Excessive Barking
Excessive barking is one noise nuisance you and your neighbours do not need to suffer.
Dogs bark for various reasons - to warn off intruders from their turf, to try
and communicate a need to their owner, to have a wobbly when they are not getting their own way, to call other pack members to a hunt,
for example. And only when you understand what the actual reason for your dog's barking is, can you cure it. The Natural Dog
Training programme is stress-free to both dog and owner, and the results are both immediate and long term. Pam was approached by
the Animal Protection Institute in the USA to write a paper for them on curing excessive barking in the domestic dog,
as they stated that her natural approach was the only non-pharmaceutical, non-surgical solution to the problem.
This is achieved by removing the root cause of the problem - rather than by simply treating the symptom by disciplining, so-called
positive and negative reinforcement, anti-bark collars, and cutting the dog's vocal cords. Which are not dissimilar to stifling babies'
cries to silence them, rather than attending to the need that they are trying to communicate to their mother!
Dogs also bark because we bark. Dogs are aliens, remember! So when we command them to stop barking, they think we are also barking. (And we think
they are disobedient.) I don't know what they think - perhaps it's better not to know. So how do we stop our dogs barking for nothing!? Dog
Training the Natural Way will give you a simple solution. Through knowing why he is barking, you can remove the cause. Dogs that go to
obedience training bark at the next door dog, at dogs on their walk, at people that pass by… simply to make their owners bark too. If the dog stops
barking, the owner thinks the dog is obedient. But there is no need to continue barking because he has accomplished his mission. If he hadn't been to
obedience training - he wouldn't have learnt how to make his owner bark… (In human lingo, to tell him to stop - in dog lingo, to bark too. Simple as
that.) Once you have learnt to look at yourself through the eyes of the dog, it is all so easy.
Excessive barking can also result from dogs grieving when their owners go out. This does not mean that you must never go out to keep your dog happy!
It means that your dog needs to be more adaptable. Dogs that bark when they don't get their own way are brattish dogs that want to be the centre of
attention al the time, so when they are not the main attraction, they have a wobbly. Dog Training the Natural Way takes you gently through a
programme that shows you how to stabilize your dog's emotions, which gives him peace of mind, thus removing the urge to have a barking tantrum.
(Yes, it does work for children too. So Pam's clients tell her - and they should know.)
Natural Dog Training has a proven solution. Pam's house calls, Living with an Alien, her Home Training Kit and booklet on adrenalin-related problems
all give very high success rates. (And families, dogs and neighbours peace of mind.)
Whether your dog barks "for nothing", "barks all the time", "barks at nothing"' barks excessively", doesn't bark, barks at everything,
barks at everything that moves, never stops barking, barks at everyone that passes, barks at visitors, barks at children, barks at every sound,
barks at (and with) the next door dog, barks at cats…. (Which gives rise to legislation against barking dogs.) Dog Training the Natural Way will give you all the solutions! This will also make your dog a far better watchdog, because then you will know that when he is barking, there is a
valid reason for it.
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Preventing and Curing Excessive Barking in the Domestic Dog
Enjoying your pet dog as a buddy!
Are not the pet psychologists actions like giving our domestic dog a shock, spraying chemicals in his face, or cutting his vocal cords, going to inhibit his performance as a family guard? Will they not damage our domestic dog's temperament as he becomes too afraid to express himself because of his fear of temporary suffocation from the chemicals sprayed in his breathing passages, or from receiving an electric shock?
Is removing our pet’s ability to draw attention to his need, or his ability to repel an intruder just so that he does not inconvenience or annoy us, the best solution to a domestic dog barking problem? Is this invasive and suppressive quick-fix ‘solution’ morally justifiable? Even spraying the domestic dog’s face by a pet psychologist or dog trainer with citronella oil is regarded as humane in certain dog circles — BUT IF IT DID NOT CAUSE SUFFERING TO THE DOMESTIC DOG, IT WOULD NOT DETER HIM FROM BARKING.
Our pet dog is our family member and has a right to be both heard and understood. Will there be any point in owning a dog that has basically been de-dogged?
If spraying citronella oil in a dog’s face did not cause him stress and suffering, he would not bother to avoid it. Even so, the REASON for his barking still remains. Domestic dogs bark excessively because they are stressed. Now the stressed dog is going to suffer even more — when all he needs is to have the CAUSE of his stress removed. By removing this stress, instead of suffering more, the quality of his life improves. In fact, his life is now worth living.
Why are so many dog owners experiencing barking problems with their dogs in the first place?
The trouble with people is that they are not dogs!
