Bark Dog Training

04/13/2025

In my last post I mentioned FRUSTRATION BEHAVIORS... how do we know if a dogs behavior is related to feelings of frustration? And what behaviors are possible signs of frustration?

To decide if the source of a behavior is frustration, we take a look at the behavior from the dog's point of view.
What is the dog trying to achieve through the behavior?
What satisfaction is the dog getting by completing the behavior?
What is the situation when the is doing the behavior?
What happens before or after the behavior occurs?

Behaviors such as destroying the couch or helping themselves to garbage are not the only signs of a frustrated dog.
Some signs of frustration are very obvious, while others are subtle and more difficult to notice.

Take the dog in the image for example - leash biting is typically rooted in frustration.
We can see from the image that the dog is among a number of people. She is tethered to a human by this leash which doesn't have much slack (appropriate for the close proximity of people). But being leashed takes away the autonomy and agency of the dog. This inability to have independence and make her own choices can cause frustration - the leash is preventing the dog from going where she wants to go whether that be to approach a person or a dog or maybe the dog is overwhelmed and would prefer to leave the situation.

Unfortunately our dogs can't just tell us how they are feeling in a situation or what they need.
As responsible dog owners it is our job to identify any signs frustration and reduce them as best we can.
Resolving your dog's frustration will not only help your dog lead a happier, more calm life - it will also reduced stress and frustration in your life when your dog isn't performing unwanted behaviors.

For more information on frustration behaviors in dogs - reach out | www.bark-dogtraining.com

04/09/2025

Your dog is destroying your house when you leave...

is it SEPARATION ANXIETY or is it FRUSTRATION BEHAVIOR?

What's the difference?
Separation Anxiety in dogs is an emotional and physical stress response that happens when you leave your dog. Your dog may become anxious or aggressive when you put on your shoes or grab your keys to leave. Your dog may excessively bark/whine/howl, pace or lick themself when left alone. Destructive behaviors are aimed at exits - such as their kennel or doors and windows of the home. Your dog may urinate or defecate despite being potty trained or have diarrhea or vomit when you leave. Your dog appears in distress when you return often panting, trembling, restless and/or exhausted from being so worked up while you were gone.

Frustration Behaviors on the other hand... Your dog may bark, but they do stop. Destructive behaviors are aimed at things in the home such as destroying the couch, pillows or bedding, chewing on table or chair legs, ripping up carpet, chewing holes in the wall, getting into garbage cans or counter surfing.

How do we fix these?
The process of addressing Separation Anxiety involves desensitization - the process of creating a less sensitive/emotional or physical response to you leaving through repeated exposure starting at a threshold your dog can tolerate. The speed at which we can progress is dependent on each specific dog.

Resolving Frustration Behaviors often requires no actual training. We simply have to resolve the frustration - whether that be health problems (pain/discomfort), boredom or unmet exercise, mental stimulation, or drive needs, not enough sleep, lack of structure/routine, or not enough opportunity for dogness. We use management interventions to prevent unwanted behaviors while we work to determine the cause of the frustration and correct it.

If your dog is suffering from Separation Anxiety or you need help finding the source of your dog's destructive behaviors - reach out - www.bark-dogtraining.com

02/07/2025

The 3 C's for effective dog training

1. COMMUNICATION
Create a language that you and your dog both understand. Define your cues, expectations and boundaries for your dog and communicate those in a way.
Example - If your dog is begging for food at the table. Saying "No" or "Stop" doesn't tell your dog what you want. Instead, teaching a "Place" or "Down" cue will better communicate your expectations in this situation in a way your dog can understand.

2. CONFIDENCE
Set your dog up to feel confident in their environment and in their ability to try and fail in the learning process. Building confidence in your dog helps to reduce frustration in daily life and encourages a more resilient dog.
Building confidence in play: When playing tug, make your dog work for the win, but your dog should win 90% of the time.
Building confidence through training: Increase the difficulty of training when your dog is successful 4 of 5 attempts. If your dog fails in the training exercise 2 times in a row, help your dog - do they understand the difficulty you added? Is the environment to distracting? Is your dog stressed or worried?

