Chapter 3: B-Barking

The Bark Stops Here

Asking why dogs bark is like asking why people talk. Just like humans who chat, yell, laugh, and cry, canines express a wide variety of doggie emotions through their vocalizations. As a result, there is no one solution to stopping all barking. In fact, the goal should never be to stop the dog from barking altogether, just as you’d never insist a person be completely silent her whole life. Rather, a realistic goal is to allow the dog to bark sufficiently to make his point—for example, two or three barks to alert the family that someone is at the door—and then let his human take it from there.

The ideal training strategy addresses the underlying emotion that causes the barking and then offers a calm alternative activity for the dog to engage in so he doesn’t feel the need to bark so incessantly. (For a thorough description of the kinds of barking, I recommend the book Barking: The Sound of a Language by Turid Rugaas.) Dogs often engage in alarm barking when they are faced with potentially intrusive or threatening stimuli like doorbells, passersby outside the window, and unwanted guests, such as the postal worker. The dog is essentially warning anyone within earshot: “Hey, everybody, danger!” Of course, you know the postal worker is just there to drop off your mail, just like every other day, with no nefarious plans to break into your home. Nevertheless, if your dog is sounding his alarm, you need to address it as if the danger were real because, at that moment, it is very real to your dog. This means no yelling or punishing the dog; he is simply expressing his emotions, and his barking could actually alert you to a real danger someday.

Many city dwellers, myself included, like the added security of knowing the dog will bark if he hears suspicious activity at your door or window at 2 a.m., while you’re sleeping. On the flip side of that, we have to accept that the dog does not have an “off” switch, so he will sometimes bark at movements or noises that we know are innocuous. Again, the goal is not to stop your dog’s barking entirely, especially because then you lose your night guard, but to respond in a way that will calm and reassure him so he chooses to stop barking. The Doorbell Drama section of this chapter (see page 42) addresses management and training strategies to mollify an alarm barker, using the example of barking at the doorbell; however, these strategies can be applied to many other barking scenarios as well. If your dog barks at noises or sights outside your window, the Barking Out the Window section has strategies to help.

There are several other kinds of barking. Demand barking or, as I call it, the “bossy bark,” can become an irritating habit with some dogs. Bossy barkers are the dogs that look you in the eye and bark at you: “Give me that treat, now!” “Throw that ball for me. Faster, human!” While any dog can demand bark, I see it most frequently with small dogs, those tiny tyrants who simply cannot handle the frustration of being ignored. It’s important to address the underlying frustration of demand barking as early as possible. On occasion, dogs whose bossy barks are ignored will then start to jump on you for your attention, then go for a nip of your pants, and so on until someone gets bitten. The Bossy Barker section of this chapter (see page 58) addresses management and training strategies for demand barking.

There is also excitement barking, which often happens when you or other beloved humans enter your home. (Depending on the dog, any human could fall into the “beloved” category.) Though we all love being greeted by a wagging, smiling dog, there is no need for rude behaviors like barking, jumping, or biting to be a part of the dog’s greeting. The Doorbell Drama section has strategies to address the overly excited doggie greeter.

Resource guarding, shown here, can elicit yet another type of vocalization.

If your dog is barking consistently when left home alone, the most common causes are boredom or anxiety. (If he only barks occasionally while alone, it may be an alarm bark in reaction to a sudden sound.) Boredom barking, repetitive barks in the same mid-range pitch, results when your dog has nothing better to do. Dogs who are cooped up inside a house or apartment all day by themselves may resort to this hobby. Anxiety barking, on the other hand, often sounds like a shrill series of barks and sometimes howling, and it can also go on for hours. This kind of barking results when a dog feels uncomfortable, even panicked, being left alone. Anxiety barking is to be taken seriously and usually requires the assistance of a trainer. For all issues related to your dog’s being home alone, see Chapter 1.

Be Prepared

Whether you choose the management or training strategies that follow, you’ll need to be prepared. You can’t always anticipate when your dog will bark—the doorbell just happens to ring, or a neighbor’s dog outside your window suddenly begins to yelp, and in an instant your dog is alerting the entire neighborhood. To be ready to train on short notice, keep little tins or bags of treats in all of the places where training might occur. I always keep a tiny bag of treats on a high shelf in the foyer, in a drawer next to my couch, on my desk in the office, and tucked on top of my bed headboard. This way, no matter where I am, I can quickly grab a few treats to train at that very moment. If the doorbell rings, I can’t say, “Dogs, can you hold your barking for a minute while I go to the kitchen and get some training treats?” The canine cacophony waits for no one.

A durable toy stuffed with food will keep a dog occupied instead of underfoot.

To curb barking, as well as many other problematic behaviors, it pays to be prepared with the right training tools. My most valuable training tool is a hollow, durable rubber toy with a large opening that can be filled with peanut butter, plain yogurt, cream cheese, or meat baby food (for human babies, that is). My top choice is peanut butter because the smell is strong and alluring to most dogs. (A word of caution about peanut butter: Check the ingredients to ensure it is free of xylitol, a natural sweetener used in some peanut-butter products as well as in some sugar-free chewing gum, toothpaste, and other sweets. Xylitol is highly toxic to dogs, even in small amounts.) Get a hollow rubber toy that is large enough to be filled with your dog’s entire meal in case you want to use his meal as a reward; my dogs weigh about 10 pounds each, and large-sized rubber toys fit their meals perfectly.

