Most dogs
will vocalize when they are exposed to new or different situations, including
strange people or animals entering their territory; being separated from their
pack, mother or even your family members; or new or alarming sounds. Dogs may
also bark or growl when they see prey, such as squirrels, and they may bark for
attention, food or if they are anxious. Dogs often growl when they are
fearful or trying to assert themselves in a situation. If the dog’s fear or
assertiveness is alleviated by growling or barking, the dog will learn that his
behavior is acceptable and the behavior may become more frequent or
severe. Some medical problems may cause growling or barking and older pets
experiencing senile changes may have barking problems. Intense and continuous
barking may be considered compulsive. Check with your veterinarian to evaluate
your pet’s barking or growling problem. Behavior training and drug therapy may
be helpful in reducing barking for pets with medical, geriatric and compulsive
disorders.
Socializing your puppy can help
Acclimate
your puppy to a variety of different people, environments, situations and
noises to help lessen anxiety as your puppy grows. Make sure your puppy spends
time alone so that he doesn’t develop separation anxiety while you are away
from him. Proper training is essential to preventing behavior problems, such as
growling and barking. Ask you veterinarian for more information about puppy
training.
Correcting a barking or growling problem
Correcting
a barking or growling problem first requires that you have effective management
of your dog. Once you have achieved this, you can begin to train your dog to
lessen his barking or growling behavior by using rewards for quiet behavior.
The reward should be something that the dog really likes such as a favorite
treat, tummy rubs, or a favorite toy. Punishment is generally ineffective in
correcting barking problems. Too much punishment may even exacerbate the
behavior and cause the dog to be fearful or aggressive.
Begin your
training with situations that you can easily control (such as a family member
making a noise that causes the dog to bark) before moving on to difficult
situations (such as a strange animal in your yard). When your dog barks at the
stimuli (for instance, a doorbell ring), immediately interrupt the barking.
When the dog is quiet offer the dog a reward for their behavior. Without
the reward there is no incentive to remain quiet.Reward your dog when, at your
request, he has stopped barking. Only reward the dog when he is quiet and
gradually increase the amount of time that the dog needs to be quiet for him to
receive a reward.
As the
barking or growling problem decreases, make sure to direct your dog to more
appropriate behavior, such as play, and the problem should lessen over time.
Don't forget to discuss training options with your veterinarian to find
the one that will work best for your pet.