And the trouble with dogs is that they are not people!
These two species, “Homo-not-so-Sapiens” and “Cano-Sapiens,” live side by side, not having much of a clue as to what the other is saying most of the time.
WE don’t understand THEM when they bark ‘for nothing’. THEY don’t understand US when we shout SHUTUP! BOX! LEAVE! etc. We call this lack of communication “Disobedience” or “Behavioural Disorders.” There is a huge communication crevasse that exists between dog and man which we try to cross by ordering our dogs around - commanding them. THEY try to cross this crevasse by barking, jumping on us, etc. even centuries after the wild dog became domesticated.
This is because no one has bothered to come down to the dog’s level to hear what he is saying. We have simply demanded that he do as he is told. Full stop. Or else.
There is an inherent blueprint for communication already stamped into the dog’s genes and up until now it has been totally overlooked. All we have to do is apply it — and our dogs obey immediately.
Applying this inherent blueprint is a revolutionary, alternative approach to crossing the communication gap. This requires a little effort on our part, but the massive benefits we gain as we learn to tune into our dogs’ minds and live in harmony with them, make it all worthwhile.
Remember: Barking problems are coming from our present attitudes towards dogs in our society. These attitudes dictate the way we handle and treat the domestic dog. For example, we give them lots of love and exercise, we take them to training and we don’t let them get fat.
Our current mindset toward dogs does not view them as our potential predator. It also views dogs from MAN’S standpoint. It does not come down to the level of the dog by applying the “Language of the Pack,” - it tries to bring dogs up to our level by teaching them commands, making them perform and concerning itself with the dog’s image. If you are not prepared to look at dogs from a new perspective, in order to understand how to solve the problem of irrelevant barking - don’t read on!
If you ARE, remember: A WELL ADJUSTED domestic dog barks for a reason, like when there is an intruder. He does not bark “for nothing”. In other words, a well adjusted domestic dog knows how and when to express himself without upsetting his family or the neighbours! The aim of this paper and the book, LIVING WITH AN ALIEN by Pam Whyte, is to give you a contented, well adjusted dog that does not NEED to “cry for help” by barking. So when your neighbour hears your dog barking - he knows it’s for a reason, and so do you. A well-adjusted dog is automatically a good family guard, which is testified to by many case reports in the booklet How to Have a Good Watch Dog by Pam Whyte.
Why do dogs bark, you ask?
They bark:
1) To warn intruders off
2) To draw attention to themselves or have a tantrum
3) Due to overreaction or fear
4) To express stress or a need
5) As hunting behaviour
6) Because they have been to dog training
7) Toys
1) This point speaks for itself
2) The second point means the dog is getting too much attention. If the dog is only looked at when he is being given affection, he develops emotional maturity. If he is only given attention when he asks for it, and then only SOMETIMES, he will learn to adapt to his family and lifestyle. This means that his owners do not give affection to their dog when it is not solicited by him. This requires SELF discipline! It means that the domestic dog will not DEMAND to be the centre of attention when visitors arrive, the other dog is given attention or when a child receives attention. To break the habit of barking for attention, follow the communication rhythm described above and do not REWARD barking behaviour by commanding the dog to stop it. Dmestic dogs don’t give commands. They are more likely to perceive our commands as barking WITH THEM which only encourages further show-off barking. Domestic dogs that are looked at alot, bark alot to keep hold of an audience. While they are being disciplined, they are the centre of attraction. No audience, no show! When he is ignored, he stops very quickly with natural dog puppy training.
3) A domestic dog that barks through fear is a domestic dog that either cannot see out of his property, is oversheltered or gets soppy touching and pampering. Allowing the domestic dog to see out of his property gives him a frame of reference for visitors and life in general, aiding mental soundness. Gentle handling should be replaced with assertive decision-making as described in “LIVING WITH AN ALIEN.” Soppy touching makes dogs very insecure as their “jungle instincts” perceive it as weakness. If all people turn their back on a dog when he barks out of fear, the barking behaviour is not reinforced. The dog gets the message that all is well and he does not need to panic anymore. Trying to reassure him makes most dogs think their owners are asking him to rescue THEM (They are aliens!)