Prior to practicing the management and training techniques in this chapter, fill up your toy with either wet or dry food or slather some peanut butter inside and freeze it for a few hours to make the peanut butter harder to lick out. I recommend always having a frozen toy ready in the freezer so you can quickly entertain your dog with a long-lasting food toy when:

Doorbell Drama

Depending on the dog, the sound of the doorbell can be a source of either excitement or stress—or possibly both. The strategies in this section will help your dog make a new association with the doorbell. Rather than the ringing sound meaning “time to panic,” the sound will mean “time for a snack” or “time to sit on my mat.” The strategies in this section can address a number of other problems as well, such as jumping on guests who come in, rushing out the door when someone opens it, begging at the table, and demanding attention at inconvenient times.

My dog barks and gets overly excited when the doorbell rings.

Management Strategy: Breakfast in Bed

Breakfast in Bed is a simple management technique that you can use when guests are entering your home or any other time you don’t want your dog underfoot.

Breakfast in Bed teaches your dog that the trigger (the doorbell) is immediately followed by super-tasty snack in the bedroom or his crate. Being a management strategy, there is technically no training involved, but by practicing the strategy many times, your dog will learn a new association with the doorbell. He has already been classically conditioned to associate the doorbell with excitement or worry about an incoming stranger, which results in barking. Now, you can classically condition him to make a new, calmer association: the sound of the doorbell means he should hurry to the bedroom and wait for his treat-stuffed toy or other time-consuming snack. It’s no different from Pavlov’s dogs, who learned that a bell predicted food, but in your case, the doorbell predicts food in a certain place that is safely cut off from the excitement of the front door. This management strategy doesn’t teach a dog to be well behaved; however, it stops the pattern of going bonkers at the sound of the doorbell, and replaces it with a much more polite and relaxed response of running into the bedroom for a treat. Once the dog is safely behind a closed door, you can let your guest enter and get settled before releasing your dog.

How to Teach Breakfast in Bed

  1. The dog hears the trigger (the doorbell) and you immediately announce, “Breakfast in Bed!”
  2. Happily run into the bedroom or to his crate, and give him a pre-stuffed Kong while you secure the door.
  3. The dog stays in the room until the distraction is over.
  4. In order to be released, you want to ensure the dog is relatively calm. I do this by opening the door a crack and sneaking into the bedroom, and then asking the dog to sit. It might take a few moments, so just stay still until he sits. Then, open the door to release him. In this case, the reward for sitting is being released from the bedroom, so you do not need a treat.

You’ll have the best results if you practice the heck out of this before actual guests ring the doorbell. If you don’t have a helper to ring the doorbell, record the bell sound on your phone and play that instead. Go through the routine until your dog automatically runs into the bedroom or crate at the sound of the doorbell.

Troubleshooting

Problem: My dog will do it when we practice, but not when real guests come.

Solution: There could be a few reasons for this. First, practice many more times to make sure your dog thoroughly understands the sequence. It can take numerous repetitions before your pooch is ready for real guests, especially if he has a long history of barking at the doorbell. Also, test out different goodies inside the Kong, to see which taste is most irresistible. Some dogs don’t care for peanut butter but love cream cheese, and meat baby food is a stinky favorite of most dogs. Finally, when you’re expecting visitors, put a note on the door asking them to call you before ringing the doorbell (and then to only ring it once), so you won’t be caught off guard and take too long getting the Kong out.

Training Strategy: Place, Level 1 (Duration)

This technique teaches the dog to go to his bed and stay there until released by you. When the dog is in his Place—a designated doggie mat, bed, or crate—he will be concentrating on doing the Place behavior and waiting for your release cue, and as a result, not barking and bouncing around. Place is an example of how we shouldn’t just tell a dog, “No, stop barking,” but also tell him, “Yes, do this polite behavior instead.” By doing the polite behavior of lying on his mat, his excitement level won’t escalate nearly as much as if he were jumping at the front door, and as a result, he won’t be inclined to bark his head off while doing Place.

Teaching Place has lots of practical applications. Here, Batman and Beans are relaxing on their mats rather than getting underfoot while we all enjoy some fresh air and talk about—what else—our dogs!

Like Breakfast in Bed, Place is a great way to keep a dog from getting underfoot in any number of situations. Better yet, Place is portable; just bring your dog’s mat when you travel, and he’ll have a comfy spot to chill even when the surroundings are new and potentially stressful. I always bring my dogs’ mats when we travel. For instance, Batman sometimes helps me with lessons at the Brooklyn Dog Training Center, and rather than crate him in a separate room, I simply lay his mat in a corner, where he can nap until I need him. My other dog, Beans, sometimes attends workshops with me, and knowing her mat is a safe place, she is glued to it without any instruction from me. When my dogs and I visit friends who don’t like pets on the furniture, having my dogs go to their mats and relax is a way to make everyone happy. The opportunities are endless.

Keep the placement of the mat in mind. If your dog usually barks near the front door, then the mat should be in the vicinity of the action. It’s unrealistic to expect your dog to walk to a mat at the other end of your home, and then stay there quietly while all the fun is happening out of sight. I generally keep a mat for each dog in the foyer of my apartment, placed so that they can see what’s happening from about ten feet away. If I plan to send them to their mats, say, while I’m cooking, I will simply bring the mats to a corner of the kitchen and the dogs usually settle right in without being asked.

