15/09/2023
We love dogs barking in the field. It means they are having fun.
Barking!
Lots of guardians are annoyed by their dogs' vocalisations. What we have to understand is that for a dog, this is their communication just like our vocal sounds of speaking.
Barking can occur due to genetics (the breed(s) of your dog), fear, anxiety and trauma-related events as well as noise sensitivities.
The fear of being alone when left alone can cause barking vocalisations, for most puppies their first experience of being alone is when they have come to their new guardians and are no longer with their mother and siblings and this can be really scary to not only be away from the only home you have known and your family but in a new environment with a new family!
Barking is fun! Barking is a form of communication and self expression! Many breeds are predisposed to barking and it proves useful in many human and dog working relationships such as search dogs, police dogs and hunting dogs.
Barking is a fantastic way to communicate a need, perhaps there is something that the guardian has missed or hasn't acknowledged, puppies love to explore using their vocals and as soon as there is a response which delivers a positive outcome the puppy quickly learns that this is positive reinforcement. This is also true for older dog's as they learn to find their bark, if this elicits a response from a human which is positive, this will show them that this is a way of communication. Much like when babies cry for the attention of a parent to meet their need. (1)
Barking to go to the toilet is one example: as many humans don't reside near the door which gives access to the toilet, however barking brings the guardian to the door and hey presto the door is opened and the need to eliminate is met.
Barking also serves as a function when someone comes to the door, barking through the window to make others aware of their presence and barking when directly saying "hey, I need something such as food."
Barking also helps when puppies are scared and is a first defence mechanism to make people and others back away. As soon as they learn that this works they will continue to repeat the behaviour when frightened or nervous.
Barking is also contributed to by diet, which is rarely considered. You are what you eat. So basically dogs rely on food and the nutrients from food to contribute to healthy internal health, development of neurotransmitters and hormones. When these nutrients are lacking, out of balance or too high in particular chemicals such as tryptophan or tyrosine.
This can upset the hormonal balance, tryptophan which regulates the serotonin levels, when out of balance can result in aggression, self mutilation behaviours and resistance to stress.
An upset to catecholamines which are neurotransmitters such as adrenaline and dopamine can alter behaviour and healthy brain development as well as contribute to stress resistance.
Polyunsaturated fats, omega 3's, n-3 and n-6 fatty acids when imbalanced can also contribute to changes of the serotonin and dopamine development within the dog's brain.
Dog behaviour is signalled from chemical messages, within hormones and neurotransmitters. When changes occur with the hormones and neurotransmitters this can cause behaviour to change in a positive or negative way.
Scientists unfortunately studied senior beagles to understand the influence of food on behaviour and a reduction of the symptoms of dementia in humans. To understand if food played a role in cognitive decline being delayed by using food enriched with antioxidants and mitochondrial cofactors decreased the rate of cognitive decline in senior beagle dogs under laboratory conditions and improved age-related behavioural changes in older dogs held in home situations. (2)
It's unknown if dog food regulators have explored the amount of tryptophan requirements within dog food and whether the requirement is sufficient for dog behaviour, as researchers have found a diet high in tryptophan was found to decrease aggression and stress in trials. (3) It is also known that a deficit in tryptophan and tyrosine can negatively alter the health of dogs too.
Diets found to be low in PUFA not only contributed to a decline in health over all, but also negatively impacted cognition and behaviour. Stress was also seen to increase and resistance to stress was not as present as it had been with diets higher in PUFA. Dopamine and serotonin are also affected by a lack of PUFA which control the regulation of emotions, impulse control, cognitive function and neurological functioning.
Due to the changes in neurological functioning changes in cognition and behaviour can be seen due to the levels of these chemicals within the food.
So when considering behaviour and changes in behaviour or a prevalence of a breed trait behaviour we have to consider the diet and what is occurring physiologically inside the dog's body to their body and also to their brain and brain development especially in puppies and young dogs. "When considering dog behaviour we really should be considering what is in the dog's stomach." (4)
Hunger can also play a role in affecting behaviour and when food isn't readily or regularly available this can negatively impact dog behaviour especially if food is so scarce that they are experiencing a deficit in nutrients and are malnourished. (5)
Carbohydrate intake also plays a role in communication from the small intestine, the receptors when digesting good and high quality carbohydrates send signals of satiety to the brain before the gastric area is emptied. This slows the digestion process and the process of glucose being absorbed too readily which means better maintenance of insulin levels and glucose levels and poor carbohydrates particularly prevalent in dry extruded foods can cause negative impacts within the stomach and alter behaviour. Different breeds and larger sized dog's may respond differently in terms of satiety and nutrient absorption. (6)
So diet plays a huge role in the contribution of unwanted behaviours such as barking, which is why behaviourists may refer you to not only an integrative vet but also a canine nutritionist to ensure that your dog is receiving the correct diet and nutrients for optimal health, brain development and regulation.