4) Dogs howl and bark for the same reason that babies cry. As people, we do not recognise a dogs cry for more food. Our obsession with his heart and shape causes more than 65.4% of privileged domestic pets to experience incessant hunger pangs. Shifting the focus from the dog’s fitness to his mental health, removes the need to bark out of hunger. Natural dog puppy training proves that only the DOG knows when his hunger is satisfied. He needs to eat an enjoyable meal
twice a day until he leaves food behind in his bowl. We have no right to dictate what shape a dog should be. Tubby dogs are child-friendly and cannot be bribed by the burglar. The current trend to treat dogs as specimens and trophies is increasing the incidence of’ predatory behaviour towards children and therefore, the euthanasia rate as families find that they cannot live with hungry, hunting, restless, hyperactive, noisy dogs. The dog may also bark because he is lonely, or cannot handle separation from his owner. The communication rhythm described above and in detail in “LIVING WITH AN ALlEN,” GIVES INSTANT RESULTS AS THE DOG IS GIVEN COPING SKILLS. The compatible companionship of another dog of similar strength and opposite sex will relieve loneliness. Dogs are social animals and cannot live in isolation.
Our obsession with our dog’s fitness causes his sympathetic system to be permanently activated. Rough play, ball chasing, running in the park, even pulling his owner on the lead (which makes the dog think his owner is chasing him), all activate a dog’s emergency nervous system which causes adrenalin secretions. When a dog is pumped full of adrenalin from play, chasing or running, he barks because his instincts have received it hunting signals from these activities. In a hunt, the packing behaviour of the dogs from the rear, fire-up the adrenalin of the front dogs. Packing behaviour involves barking (Heel), footsteps and the nipping actions of the dogs inciting one another into the hunt. All these actions cause the predator’s sympathetic nervous system to be activated. This causes dogs to be hyperactive, bark incessantly, go for the cat, fight, attack innocent
people, bolt out of the gate, etc. But ALL dog lovers play with their dogs, exercise them, throw ball, diet them. Exactly! Barking problems are coming from our CURRENT MINDSET! NOT from what we are NOT doing - but from what we ARE doing. Dog experts and dog owners alike are not seeing the wood for the trees when they do dog puppy training !
Dogs were not made for aerobics. The wild dog is relatively inactive when he is not hunting or routing an enemy. So when we “exercise our dog to keep them fit” their instincts are informed that there is a hunt or an emergency on - hence the staggering statistics on aggression, destructiveness, irrelevant barking, dogs fighting one another, killing the cat or their companion, running up and down the fence. One study revealed that 87% of all dog owners are experiencing behaviour problems with their pet dogs. The reason for this - the current dog puppy training mindset toward dogs is focusing on developing PHYSICAL fitness instead of MENTAL health, and on developing our dog’s PERFORMANCE and not on our RELATIONSHIP with our dog. When the owners of dogs that bark ‘for nothing’ shut down their dog’s sympathetic system by replacing quiet sniffle (social behaviour as opposed to hunting behaviour) and do not command the dog to stop barking (which makes the dog think they are barking WITH them) and they satisfy their dog’s hunger by feeding the dog until he leaves food behind, the dog’s emergency nervous system shuts down removing his compulsion to bark.
6) Dog training. This system takes its rules from the army and makes dogs perform. When they come home, they continue to perform — bark, chase the cat, chase their tail, dig, jump the wall. Whenever the dogs bark, their owners “bark” too and dogs think they all go to training to bark. (They are only dogs, they don’t reason like we do.) You don’t expose a dog to barking to teach him not to bark — he just brings these habits home with him because to him they become the norm.
7) Toys stimulate a dog’s adrenalin and adrenalin causes barking. You do not GET RID of a dog’s energy - you just make him fitter and fitter until he can no longer cope with his lifestyle and the size of the property he lives on. Cow hooves that have not been oversterilized (so that they still have their vitamin B) must replace toys, as they have calming effect on the dog. The wild dog sleeps 18 hours a day. This means that his sleep is shallow so that he can hear intruders. Because we overstimulate our dogs and keep them busy, they sleep shorter and therefore very deep, detracting from their ability to protect us. Toys also teach dogs how to hunt which means barking, aggression, hyperactiveness etc. OUR DOMESTIC DOG NEEDS TO LEARN TO ADJUST TO HIS LIFESTYLE AND TO US - NOT to have his full predatory potential developed!!
SUMMARY
Concentrate on getting into a relationship with your dog by learning the language of the pack.
Allow your dog to develop emotional maturity and a measure of independence.
Develop his SOCIAL potential, not his PHYSICAL potential.
Do not allow him to be stressed - let him see out, keep his hunger satisfied, give him a daily sniffle outside your front gate for two minutes and let him have the company of a compatible companion if the family all goes out to work.