You’ll notice that Place is broken up into four levels. This is because it is actually a complicated behavior involving several components your dog must master: he has to sit or lie down for an extended period of time, while you walk away from him, and while some very exciting distractions are happening. For your dog to be successful, break the training up into the Three Ds: duration, distance, and distraction. Only practice one D at a time, so when working on duration (how long your dog is on his mat), it’s important to keep the distance between you and the dog short and the distractions low, so he can really focus on increasing the duration.

If your dog doesn’t know how to sit or lie down yet, see Chapter 7 and thoroughly teach him at least one of those cues first. (Choose whichever behavior comes more naturally to your dog. There are some dogs who can sit like champs but find lying down on cue awkward. That’s fine. Eventually they will get so relaxed that they will lie down on their own.)

How to Teach Place with Duration

  1. Pinch a treat between your index finger and thumb, so you are making a pointing gesture. Stand next to mat and lure the dog onto it. Don’t say anything yet.
  2. Once all of the dog’s paws are on the mat, ask for a Sit or Down.
  1. When he sits or lies down, mark with “Yes!” and reward. You can let him eat the treat slowly, or feed multiple small treats so he stays on mat for a few moments. Make sure he remains sitting or lying on the mat while he gets the treat.
    • If he pops up to eat the treat, give an NRM (no-reward marker) like “Oops,” remove the treat and start over. Revisit Chapter 1 if you’re not clear what marking, rewarding, or NRMs are.
  1. Release him with “OK” and encourage him to get off the mat.
  2. Repeat this until you get four-for-four (meaning, four correct responses in a row, as explained in Chapter 1).
  3. This time, add the verbal cue “Place” right before you lure him onto the mat. Repeat steps 1–5.
  4. Switch the treat to your other hand, hidden behind your back. Now, as you say “Place,” you are pointing to the mat with an empty hand, making it a cue, not a lure. Repeat steps 1–5.
  5. Start increasing the amount of time your dog is on the mat. After he gets on the mat, pause for three seconds, give a treat, pause for three seconds, give a treat, pause for three seconds, then mark, reward, and release.

▲ Jacob lures Finn to the mat, using a pointing gesture with a treat wedged between his fingers. Starting with Step 7 of Place, he will remove the treat so that the pointing gesture becomes a cue, not a lure.

▲ Jacob asks Finn to lie down with all four paws on the mat.

▲ Finn gets his reward while he is in the correct position, and then Jacob will release him with “OK.”

From there, using the rule of four-for-four, gradually build up the duration of Place by adding more seconds between your treats. (Do not add distance or distractions yet.) The goal of this level is for your dog to lie on his mat and get settled while you occasionally give him a treat on his mat. Consider practicing Place with Duration next to a chair or sofa so you can get comfortable and relaxed yourself. Further steps would look something like this:

I recommend you use the same bed or mat for Place, but move it to many different locations. Dogs do not generalize well, meaning that if you only teach Place in your living room, he won’t realize that Place also has the same meaning in other locations. When teaching any behavior in a new location, start from step 1 and work your way up. (Don’t worry, it usually progresses faster than the first time you taught it.)

See the Appendix for a sample plan and chart to help you track your progress when training Place, Level 1.

▲ When practicing Place with Distance, make sure your body remains upright, as Jacob’s is here.

Training Strategy: Place, Level 2 (Distance)

This level of Place will teach the dog to go to his mat, even when you are not standing next to it. When teaching Place with distance, you will give the “place” cue while standing away from the mat, but remember to return to the mat to mark and reward. Avoid walking away, then releasing your dog or saying “come,” followed by a reward; if you do that, what have you rewarded? Not the Place, but rather you’ve just shown your dog how much fun it is to break away from his Place position and run to you for a treat. By rewarding the dog on his mat, Place becomes inherently rewarding because he only gets his goodies when he’s still sitting or lying on his mat. He won’t be itching to jump off the mat, and in fact, it might be hard to pry him off it when your training session has finished!

How to Teach Place with Distance

  1. If this is your first session of the day, do two or three easy Place Level 1 cues, in which you stand next to the mat, to refresh his memory.
  2. This time, take one very small step away from mat. Then, give the Place cue.
    • If your dog hesitates, hold your pointing cue still and look at the mat, not the dog. Give him at least ten seconds to think about what you’re asking.
    • Keep your body upright and natural. Avoid reaching unnaturally far; your body should be a step away from the mat, but your hand stretches to reach over it.
  3. When your dog sits or lies down on the mat, return to the mat to mark, reward, and release. Make sure he is still in the desired position while eating his treat.
  4. Get four-for-four at one small step away.
  5. Take another small step away from the mat and repeat the sequence. Get four-for-four.
  6. Continue progressing by taking one more small step away, then getting four-for-four.

From there, once your dog has grasped both levels 1 and 2 of Place, you can combine the duration and distance elements. At this point, you don’t need to do four-for-four, meaning you can increase the difficulty slightly after each correct response. However, there is one exception: if your dog struggles at any one step, go back to the previous step and practice it until you get four correct responses in a row. This will ensure you’re not moving ahead too quickly. Here is how to incrementally increase the difficulty of both duration and distance combined.

See the Appendix for a sample plan and chart to help you track your progress when training Place, Level 2.

Training Strategy: Place, Level 3 (Distraction)

This level of Place will teach the dog to stay on his mat even when there are distractions present. This requires a lot of impulse control, especially for young or energetic dogs, so work at your dog’s pace. It’s important to keep the duration and distance low at first; you can always add those elements later. The outline for incorporating all three Ds is laid out after the numbered instructions.