3. CONSISTENCY
This is one of the MOST IMPORTANT aspects of training your dog. Be consistent in your communication (cues and markers), rules, expectations and criteria that you ask from your dog. Consistency and predictability build confidence and help your dog to more rapidly build associations and progress through training criteria.

01/14/2025

Since I started training dogs in 2020, the most frequent requests for training I get are for:

1. Frustration/Over-Arousal/Impulse Control behaviors
2. Reactivity
3. Resource Guarding

1. FRUSTRATION/OVER-AROUSAL/IMPULSE CONTROL behaviors
These are dogs that jump on people, are mouthy, vocalize (whine or bark), or hump people/things...

These dogs can be destructive, chewing up shoes or furniture, or digging in the yard...

These dogs get zoomies... while cute, zoomies are not a comfortable state for your dog...

These dogs escape - they rush out of their kennel or out the front door, jump the fence or push through the gate...

These dogs pull on leash walks or bite the leash. They thrash the leash or toys or pillows...

These dogs can be pushy about food/treats OR won't take food/treats at all...

The best part about these dogs?!?
A large part of these "bad" behavior can be solved by just making some simple changes in the dog's daily life:

- reducing causes of the frustration
- ensuring the dog is getting enough sleep
- finding an outlet to meet the dogs drive needs, physical/exercise needs, and mental needs
- creating a calm, less stimulating environment where the dog can feel safe and secure
- establishing a predictable routine for the dog
- developing clear boundaries and expectations that the dog can understand

If training is needed it typically focuses on:

- teaching the dog to be calm and to be okay doing nothing
- teaching the dog to be patient in all areas of life

2. REACTIVITY
These dogs often bark, lunge, pull, jump, whine, growl, snarl. They fixate on things (dogs, people, critters), they won't take food or treats, and they don't hear commands when in this irrational state.

Correcting reactivity takes a LOT of dedication and consistency in training. We manage the "trigger" to limit the reactive behaviors. We reduce frustrations as much as possible. We teach the dog a way to communicate how they are feeling and we respond and respect their communication to change their emotion to the "trigger."

This is one of the most beautiful and rewarding changes to see in a dog 🥰

3. What are Resource Guarding behaviors?
These dogs hoard, bury, growl, snarl, posture, snap, nip, lunge, bite or freeze when in possession of a valuable item - food, bowl, toy, their bed, a human, or anything else they find valuable.

Resource guarding is stopped by simply building trust with the dog around their valuables.
While the training is simple, depending on how deeply engrained the fear of losing the valued item is determines how fast or slow this process goes.
For older dogs, building trust can take time and patience. For a young puppy, resource guarding can be resolved within a couple of interactions if addressed right away!

For more information on training: https://www.bark-dogtraining.com/home

01/09/2025

How are we already a week into 2025!?

Did you make a New Years Resolution?

A New Year's Resolution is a great way to start a new habit in 2025.

Need some inspiration? Here's a list of dog related new year's resolution ideas!

◾️ Train your dog for 15 minutes 5 days a week
◾️ Walk your dog for 30 minutes 4 days a week
◾️ Wash your dog's food and water bowls daily
◾️ Trim your dog's nails weekly
◾️ Provide your dog a mental stimulation activity 4 days a week
◾️ Schedule 20 minutes of time to focus on your dog - no social media, no TV, no kids, no other pets
◾️ Provide your dog with a drive work activity 3 days a week
◾️ Brush your dog daily/weekly or whatever frequency is appropriate for their breed
◾️ Wash your dogs bedding weekly

01/04/2025

Chase your dog training goals in 2025!

Tired of your dog pulling you around on walks?
Frustrated when your dog doesn't come when called?
Worried about your dog snapping at your kids when they have food or a toy?
Embarrassed when your dog barks at other dogs in public?
Annoyed when your dog tries to rush out the front door every time it opens?

Which of your dog's behaviors would you like to change this year?

Get started with Bark Dog Training to make 2025 the best year with your dog yet!

For more information on services and training programs: www.bark-dogtraining.com/home

01/01/2025

Happy 2025! 🐾🥂Cheers to a year of happiness and fulfillment in all of your training goals!

12/25/2023