

9.                 He is feeling territorial (and thinks people passing by, like the mailman are the enemy.).  

Never discipline a dog for barking. Chances are he is trying to tell you something. Often the message is ,you are not paying enough attention to me., Sometimes a lonely dog will seek out a scowl, a reprimand or any kind of response from you because negative attention is better than no attention at all.  Nervous and overexcited dogs, dogs with separation anxiety or dogs that haven’t been trained properly at an early age are prone to excessive barking. Some breeds tend to bark more than others do.

Check with other owners or the vet to find out if your dog’s barking habits are normal. If not it is time to instill more confidence in your dog that you will always return after you leave.  Practice leaving your dog alone for short periods of time. Put on your coat, pick up your keys and leave the house for 1 minute.   Then return.   Then the next time leave for two minutes. Then return again. Never greet the dog when you return in an overly excited or giddy way. This will simply encourage him to bark again. Gradually increase the amount of time you stay away. This will accustom your pet to the idea that if you do go away, you will always return.  

If your dog is barking all day while you are out at work is the problem make sure that the dog’s essential needs are taken care of.   If the problem is lack of access to outside consider getting a doggie door or hiring a dog walker. If it is lack of food or thirst consider getting a self-feeder. If it is loneliness that is triggering the barking, then consider getting a pet walker or sitter in. Sometimes another pet in the house can quiet a chronic barker.  

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How Does a Dog’s Brain Work?

A dog will not make connections between one action or the other unless you state the obvious. The reason you have to make things obvious and repeat your commands so much is because dogs are not very intuitive or logical. Their brain works by association or reward.    

If you toss a ball and say fetch many dogs will chase the ball and then not bring it back to you. They crouch over it and start gnawing it.  It doesn’t occur to them to bring the ball right back to you (unless the dog is exceedingly willing to please). You need to ,tell, through a verbal or visual command that you want that ball brought back.   This takes some training.  For example, if the dog grabs the ball into his mouth and takes a step towards you, you say ‘Good boy!’   or “Good girl!” If he drops the ball or runs away from you, you give the command again. Then, when he takes even one step towards you, you praise him.

This is how the dog gradually realizes what you want him to do.  Praise the dog repeatedly for doing even the littlest thing right and keep a pocket full of treats. However don’t use a treat that is so appealing that it makes your dog drop the ball.  

This thought process, which is called chaining, is a process of association that unfortunately, with some dogs can take some patience before he makes the relationship between the command and the praise. Once the dog has made this kind of “connection’ between events, he will soon start to repeat them just to be lavished with your approval.  Sometimes there is just no way to accelerate this learning process for a dog. It really does depend on the dog’s breed and the dog’s personality type.   All you can do is be patient.  

Most dogs will see training as a game at first. It is recommended that you give both your dog and yourself time to learn about each other. You can’t go too slowly, and if you go too quickly you’ll put the dog off the entire idea of learning.    If you do encounter problems, go back a stage or leave it for a few days and try again. Never show anger and keep it fun – this is a way of spending quality time together after all!   You simply have to be patient and take it step by step; otherwise you risk confusing your pet.  

Another key is to make sure you are gratifying the dog with a reward he or she will appreciate. Some dogs love treats, some dogs don’t care about food that much but may prefer to play with their favorite toy for a while as a reward. Others will simply be satisfied with approval and a nice pet on the head. The height of successful dog training however, is when you can get your pet to do what you say without any physical reward and just use visual or verbal cues.  

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