How to Teach Place with Distraction

  1. Cue your dog to his Place as before.
  2. While he is on his mat, add a small distraction like dropping a small, uninteresting item. (I start with something at “kindergarten level,” like an envelope, which won’t startle or excite most dogs.) After your dog has remained on his mat during the distraction, mark, reward, and release.
  3. Get four-for-four.
  4. Gradually work your way up to more distracting items. What constitutes “distracting” depends on the dog, but these are some suggestions:
    • Elementary-school level: lightweight paper goods, like a disposable cup or plate
    • Middle school level: heavier paper goods, like a thin coaster, pamphlet, or placemat
    • Junior-high level: a sock, cloth headband, or hand towel
    • High-school level: a rope toy or old, boring toy
    • College level: a favorite toy, squeaky toy, or ball
    • Master’s and PhD level: treats, a rawhide, or pieces of food

Now your pup is getting really good at Place. Vary your practice sessions, systematically increasing one D but keeping the other two about the same as before. At this point, you don’t need to do four-for-four, unless your dog struggles at any one step, in which case go back to the previous step and practice it until you get four correct responses in a row. Here are some increasingly challenging variations for combining all three Ds. The part with increasing difficulty is in italics.

Keep in mind that the above is simply an example, and your dog might need to progress more slowly than this. Work at your dog’s level, even if the progress seems slow.

See the Appendix for a sample plan and chart to help you track your progress when training Place, Level 3.

Training Strategy: Place, Level 4 (Doorbell Counterconditioning)

This is the training alternative to Breakfast in Bed. In this case, the doorbell will become the cue for Place to begin. It’s easiest to use a recording of your doorbell, so you can start at a low volume and gradually increase it over time. When practicing, if the sound of the doorbell makes your dog react with barking, excitement, or anxiety, then it is too loud. No one can learn when they’re in a frenzy, so find a volume that your dog can calmly accept.

How to Teach Place with Doorbell Conditioning

  1. Play your recording of the doorbell at a low level. Then, cue Place as before.
  2. If your dog is excited, keep the duration and distance short.
  3. Get four-for-four.
  4. Gradually increase the volume of the doorbell using the rule of four-for-four, until you are able to ring it at full volume and your dog goes to his mat without excitement or anxiety. This could take many sessions to achieve, so be patient and methodical.
  5. At this stage, your dog understands that the doorbell means “go to your Place.” Now you will cue your dog to his Place, and while he is on that mat, you start walking to the door as if you have a guest. To begin this sequence, use the doorbell to cue Place, and once he is on his mat, take one step towards the front door. Immediately return to your dog to mark and reward, then release. When walking away and then back to your dog, think of yourself as a boomerang that naturally comes back; it doesn’t linger at the end point before returning. Get four-for-four at one step away.
  6. Repeat the sequence, but take two steps to the door. Get four-for-four.
  7. Continue this until you can reach the door. Get four-for-four at each distance.

Once you get to the door, you will have to practice the most distracting parts of having a guest enter, which involves the door opening and the guest walking in. These steps will all need to be addressed, but remember that if your dog is struggling, you can break it down into even smaller increments.

The front door makes some dogs overly excited.

A word of caution: It’s likely that you’ll have visitors coming over before your dog is fully trained in Place. Don’t try to do a “PhD-level” Place with a dog who’s not ready for it, as you’re only setting him up for failure. Instead, rely on Breakfast in Bed to keep him safely in another room until his Place skills are visitor-ready. See the Appendix for a sample plan and chart to help you track your progress when training Place, Level 4, so you’ll know when your dog is truly ready for a visitor.

Training in a Multiple-Dog Household

You can only train a new behavior to one dog at a time. “But Kate,” you might say, “you’re clearly training three dogs in the photo!” Actually, each of these dogs had already learned Place individually, up through Level 4. This photo captures the first time that Tillie, Batman, and Beans did Place together. Because I have put the dogs in this new multiple-dog scenario, we are doing a full review of Place Level 4, in which I open the door and then shut it.

If you are juggling multiple dogs, follow the same guidelines. Fully train each dog the desired behavior (such as Place) individually. This means that, while training one dog, your other dogs have to be confined in a different room or in their crates. By isolating the dog in training, your progress will move infinitely faster and more smoothly than if you are constantly interrupted by your other dogs while trying to train. Use one of these strategies to keep your other dogs happy while training:

After all your dogs have become proficient in the desired behavior individually, you can then have the dogs do it together. When asking two or more dogs to simultaneously do Place, Sit, or any other behavior, start at a low level to ensure that they are all successful. Gradually increase the difficulty from there.

Troubleshooting

Problem: My dog gets up from his mat before I can release him.

Solution: There are two main causes. First, it is possible that you’re pushing him beyond his abilities and need to lower your criteria. Make sure that you’re methodically implementing four-for-four and working on only one D (distance, duration, or distraction) at a time. In other words, if you’re teaching him distance, cueing him to go to his Place from across the room, don’t also expect him to stay on his mat for a long duration or while there are distractions in the room. The second cause is for dogs that understand the Place sequence but their rears pop up a moment before you mark and reward. Sometimes dogs get so excited for the reward that they can’t sit still at the very end, or perhaps they’re looking for a short cut to that treat. In any case, the second his rear comes unglued, use your NRM of “Oops” and stop your approach to reward him. If he quickly plops back down, then you can mark and reward him for kindly correcting his mistake. If he does not correct himself within a second or two, then walk away from him and start over in a few seconds. He’s learning that, when he jumps the gun in order to get his treat more quickly, he loses that treat entirely. Bummer! He only gets his reward when he is in the Place position.

