HOW TO HELP YOUR DOG’S EXCESSIVE BARKING
As human beings we speak to communicate verbally and like us, dogs use barking as one of their methods to communicate. This natural behaviour is their way of ‘speaking’ with us and while it’s perfectly normal behaviour, when it is excessive, it’s indicative of an issue that needs your attention.
When a child cries too much or throws a tantrum, most positive parenting tips will recommend parents find the root cause for this cry for help and find ways to help the child navigate towards a solution, if it’s not an underlying health issue. A dog’s excessive barking is no different, they need your help and instead of punishing the dog (which won’t solve the problem and may create other behavioural issues), it’s important to find the root cause.
WHY DO DOGS BARK?
When a dog barks, it is trying to communicate something and this could be a range of things from: happiness that their family have just returned home, alerting you to danger, they have been left alone too long, they are distressed by some noise (eg. movement of furniture from another apartment) or being mistreated, they or their owner is injured, the neighbours have arrived home and making a noise that startles them, there is another dog around etc. They are not trying to be a nuisance; they are simply communicating and, in some cases, may need your help if it is excessive.
WHEN YOUR NEIGHBOURS COMPLAIN
In dense urban living environments like Singapore being disturbed by noise is inevitable. Dogs get disturbed by certain noise even more due to their heightened sense of hearing as they hear a wider range of frequencies than humans. Human hearing can detect sounds beginning at 20 hertz and ranging up to 12,000-20,000 hertz, depending on age. However, dogs can hear in the range of 40-60,000 hertz, depending on breed and age, so your dog is hearing things differently from you.
In general dogs hear sounds better than humans that are in the higher frequency rangers, for example, dogs can get distressed by everyday noises, like a vacuum cleaner or power drill, because they sound louder to dogs than to humans. Dogs can hear high-pitched noises from these devices that we can’t detect. Due to their highly sensitive ears, they may be more alert to when storms or natural disasters are coming. This is why your dog may react when nothing seems to be there. They can differentiate between their owners’ footsteps and a stranger.
While dog barking may not be the number one cause of noise disturbance in Singapore it can be considered unreasonable noise, depending how loud and how long a dog barks. Generally, noise between the hours of 10pm and 7am is considered a disturbance. Duration of the noise is also taken into factor. Everyone has the right to live peacefully humans and animals alike, so it is important to understand if excessive barking is caused by a particular issue and then help to resolve it. This may even involve the party complaining about the noise unbeknown to them.
When complaints arise for dog barking noise it is important to deal with it in a way to educate all parties involved as the dog is trying to communicate something, and if it is excessive then it is the owner’s responsibility to manage that.
If your dog is barking more than usual, take note of the context, frequency, and duration of the barking to understand if your dog is truly in distress and trying to communicate a problem. There are many reasons that would distinguish barking from a real barking problem to just normal dog behaviour.
Singapore’s highly respected dog trainer Fred Leow shares the most common causes for excessive dog barking that he deals with are:
- Lack of Enrichment
- Separation Anxiety
- Reactive to strange noises
- Feeling unsafe at home
Some other common triggers for excessive barking can be:
- Fear and so a need to alert.
- Loneliness / long periods of being left alone at home.
- Health conditions
- Territory protection
TIPS TO HELP REDUCE EXCESSIVE DOG BARKING
- Get your pup familiarised with different sounds, scents, and scenarios in a slow and steady way so they learn these are non-threatening aspects of living at home
- An exercised and happy dog will use his / her time at home to rest and recharge! So “sniffaries” - long decompression walks where your dog gets to explore and exercise at their pace - at least twice a day will leave them less anxious and stressed when home
- Enrichment and engagement at regular intervals during the day so they don’t feel bored or lonely
- Observe and understand the potential triggers so you can help your dog and if unable to do so, get in touch with a good, professional dog trainer to come and help you both.
Dog trainer, Fraser Noble, also shares some tips on what is known as Alert Barking, those dogs who are overly sensitive to sound: https://www.noble-canine.com/post/my-dog-barks-at-the-slightest-noise-what-do-we-do
If you are noticing your dog is barking excessively, it’s important to help them. Each dog and the situation are different, so always educate yourself and never shy away from finding help by engaging a certified behaviour professional, who can teach the correct way (using positive reinforcement methods), to manage and help change a dog’s distressed behaviour.