Our friends at Tails-a-Wagging in Bellingham are offering training tips to KAFE listeners with dogs in the family to encourage better doggy behavior.
Angi Lenz, owner and “the alpha” at Tails-a-Wagging offers this tip for people whose dogs bark:
“Alert Barking – Dogs bark for various reasons, but they are all to communicate something, so it’s important we listen and understand the type of bark so we can help them, either by addressing the original issue or halting the behavior, if needed. Different barking types can have different treatments, so we have to know what type we are dealing with to address it properly. Each week we will discuss a different type of barking.
This week, it’s alert barking: (barking at someone or something to alert a person there is something the dog is concerned/worried about: ‘Hey, do you see that guy across the street!?’ ‘Hey, did you hear that car door slam?”
This is when a dog uses his voice to alert other members of his family to an intruder, something that concerns the dog, or change in their environment. This is usually a loud, rapid, higher pitched bark, and the dog is often posturing in a stiff position, ears are up and weight is forward and head is usually upward, often with the nose higher than the eyes. The dog is looking at the thing they are alerting you to (even if they can’t see it, like staring at a door with a noise on the other side). It’s important to understand this is a behavior on the fear spectrum, and like all fear, it’s not always logical. Just because you are not concerned about it does not mean your dog is not concerned.
This is a NORMAL AND NATURAL behavior. All dogs do it. It’s also important to understand the behavior is not wrong. I suspect you just don’t want it happening as often as it does. If someone was breaking into your house, you would want to know!
No more telling the dog to be quiet or yelling or shouting, ‘NO BARK!’ If you do, you are not telling the dog to stop barking but, in fact, telling the dog they are not doing a good job at this normal, natural behavior. And the barking will get worse (louder, more frequent, etc.). By reprimanding a normal, natural behavior like this you are telling your dog, “You suck at barking. You better do it better next time.”
The plan goes like this: When your dog alert-barks, approach your dog (physically get up and go to your dog), say, “THANK YOU,” or, “That’ll do,” in a happy tone. This is now our marker for the behavior. Then give a high value treat (cheese or dried liver). Then tell the dog to come away and treat the dog again. Repeat as often as necessary. This teaches the dog they did a job well done and now their job is done.
Consistency is key here. Give it your all for a solid two weeks, and everyone in the family should be on board.
‘Wait. You want me to REWARD my dog for barking!?’ YES. Like all sentient beings on the planet, your dog will learn to do the least amount of work for the greatest reward. If you are consistent you will see a 60% reduction in in alert barking in just two weeks.
What should you use as a reward? It depends on the dog. For some it’s petting and praise. For some it’s treats. And for some it’s a toy. I am motivated by chocolate and wine, so everyone is different. It just needs to be rewarding enough for the dog to choose the alternate behavior. We have already established that jumping up is fun and rewarding for the dog, so a substantial reward for learning a new behavior is essential.”
-Angi Lenz, Tails-a-Wagging
Want to learn more? tails-a-wagging.com
Or email info@tails-a-wagging.com.
Check this space every week for more training tips from Angi. And if your dog could learn a thing or two, check out the training classes offered at Tails-a-Wagging.
Tails-a-Wagging: Their dogs love school!