Problem: When my guests come in, they get my dog excited and he jumps off his mat.

Solution: If only training humans were as simple as training dogs. Unfortunately, friends and family may lose all self-control when they see those puppy dog eyes staring at them, and their excitement only encourages barking, jumping, and play biting. If you know that guests like this are coming over, it’s best to use Breakfast in Bed during their arrival, and only let your dog out once the guests have taken a seat and settled down. This is the strategy I generally take with visitors with high energy or young children whose movements and squeals mimic a giant squeaky toy.

Barking out the Window

When dogs bark out the window or near your apartment door at people passing by, it can sound vicious. Those dogs often hastily and unfairly get labeled as “aggressive,” but in reality, barks in this context can have varied reasons, including alerting the household of a perceived threat, guarding from an “intruder,” or feeling frustration at not being able to reach that squirrel hopping around outside. Most barks do not actually lead to bites, and in fact barking is often the dog’s attempt to make the threat go away so that he does not have to resort to a bite. (If your dog has bitten guests, however, put down this book and contact a qualified trainer, using the guidelines from Chapter 1.) Regardless of the reason for your dog’s barking, the training and management strategies are the same. Each strategy aims not to address the barking itself, but rather to alleviate the underlying stress or excitement that is causing the barking.

My dog barks when people (or dogs or other triggers) pass by the window or front door.

Management Strategy 1: Reduce Triggers

Have you ever tried to kick a bad habit? I remember when I was in my twenties and blissfully unconcerned about my health, and I was drinking cola morning, noon, and night. I was addicted to the stuff. When I finally decided to stop drinking soda, an integral part of my strategy was avoiding triggers. For a while, I only shopped at organic food markets because they didn’t sell my beloved drink, I avoided fast food establishments with their alluring free soda refills, and I was “that” friend who brought her own juice or tea to get-togethers. And with every week of a soda-less life, my attitude about soda shifted. Now a decade later, the taste no longer appeals to me. In fact, I can’t even drink the stuff without exclaiming like a lightweight, “Whoo, that’s bubbly!” Think of your dog’s “addiction” to barking out the window in the same way. In addition to the emotional aspect of barking, there is also the habit of the routine: “I hear a noise, I feel stressed, I bark bark bark until it goes away.” By reducing the triggers that send your dog into a frenzy, you are taking away his fuel for barking and blocking his ability to feel those stressed emotions.

If people or dogs passing by the window cause your dog stress, close the blinds. If the closed blinds make your home too dark or the dog pokes his nose through them, you can apply a frosted privacy film to all or just the lower part of the window. If your dog is still struggling to see out the window, she is simply not ready to handle having access to that room. Shut doors or use gates to block off any rooms that cause the dog stress.

If it’s noise that triggers your dog, add white noise to the room where the problem is. When neighbors in our building were having renovations done, the racket kept my dogs on edge. Once I added white noise in the area with the most banging, the dogs quickly gave up and went back to their usual routine of lounging around. You don’t need to buy a white noise machine; a search for “white noise” on YouTube will yield numerous choices for continuous white noise lasting as long as eleven hours. If white noise in the problem area has not reduced your dog’s stress after a week, block your dog’s access to that area with a fence or gate. Some dogs feel they need to be vigilant in certain areas, especially around the front door, and when you simply don’t allow them to spend time in that area, they relax.

Management Strategy 2: Acknowledge the Dog’s Concern

Many dogs who bark at someone out the window are doing so to alert you to a potential threat. “Hey, everyone, the mail carrier is out there! Come look!” Ignoring his alert will only lead to more barking because, silly human, you’re not acknowledging this very alarming postal worker. Whether or not the threat is real to you doesn’t matter; if the threat is real in the dog’s mind, then it needs to be addressed.

In my home, the easiest way to extinguish this kind of alarm barking is simply to verbally acknowledge it, which tells my dog that I have it under control. In 2014, my husband and I adopted Beans, a sweet little one-eyed mushball of a mutt who had been saved from deplorable conditions. When she came to live with us in Brooklyn, she was hypersensitive toward every sound and movement in her vicinity. If she heard a car door slam outside, she barked. The neighbor upstairs dropped something, she barked. A leaf fell a half mile away, she barked. Her constant vigilance was frustrating but also heartbreaking. Rather than “shush” her for barking, I acknowledged her concern each time by checking out the noise or movement, calmly saying, “Thanks, Beans, it’s OK,” and returning to what I was doing. Gradually, the intensity of her barking decreased more and more; after three months or so, a loud thump from upstairs or a barking dog outside got little more than a halfhearted “hmph” from Beans. Now her ears perk up at these sounds, but she no longer needs my reassurance.

How to Acknowledge the Dog’s Concern

  1. At the first bark towards the window, casually get up and briefly look through the window. If the dog barks at a noise rather than a sight, you can perk up briefly as if listening. Make sure to acknowledge the first bark, before your dog’s stress (and noisiness) builds.
  2. Turn to your dog and reassuringly say, “Thanks buddy, it’s OK,” as you return to what you were doing.
  3. You can then invite your dog to hang out with you wherever you are. By inviting him to hang out with you, it’s changing his focus away from the trigger.