So here we have lots of examples of the need to bark as a communication which is vital to ensure that their needs are met, whether this be barking from arousal, alert barking, as an energetic expression or a communication for a specific need.
Working with the barking is the best way to help the barking and addressing the function of the behaviour, such as barking due to anxiety or barking for engagement from yourself or members of the family or barking due to noise sensitivities. It is always detrimental to understand and learn the why of the behaviour in order to work with the behaviour in a positive way.
If you recall the use of journals in a previous blog, journals can be a great way to document your progress with barking when it isn't just a communication in the moment, such as barking at the TV or through the window. Here's a link to the blog on journals. The journal sheets are free to download and print. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=710183720904084&id=100057373879884&sfnsn=scwspmo
Noting if there was a significant event such as a car door slamming, dogs in the neighbourhood barking, being alone or barking for connection seeking and the need for engagement. Documenting the pitch of the bark and how long it lasted for can also be really helpful, especially if you need to consult a veterinarian, homoeopath or behaviourist for this.
When you are home you can work with the barking by utilising a white noise machine, this helps to drown out noises from the environment, especially within the neighbourhood. You can also soothe your puppy or dog and reassure them, many guardians worry about soothing their puppies during times of fear, but fear is an emotion and cannot be reinforced. The same way that we appreciate being soothed and comforted during times of fear, our puppies also do and this can help to build confidence.
If they are barking for connection seeking (barking to engage with you) this can be a great opportunity to listen and play with them and build on the connection that they have asked for, this doesn't mean the barking is being reinforced, instead we call this redirecting the behaviour, where we channel the behaviour to a different behaviour and this also enhances our bond when we listen to them and actively connect with them.
They may also bark when someone knocks on the door, when visitors are in the home, thanking them and then rewarding them can also help to maintain a short alert bark that someone is at the door can prevent prolonged barking. When visitors are in the home, setting your puppy up within their Doggy Enrichment Land with enrichment can help to remove the fear of the presence of visitors and reassure your puppy that you can prevent visitors from coming into their space, if your puppy or dog would like to meet the visitors, once they have settled with some enrichment allowing them to meet visitors during calm behaviours can prevent arousal and becoming too familiar and excited when meeting visitors.
Remember barking is a behaviour that stems from a need or a function for the puppy or dog and we always need to understand the why of the behaviour to work with the behaviour holistically.
Barking as an energy release of energetic compression, coming back to the beginning, barking is fun and also releases tension. Tension isn't always bad or negative, sometimes it is simply a build up of arousal and excitement which is eustress and not distress. It isn't uncommon to go to the beach or a field and observe a dog bouncing around, zooming and barking as if to tell everyone in the area how happy and excited they are.
We need to understand this isn't misbehaviour or bad behaviour, this is simply self expression and a release of emotions.
We also need to be mindful that both puppies and dogs are a separate species from ourselves and because humans have decided that puppies and dogs must behave in a particular way to conform to human ideologies that puppies and dogs must behave like humans.
But therapists encourage us to shout and scream to release tension and to lower blood pressure and avoid hypertension because we have been conditioned by society. It isn't OK to shout or scream when feeling stressed or excited but puppies and dogs do not have to adhere to these rules as they aren't human and this is a human ideology.
Of course barking can be problematic if you have neighbours but ensuring you keep barking to the hours of your local council laws can be a big help and allowing your puppy or dog to bark and thanking them for alerting you to something can keep barking to a minimum within the home and when you go for a walk praising them for releasing their energetic compression can help them form the association of where they can bark freely.
You can also play this game to redirect from barking: the "find it game", so when your dog begins barking, throw a treat for them to chase and when they get to the treat click to reinforce. Then as they turn back and look at you, throw another treat and click and so on, this is to help change the brain's thinking about the barking when it hasn't been cued or conditioned for the scenario of the barking.
