You couldn’t figure out why your dog is barking and you don’t know how to stop it?
Your dog might be barking for various reasons, and barking is a natural dog behavior — just like talking is for humans.We all love to take our dogs out for a walk in a beautiful garden, on a windy Sunday morning, but just when things are about to get better our dog starts barking incessantly and causes havoc across the garden.
Have we ever wondered as to why our dogs tend to bark so much, especially when not in a familiar environment? Just like humans, dogs are living species who are quite cognizant to the ideas of belongingness and familiarity. Therefore, any external stimuli that might sound new or suspicious to them would be met with a series of dog barks.
While this might be considered as normal behavior by most dog owners, if your dog barks loudly and creates a chaos with its “communication skills”, it might be the right time for you to look at some of the reasons why your dog is barking:
Boredom: Most dogs tend to bark simply because they are bored and need an outlet to vent their feelings. Make sure you ensure they have a good run throughout the day so that the boredom wears off!
Protect Mode On: Dogs bark at others, including humans, simply because they want to protect their territory and they may not be able to distinguish welcome visitors from those who might be of a more suspicious nature
I want attention!: Just like an infant, your dog might be demanding your attention and time for you to just throw the ball or give them a nice pat on their back. When dogs need attention they often tend to bark and resort to unwanted behaviours
Separation Anxiety: A phenomenon very well known in Psychology, separation anxiety is something that dogs go through as well. Compulsive barkers often end up barking to listen to the sound of their own voice. This can be accompanied with symptoms of depression, isolated behaviour etc.
So how do we put order to the chaos that our little balls of fur and happiness have caused due to their only form of communication- barking?
Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:
Keep your dog busy: Ensure that your dog is busy throughout the day and has other modes of venting out than just barking.
As much as possible, completely ignore them and stay still, until they stop.
Modify attention seeking behaviour by rewarding good behaviour and completely ignoring the unwanted behavior
Bring your dog into a familiar environment to avoid any external stimulus
If your dog doesn’t like to be left alone and you’ve got too much on your plate, go ahead and book a dog- carer through the PawsApp!