When to Call a Trainer

It’s time to contact a trainer if you’re feeling frustrated enough to use aversive tools such as a bark-activated e-collar, which automatically administers a shock when the dog barks, or a citronella collar, which automatically sprays a mist in the barking dog’s face. I don’t even recommend using a spray bottle without speaking to a trainer about what constitutes “training” and what is considered “abuse.” As mentioned before, the goal should never be to completely eliminate barking, but rather to find a solution that allows your dog to be a dog, and still lets your neighbors sleep uninterrupted.

It’s also time to call a trainer if the dog’s barking seems to be escalating in any way. If you see that your dog is getting more and more uncomfortable around triggers, don’t wait until the bark becomes a bite. It may be normal—for example, as puppies mature into adolescents, they become more aware of “their” space and may go through a phase in which they regard the world with more caution—but a trainer can help determine how to make your dog more comfortable. If your dog already has a bite history, consult a trainer using the guidelines in Chapter 1.

Training Strategy: Teach an Alternative Behavior

A commonly used strategy to curb problematic doggie behaviors to to teach a polite, alternative one. As we previously learned, rather than plow grandma down when she comes to visit, your dog could go his Place instead. In the case of barking at outside noises and movement, you probably don’t even have to teach your dog anything new. Rather, use an existing behavior your dog knows (such as Sit) and teach him how to do it in a new context. Many of the behaviors in this book can be used to change your dog’s focus when he starts to bark: Recall (Chapter 5 and 7), Sit (Chapter 7), Down (Chapter 7), Hand Targeting (Chapter 5), Leave It (Chapter 5), or Place (Chapter 3).

For this strategy to be effective, you’ll need to have good timing and some sort of reward nearby. In the early stages of teaching this, I recommend keeping a small sealed container with treats in the places you spend the most time, for instance, near the couch or in a home office. If your dog is toy-motivated, keep a toy there instead, or if your dog goes nuts for your attention, that’s a great calorie-free option. The important thing is that the reward is enticing enough to peel your dog’s attention away from whatever is setting him off, be it a jogger, a squirrel, or another dog passing by the window. Your dog always has a choice: listen to you, or continue the undesirable behavior of barking. Help him make the “right” choice by paying him in his favorite currency when he chooses to be polite.

How to Teach an Alternative Behavior (Example)

  1. Your dog sees a jogger run by the window. Woof, woof, woof!
  2. At the first “woof,” happily call your dog over to you, and ask him to perform a behavior he knows. For example, “Rocky, come! Good boy! Sit. Good boy!”
  3. Reward your dog with a treat, or toss his toy. A short game of fetch or tug will keep him occupied for long enough to forget all about that boring jogger, while reinforcing how cool it is to listen to you.

The purpose of this training strategy is to redirect your dog’s focus, which is easiest to do if you catch him after the first bark, so his emotions don’t get out of hand. Don’t wait for ten seconds of barking, because a dog that’s having a full-on meltdown is not a dog you can train. With consistency, when your dog hears the trigger, he’ll skip the barking and come right over to you for his reward. What a great choice he made! Give that dog a bone.

Troubleshooting

Problem: My dog won’t listen to me when I call him away from the window.

Solution: This generally has one of two causes.

  1. Your rewards don’t cut it. If you’re asking your dog to perform a behavior that’s really hard for him (and concentrating on you when there is a jogger whizzing by is hard), we need to pay him accordingly. If you are a stingy boss, your employees will find a better job; likewise, if you give stingy rewards, your dog will choose the jogger over you.
  2. The distraction of the jogger is too intense for your dog to ignore. This simply means you need to practice this routine with less intense triggers at first. While your dog is mildly distracted by a noise or activity, call him over and ask him to sit, and give him his reward. Repeat this many times until it becomes an awesome game. Once the game becomes second nature, he’ll have a much easier time following the same steps during a more intense distraction. In the meantime, if an intense distraction pops up, help him out by going to him and gently leading him back to the spot where he sits for his reward.

Bossy Barker

Similar to humans, dog personalities run the gamut. On one given day I might work with a nervous Dachshund that reminds me of Woody Allen, a turbo-charged Pit Bull reminiscent of Robin Williams, and a sassy Pomeranian who must have taken lessons in confidence from Madonna herself. There are some dogs out there who are, to put it plainly, bossy. While many dogs may never bark to get your attention, there are others who quickly learn the power of their voices. Why do they bark at you when they want that treat in your hand or the ball that rolled under the couch? Because it works! Many of us will give the dog what he is barking for, either to stop the barking before the neighbors get annoyed, or just because we want to please our dogs.

Based on their inherent cuteness, it’s easy to get caught in the trap of seeing your dog as a baby throughout his whole life. And while he does depend on you for all his needs and gives you affection similar to a small child, it’s important to remember that a dog matures to adulthood very quickly. He may always have those puppy-dog eyes, but by the time he reaches about one year old (for small dogs, or up to two years old for large dogs), his emotions and thoughts are those of an adult animal. To see your adult dog as a baby is unfair to him and can negatively impact your relationship because you’re not seeing the dog for who he really is. Imagine a four-year old terrier demand-barking at his human: “Give me that ball! Hey, I said give me that ball! Hey! Ball! Now!” That’s the equivalent of a thirty-something adult screaming and flailing over a ball. Can you picture what it would look like if your middle-aged friend or relative acted in such a way? Would you eagerly jump up and appease that person by handing him the ball? If you wouldn’t do it for a human, don’t do it for your dog, either. Just as humans learn to say “Please,” dogs can learn to be patient and polite, too.