Satisfy his hunger with food that is first of all enjoyable and second nourishing. Do NOT try and turn your dog into a zero defect, turbo charged, New Age dynamo dog! You will not be able to keep up with him, then you won’t be able to keep him! Your neighbours won’ t be able to sleep — so then you’ll need to send him to a farm or have him euthanased - and that was not the idea of getting a dog!
If you would like to know more about how to enjoy your dog to the without stimulating him physically, “LIVING WITH AN ALIEN” goes into this very exciting, worthwhile and challenging subject in full!
In Alpha training, clicker training Pet trainer Dog obedience training Natural Dog Training Pet Psychologist Pet trainer Dog behavior training dog obedience training pet psychologist dog obedience training pet psychologist pet trainer alpha training, clicker training Puppy dog training, the New Research Findings into the Origins and end result of the Behavior Therapy "profession". Behavior Therapists train at veterinary universities, and a very large percentage of a veterinary practitioner's work comes from behavior problems. No business shoots itself in the foot. The right hand, in fact, looks after the left hand....
Cutting a dog's bark out and removing a cat's claws are common inhumane practices that are lucritive to the veterinary profession. These practices do not allow cats to protect themselves, or dogs to draw attention to their stress. (Hunger, loneliness, for example.) They are in fact - "de-catting" the cat, and "de-dogging" the dog. What is also not mentioned is the fact that scar tissue builds up in a dog's windpipes after having his vocal chords cut, which leads to shortage of oxygen, and can even lead to slow suffocation.
[Which brings further "business" to the veterinary profession and those who do puppy dog training..]
Research results that you are not supposed to know:
THE RESULTS OF INDEPENDENT FOLLOW-UP STUDIES, into
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THAT HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED ON THE ORIGINS OF BEHAVIOR THERAPY, AND THE LONG-TERM RESULTS THAT IT HAS ON OUR DOGS’ BEHAVIOR, WITHIN THEIR OWN HOMES.
Canine Mental HealthUSA
The Results of Independent Follow-Up Studies, that have been conducted on the origins of behavior Therapy, and the Long-term results that is has on our dogs’ behavior, within their own home.
Independent Research Results, made available to the public by the Institute for Canine Mental Health.
British Behavior Therapist Colin Tennant states in an article called: The Miscellany of Canine Experts : “All too often we find book behaviorists who are as useful as book experts in any profession - all hypothetical knowledge and little practical advice or experience.”
In discussing an incident where a Husky bit two veterinary students, Dr. Bernard E. Rollin says in Veterinary Medical Ethics: Volume 35. “Obedience training, increased exercise, and behavioral modification techniques recommended by a local animal behavior authority were ineffective in altering the dog's behavior, so he was euthanased.”
Seminars in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (Small Animal) also states in: “Behavior Modification of the Offending Animal”: that the treatment of a behavioral disorder consists of “a combination of behavior modification techniques: desensitization; identification and avoidance of eliciting stimuli; management (leash, muzzle); surgery and drug therapy.” Finding out WHY the dog is biting, barking, chasing his tail, digging etc is not given any consideration whatever.
Domestic Animal Behavior for Veterinarians and Animal Scientists says: “What are the causes of destructive behavior? Unfortunately, the definitive answer to this question has not been found.” (By them, that is.) Then they go on to say: “Some intelligent guesses can be made.” Intelligent guesses are not enough to obtain a professorship. Later, they go on to say that if they could only study the dogs in their own homes, they might be able to find a cure to destructive behavior. Dogs don't dig holes, bite children, chew toys and shoes, and interact spontaneously with their families in laboratories, so – as they admitted themselves - they are looking in the wrong place.
Professor McBride even says: “We understand dog behaviour very well because we have studied lots of rats and lot of pigeons in lots of laboratories.” If they understand dog behaviour “very well”, then why do they make statements like:
Seminars in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (Small Animal) : “The only reliable cure for predatory aggression is supervision and confinement.”
Seminars in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (Small Animal) : says:” “The first step to preventing aggression is to obtain non-aggressive breeds . ” And: “Why do dogs aggress against (bite) their owners? There are probably two main reasons: dominance and fear.” (In a serious academic book that claims to be scientific, we require more than “probably”.)
In Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals: under a section called Early Intervention and Concept of Treatment we are told: “Aggression, like diabetes is not curable.” “... And, “In general, food aggression is very difficult to treat.” (Is simply giving the dog enough food so that he does not need to protect his food supply just too much common sense for an academic?)
Domestic Animal Behavior for Veterinarians and Animal Scientists under: PREDATORY AGGRESSION: Which includes aggression against children and the elderly) “The easiest approach is proper restraint of the dog.”
