Barking = communication Dogs do not speak, they communicate in a manner roughly similar to humans more than 200,000 years ago, body and voice. Dogs communicate by body language and vocal communication, body language such as: bending over, tilting their heads, turning their bellies, wagging their butts, wagging their tails, digging the ground, and even their eyes, while vocalization is mainly growling and barking. Of course, some would say that dogs also exchange information through their anal glands, but that is mostly used in dog-to-dog communication and is almost useless for dog-to-human communication. For domestic pet dogs, growling is rare and mostly barking occurs. Barking is the best communication tool for dogs, not only transmitting over long distances, but also penetrating barriers. For example, you can hear your dog barking in the living room from your bedroom, and then you will be able to tell by the frequency and pitch of his barking whether a stranger is knocking on the door or a family member has returned. You don’t need to see the dog, but you have completed a communication. Barking is a natural instinct that dogs are born with and is perfectly normal for them. Just like humans can talk, it’s only abnormal for those who can’t talk, and it’s only abnormal for dogs who can’t bark (note: not barking ≠ not barking). But we humans are always used to choosing external things by our own preferences, from a small pin to a large personal partner, as long as we have the opportunity to choose, we will always choose what we like. And when faced with something we don’t like, we always think it’s the other person’s problem. For example, when we go to buy a computer, we will say “this computer is too heavy for me” but rarely say “I am too weak to buy this computer”. When faced with a dog barking problem, most people also think it is the dog’s problem, they will say “dogs always bark, so annoying”, but few people say “I don’t know the dog yet, so it always bark”. So, if you want to solve your dog’s barking problem, you need to understand why your dog barks! Why do dogs bark? For example, when there is a stranger outside the door, the dog can bark to warn the person outside “there is a vicious dog inside, please do not enter”, and to prompt the owner “Hey, do you know that person outside? ” Sometimes it happens alone, such as when two strange dogs meet for the first time, some dogs will bark at each other, that may be a warning to each other: “Don’t mess around, I’m super mean! But the specific purpose of the barking needs to be judged by the owner in relation to the dog’s body movements and the intensity of the barking. When barking is used alone as a cue, the tone of the bark is usually lower and more subdued, and the dog is only barking or grunting to satisfy its own internal needs or to alert its owner. The main reasons for barking are excitement, fear, anxiety, pain, illness, boredom, physiological needs, etc. But for every dog, every bark, the reasons for barking are different and strange. But in general all barking can be summed up in one sentence “Barking is a normal response to the internal needs and external stimuli of the dog.” Yes, day or night, barking is normal for dogs, they bark to express their needs, release stress, relieve their emotions, and also give their owners the appropriate cues. For example, they will bark when they are hungry, they will bark when they want convenience, they will bark when they are happy, they will bark when they are bored, they will bark when they want to be hugged by their masters, and they will bark when their masters go out. But many times these barking behavior in their view of normal, but not treated by humans. Therefore, there are a variety of strange anti-barking methods, such as the aforementioned “stop barking”, “beat”, “cut vocal cords” and so on, which is really too cruel and unfair to dogs. But humans have never been fair to their own kind, and how can they be fair to dogs? How to solve the barking problem To solve the barking problem, we must understand the barking and find the exact reason and motivation for the dog to bark, whether it is the dog’s internal needs or a reaction to external stimuli? When we find the right reason and motivation for the dog to bark, the problem is mostly solved. The overall approach to barking problems is divided into two: meeting needs and reducing stimuli. Physiological needs, such as hunger, thirst, cold, and convenience, can be found and met without causing too much trouble. But the spiritual needs often bring us more trouble, for example, every time you want to take him out for a walk, he will get excited and start barking when he sees you take the leash, which is very annoying, if you want to correct this behavior, then whenever this time you can not immediately open the door and let him out, but should wait for him to calm down and quiet down and then slowly open the door, if he looks at you after the action of opening the door and then If he starts barking after seeing you open the door, then you should stop the door again and re-open the door when he is quiet. Reduce external stimuli: Some dogs may react to certain external stimuli, such as the sound of exploding fireworks or thunder and lightning, and these external stimuli cause barking, we just need to avoid or reduce the external stimuli. Of course, if your dog is “allergic” to the sound of exploding fireworks, but you want to take him to see them, you can also desensitize him to training. Another example is that dogs will bark when they hear the doorbell, we can open the door to the family in advance so as to avoid stimulation, but also desensitization training can be carried out, once and for all. What to look for● Appropriate expectations: All dogs bark for a reason, and they will always think about how to please you, not how to annoy you! In the process of correcting your dog’s barking problem, we need to set a proper expectation for your dog, do not rush into it, and do not think that one day, your dog will be trained not to bark at all. Young dogs are different: Whether it is training new behaviors or correcting old mistakes, adult dogs are far more difficult to train than puppies because puppies have not yet formed fixed behavioral habits and only need to establish a new behavior that you think is correct and maintain it. Correcting the adult dog’s “wrong behavior” requires that he “forget” the “wrong behavior” (the behavior you don’t like, but it doesn’t seem right to him) and then give him To make the “right behavior” last, you need to “establish” a new “right behavior” and maintain it. There is no specific sequence between “forgetting” and “establishing”. We often establish new behaviors while allowing the dog to slowly forget the old ones, which can be confusing for some dogs. Therefore, we must be patient when correcting adult dogs’ “wrong behaviors” and avoid using punishment! Avoid Punishment: Avoid yelling and scolding your dog. For some dogs who are trying to get their owner’s attention, your yelling at them will be perceived as a response, and sometimes even your scolding will be taken as a reward. For some dogs that bark out of fear or anxiety, punishment will only create more fear and anxiety and may lead to new undesirable behaviors. If you talk to the pet store owner about your pet’s barking problem, most of them will recommend you to use a stop-bark collar, but this is really inhumane. If you really love your dog, then please refuse to use a stop-bark collar. Stop barking collar is mostly by electric shock to interrupt the dog barking, when the dog barking loudly, press the remote control in your hand to the dog electric shock, in essence stop barking collar and use force to beat it up so that it no longer dare to bark is the same, are achieved by punishing the dog. Just stop barking collar is easier to use, faster and more effective. And some businesses advertise no harm to the dog, I just want to say “fuck it, you bring an electric try?” What’s more, stop barking collars do not solve the root of the barking problem, it only makes the dog live in fear, so that dogs do not dare to bark because of the fear of being shocked, and does not generate internal drive, it is difficult to maintain for a long time, as long as the electric shock behavior disappears, this binding force will disappear, and behavior problems occur again. A bark stopper will only make a dog that barks out of fear even more fearful and a dog that barks out of anxiety even more anxious, not only will it not solve the underlying problem it will cause more harm and even create new behavioral problems!
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