Even with puppies, you can easily teach them to be polite and develop frustration tolerance, so they don’t need to resort to barking, jumping, or biting to get what they want. Like humans, dogs don’t come with an innate appreciation for patience, so they must be taught to handle the frustration of not always getting what they want, as well as learn to ask for what they want politely. The strategy for puppies and adults is the same, and if you implement these concepts from day one, you will likely prevent demand barking altogether. In essence, the following strategies teach that polite dogs get what they want, while rude dogs get zilch, nada, nothing. The management and training strategies in this section go hand in hand; you will likely need to employ both to make it clear to your dog that certain calm behaviors will work for him and other disruptive behaviors won’t.

When working to extinguish demand barking, be aware of a tricky thing called an extinction burst, in which the barking actually gets worse before it dies out. Imagine a toddler who has a history of throwing tantrums in a toy store and who is rewarded for his screaming by getting a toy each time. When, one day, his parents finally stop acquiescing to his demands, the tantrum may actually escalate—more screaming and thrashing than ever before—because his old strategy isn’t working anymore. This is the grand finale of the tantrum, after which the child is usually much more amenable. If you find that your dog’s barking gets more intense when you finally start to ignore him, it is likely an extinction burst. Following this, the dog will react much more quietly because he has realized that this doggie tantrum no longer works. (If your dog’s frustrated behavior tips into anything dangerous, like biting, contact a trainer using the guidelines in Chapter 1.)

My dog looks at me and barks when he wants something: food, a toy, to be let outside, and so on.

Management Strategy 1: Ignore All Rude, Demanding Behavior

Combined with the training strategies below, this will teach your pup that demand barking doesn’t work. He is barking because wants your attention, and starting today, when he demand barks, he loses your attention. He gets the opposite of what he wants. He gets ignored. This means you will not say anything to him, not even “No!” or “Shhh,” because for a demand barker, even negative attention will add fuel to his fire. When dogs teach each other to be polite, they use their body language, not their words, so your dog will understand by your actions that his barking has an undesired consequence.

How to Ignore, Level 1

  1. The moment he begins barking at you to demand something, turn your head away and break eye contact. Act as if his demand barking is your “off” switch, automatically turning off your attention while he is barking. Don’t say anything.
  2. When he stops barking, you can reward him with the thing he wants. He is learning that only quiet dogs get what they want. I recommend adding the Bossy Barker training strategies to this step, which will replace barking with a polite behavior your dog can do when he wants something.
  3. Repeat this sequence every single time your dog demand barks. If you occasionally give in to his demand barking, it can actually make the barking more persistent by building up his stamina. (He thinks to himself, “Last time she caved in after I barked for a long time, so I’m going to bark even longer until she caves this time.”)

Depending on the dog, you might be able to stop here. Once your dog realizes that barking triggers your “off” switch and you will not respond, his barking will extinguish over time. However, some dogs have a long history of barking and could go on for hours before they realize it’s not working. In an urban situation surrounded by neighbors, you may not have the ability to stand there while your dog barks his head off indefinitely. In this case, levels two and/or three might be necessary.

How to Ignore, Level 2

This level may be necessary for dogs who also get physical when they demand your attention, for example, a large dog who jumps up.

  1. The moment your dog starts to bark, turn away from him so your back is facing him. If you are sitting in a chair, stand up and turn away. Stay still and silent, like a statue, and don’t move away from the dog. This is a higher-level snub than in level one, and it protects you from getting your face or chest scratched if he jumps.
  2. When he stops barking, you can reward him with the thing he wants. He is learning that only quiet dogs get what they want. I recommend adding the Bossy Barker training strategies to this step, which will replace barking with a polite behavior your dog can do when he wants something.
  3. Repeat this sequence every single time your dog demand barks.

How to Ignore, Level 3

This is the highest level of ignoring, which I reserve for the most determined demand barkers.

  1. The moment your dog starts to bark, walk away into another room and shut the door behind you. Count to ten. Then, as long as your dog is not barking anymore, return to what you were doing. (If your dog keeps up barking, stay in the other room until he stops.) When you return to what you were doing, act as if nothing had happened; just go back to your emailing or laundry-folding. Stay silent the entire time.
  2. When you’re ready to give him what he wants, first ask him to do a polite behavior as outlined in the following training strategies. A polite behavior is the only way to get what he wants.
  3. Repeat this sequence every single time your dog barks.

Management Strategy 2: That’s All

Teaching your dog a cue that means “that’s all; no more attention for you” is a simple technique that can make a significant improvement in your dog’s behavior. Part of the reason dogs beg, demand, and jump on you for attention (or for food, or for a toy) is because we give them certain goodies but don’t tell them when the goodies have stopped coming their way. As a result, the dog keeps pushing for more. Dogs, by nature, are scavengers, so they’re programmed to stare at us while we eat or wait for us to drop a piece of food as we put away the leftovers. I don’t have a problem with being watched while I cook or eat; honestly, for a cooped-up city dog, watching you prepare food might be the highlight of his day. And, brace yourself—I don’t even have a problem with giving your dog little bits of your food. That being said, there have to be some rules to prevent bossy barking, jumping, or counter-surfing when your back is turned.