Yet, Dr. R. Avner and Dr. M. D. Baker point out in a Medical Journal in an article called Dog bites in Urban Children taken from Pediatrics Vol 88 “”Most of the dogs were contained at the time of the injury either by a leash, by a fence or inside a house.
As we can see in the news media, these “weapons” are increasingly “going off the wrong way”, costing innocent people their lives. What is in fact happening is, many unproven and untested theories on how to cure behavior problems in domestic dogs are actually compounding, not curing the problem - including aggression, as they all pass from one Behavior Journal to another around the globe, and into the homes of dog owners via TV and books by “experts” on dog behavior all repeating each others' opinions unquestioningly - simply because they are printed in Journals by professional people, and dogs cannot speak up for themselves. (Or can they? Yes - if we know how to listen.) And because - if you hear a lie often enough you start believing it. Which is the definition of propaganda.
Through distancing themselves from the dogs' actual circumstances, and through only studying them superficially in laboratories, in place of offering effective solutions to the problem of aggression, these people are putting innocent lives at risk: Seminars in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (Small Animal), advises vets: “To treat a dog that is displaying aggression in response to fear, if he is afraid of small children in the family, the children need to approach, touch and pet the dog in a gentle manner (Let's hope the dog will also be gentle.) He then goes on to say: “Owners should be strongly advised that they are responsible for the dog's behavior.” Then why consult an “expert” who is too afraid to take responsibility for the consequences of his advice?
Seminars in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (Small Animal) then goes on to say: “Advice to owners of playfully aggressive dogs should be prefaced by some words that the behavior is normal and not usually serious.”
Normal - yes it is - as children are potentially the natural prey of the dog, and that is why they frequently get bitten, attacked and even killed by domestic dogs. Serious? Any aggression toward children is serious. In consulting these professionals, parents and dog owners are acting responsibly by making a concerted effort to seek counselling on how to prevent and cure the aggression that is starting to manifest itself in their dog - and are then being told to ignore it. (And charged for it.) This advice could lull them into a false sense of security, placing their child's life at an even greater risk.
When dealing with which way to point a weapon ... we are needing a more socially responsible attitude - if the “epidemic” of dog attacks (Los Angeles Post, Readers Digest, Time Magazine) is to be stemmed and reversed. What we have every right to ask is: “With the all the media exposure that behavior therapists are getting, why is dog aggression increasing, and not decreasing?” The behavior therapy profession started in the mid 80's and Time Magazine (June 1997) says that from 1984 to 1997, dog aggression had increased by 35%.
But it is not only the families who are paying such a high price for the ignorance surrounding dog behavior, and counterproductive advice that is mushrooming around the globe – so are our dogs. Frequently with their life. In Journal of American Medical Veterinary Association Vol 210 says: “Sadly euthanasia is the number one cause of death in companion animals.” (Note – not stray dogs – pets.) They then go on to say: “We are the only ones uniquely trained (is that not rather an arrogant statement?) to provide specific recommendations.” What about “solutions to the problem”?
Desensitization
This aims at giving dogs “new associations” with stimuli which trigger fear or negative behavior in a dog. It is still in the theory stage although it is presented as fact. It presumes that dogs see things the way we do.
Identification of the “stimuli”
This implies that all behavior is triggered from the environment, It does not recognize the fact that much of a dog’s behavior is triggered by his thought processes, emotions and instincts and are a result of stress, hunger and adrenalin, for example.
Management
Again, this treats the symptoms, not the root cause of a behavioral disorder, and is therefore at best only a short term solution.
Surgery and Drugs
These also do not remove the cause of a behavioral disorder. Daphne consulted a behavior therapist regarding her dog’s possible aggression toward her grandchild, She was advised to put the dog on an “anti-aggression” drug. She then asked what guarantee she could be given that the dog would not attack the baby while she was on drugs. She was told: “None.”
Manual of Canine Behavior says under Surgical Treatment: “Attempts are sometimes made to treat behavior problems by removing part of the body so that the dog is physically unable to engage in the behavior. For example, tail chasing is rarely cured by tail removal. Any attempt to alter behavior by surgical means should always be followed immediately by behavior treatment. (Do we not have the cart before the horse here? And if it doesn’t work, why subject the dog and his family to the trauma. ) They then advise students to interview the dog’s owner about the dog’s behavior. (Not to observe it themselves.) She then says: “Having made some sense of the behavior, as far as possible the following questions about causation (the cause) should be answered: Time of day, genetic causes; stimuli; hyperactivity “must be tackled and dealt with”. But we are not told how. No mention of solutions are made.
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