References
Lord K, Feinstein M, Coppinger R. 2009. Barking and mobbing. Behav Process. 81:358–368. https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:5ed9db11-ac14-4e8c-a15e-3691af970be5
Philip Roudebush, Steven C Zicker, Carl W Cotman, Norton W Milgram, Bruce A Muggenburg, Elizabeth Head. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 227 (5), 722-728, 2005
Bagshaw, CS, Ralston, SL & Fisher, H (1994) Behavioural and physiological effect of orally administered tryptophan on horses subjected to acute isolation stress. Appl Anim Behav Sci 40, 1–12. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 40 (1), 1-12, 1994
Mugford, RA (1987) The influence of nutrition on canine behaviour. J Small Anim Pract 28, 1046–1055. Journal of Small Animal Practice 28 (11), 1046-1055, 1987.
De Leeuw, JA, Zonderland, JJ, Altena, H, Spoolder, HAM, Jongbloed, AW & Verstegen, MWA (2005) Effects of levels and sources of dietary fermentable non-starch polysaccharides on blood glucose stability and behaviour of group-housed pregnant gilts. Appl Anim Behav Sci 94, 15–29. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 94 (1-2), 15-29, 2005.
Bourreau, J, Hernot, D, Bailhache, E, Weber, M, Ferchaud, V, Biourge, V, Martin, L, Dumon, H & Nguyen, P (2004) Gastric emptying rate is inversely related to body weight in dog breeds of different sizes. J Nutr 134, S2039–S2041. The Journal of nutrition 134 (8), 2039S-2041S, 2004.
Image description:
A comic strip with 6 windows on a grey background.
The title reads Barking & vocalisations
The subtitle reads Written & illustrated By Tasha Attwood - miyagis dog training & behaviourist services
brought to you by
The first window has a white text box with black text saying: A brief guide to helping your dog
In a speech graphic: Awoooooo- - -
A speech graphic off screen reads: Oh no, what's going on? What now?!?- A grey white Wolfdog is stood in front of a window howling.
The top centre window reads: Now Is the time for… an holistic training plan! With a pink background and orange speech graphic filling the window.
The final window on the top row has a red splat with the text Vital in black. An image of a journal, keys, a Kong toy and a braided dog treat.
A green speech graphic to the bottom left of the window reads: Vet check for any changes or new behaviours. Check with a Canine nutritionist so diet can be eliminated
A white speech graphic to the right reads: Keep a journal! Document the good & bad. Document what works and what doesn't, Keep notes of any changes In behaviour and pitch of the barks as well as duration.
The left bottom window is a green background with a Wolfdog behind an X pen as a Doggy Enrichment Land with a purple teddy in his mouth. There is a brown speaker on the wall above.
To the top of the window on the left a green speech graphic box reads: Try and observe if there are any sound sensitivities for example a change outdoors such as bird scarers.
To the bottom of the window on the left a blue and yellow speech graphic reads: White noise machines are great for drowning out outdoor noises or noisy neighbours as well as TV or the radio.
A yellow speech graphic to the right middle of the window reads: Consider an enrichment plan and routine. This can also help to identify the type and need of the bark.
The middle bottom window is a blue background with a white grey Wolfdog sat in front of a brown wooden chair. To the left of the window is a Wheelchair user in a black hoody with pink text on the back. A green and pink speech graphic to the bottom of the window reads:
Consider how you react to the barking, do you react in a negative way or do you try to work with the barking?
A pink speech graphic box to the top of the window reads: Try to consider the need of the barking and the function of the barking.
A white box with the text Some time later… sits in between the middle and final right box on the bottom row.
The final window is half grey with a grey Wolfdog on a pink bed curled up under the window with the sun beaming inside. A white thought graphic is above the Wolfdog and reads: I’m so much more relaxed and able to enter into deep sleep since having a routine and playing games with my guardian.
A pale yellow box at the bottom of the window reads:
It takes time, dedication and repetition, you need to go at The Dogs pace and keep them under threshold, but with a clear plan, you can do it!
There is a treat jar to the right of the window on a pink background: A white and blue bordered speech graphic reads: Treat bombs are a great way to quickly engage with your dog and open a communication conversation.