When I am cooking, I have my dogs doing Place on mats in a corner of the kitchen, where they can watch the action but are not underfoot. On my “healthy” days, I dutifully drag out my kale and other veggies from the fridge, at which point Beans’s face lights up because she loves kale more than anything else in this world. (We joke that she is “so Brooklyn” now.) As I’m making my salad, I always tear off a piece of kale and give it to each dog while they are on their mats, though Batman usually snubs his piece. A few moments later, with both dogs still doing Place, I might toss each one a slice of carrot. When I’m finished sharing with them, I tell them “That’s all” and go back to my meal prep. The dogs know that this means they won’t be getting any more food, so they settle down on their mats. Had I not said “That’s all,” they might continue to be on edge, waiting for the possibility of another piece. This can lead to excitement or frustration, which in turns leads to their breaking their Place and potentially barking at me or jumping up to get more food.

How to Teach That’s All

  1. Give your dog a treat (he does not have to “do” anything for it). Pause for a few seconds and then give him a second treat.
  2. Once he’s eaten the second treat, say “That’s all” and use a hand gesture unique to this cue. My hand gesture is my two hands crossing horizontally like a baseball umpire doing the “safe” gesture. Some people prefer to shrug or to show their empty hands.
  3. As soon as you make your unique gesture, turn or walk away from the dog. If he barks or jumps up, use Management Strategy 1 (ignoring). He will learn that once you say “That’s all,” he has zero chance of getting any more of that treat, so there is no need for him to cry or beg.

You can then apply That’s All to a wide variety of situations.

When practicing That’s All, keep in mind that once you say it, you have to follow through. It will only confuse your dog if you tell him “That’s all” and then change your mind and give him another cookie.

▲ Mealtime is a great way to teach your dog Sit for It. Here, Malik Jr. will only get his meal if he sits politely while Rachel puts his bowl down.

▲ Malik Jr. is looking into the bowl, but his rear end is still firmly on the ground. Good boy! (If he had stood up, Rachel would have removed the bowl and started over.)

▲ Once Rachel has fully stood up, she says “OK” to give Malik Jr. permission to eat his meal.

Training Strategy 1: Check Me Out

Revisit the Check Me Out game from Chapter 2. Use this technique any time your dog wants anything from you, such as food, toys, getting his leash clipped, or opening the door. The purpose of Check Me Out is to teach your dog that eye contact, not jumping or barking or nipping, gets him what he wants every time. When practicing the ignoring management strategies for demand barking, you can insert Check Me Out into Step 2. Once the dog has stopped barking, he has to look at you as if to say “Please,” and only then will you give him what he wants.

Training Strategy 2: Sit for It

Similar to Check Me Out, having your dog sit for whatever he wants is a simple way to teach him to be polite in all situations. Lulu wants you to throw a ball? Sure, but she’s got to sit for it first. You will ignore all barking and yapping, only throwing the ball once she sits. Time for Miles’s dinner? Great! He’ll need to sit while you prepare it and put it on the floor. If he barks or jumps up, stop preparing it and ignore him until he is sitting again. Sit for It complements the ignoring strategy well because we’re not just telling the dog not to bark; we’re also telling him what to do instead. Consequently, we replace a disruptive behavior with a polite one. Once your dog learns that polite sitting gets him what he wants, he will be sitting for everything, and you won’t even have to ask. Now that’s a good dog!

How to Teach Sit for It

  1. Hold out a treat. You can maintain gentle eye contact with your dog, but don’t say anything. Wait for him to sit, ignoring any rude behavior, such a jumping or barking.
  2. The moment he sits, mark and reward with that treat. Your dog has just learned that his rude actions got him nothing, and his polite sitting got him exactly what he wanted.

You’ll notice that in the instructions, I did not use the verbal cue “Sit.” By not telling the dog exactly what to do, it pushes him to think for himself. Hmm, what do I have to do to get that treat? Barking didn’t work. Jumping didn’t work. Maybe I’ll sit and see if that works.

Whenever possible, I encourage the dog to problem-solve his way through an issue rather than simply obeying my cue, which doesn’t require as much thinking on his part. In my experience, a dog who is allowed to find a solution himself (for instance, discovering that sitting or eye contact gets rewards) can apply that information more quickly and to more contexts than a dog who is always told what to do. That being said, if your dog is too excited or distracted to figure out by himself that sitting “works,” then, by all means, cue him to sit.

From there, repeat this exercise with everything your dog wants. Does he like to play tug? If so, hold out the toy to initiate the game and wait for him to sit. The moment he sits, the game can start. Does he like to lounge with you on the couch? That’s fine, but only if he sits and waits for your invitation. If he jumps on the couch without being asked, gently remove him, put him back on the floor, and wait for him to ask politely before inviting him up. (You can only enforce this rule while you’re sitting on the couch.) In a short time, most dogs start sitting for everything they want. It becomes a default behavior and replaces demand barking, jumping, and nipping.

Troubleshooting

Problem: My dog will sit (or give eye contact if doing Check Me Out), but he simultaneously barks at me.

Solution: Sitting is only polite if it’s done quietly, so withhold marking and rewarding until your dog has stopped barking. This might take some patience, but the best thing to do is simply stand there, toy or treat in hand, and wait for your dog to realize that his barking isn’t working. Resist the urge to repeat “Sit, sit, sit”—instead, let your dog figure it out for himself. If your dog is really carrying on, you can start by marking and rewarding even a brief intermission between barks. As time goes on, tighten the criteria to require a one-second pause between barks, then a two-second pause, and so on.