08/04/2024
IS YOUR COLLIE'S BARKING DRIVING YOU BARKING MAD?
Today's feature by our breed expert is on this very subject:
BARKING - WHY DO COLLIES DO IT, AND HOW CAN YOU STOP IT WHEN YOU WANT TO?
A common request we have from followers is how they can stop their dogs barking, or barking more constantly to the point where it drives them nuts. So hopefully this feature will help explain why collies – like most dogs – bark in the first place, and what you can do to better understand and control this behaviour in them.
Barking is an activity mostly confined to domestic - as opposed to wild – dogs, and also a behaviour that has been more deliberately enhanced in them, through past selective breeding, to suit a number of human purposes. Such as sounding an alarm when some sort of danger, or intruder, may be nearby, or signalling that the dog has picked up the scent of prey, or anything else another human may be trying to track. So it served, if you like, as the most basic form of canine-human communication.
However, dogs being the hugely adaptable creatures they are, have also learned that barking can serve other more personal uses or purposes. Such as the immediate gaining of attention from humans, or a way to physically release all the inner tension caused by feelings like anxiety, apprehension, fear, excitement, frustration or just boredom. And once a dog learns the kind of rewards attached to barking behaviour, they are going to want to keep repeating it.
LEARNED AND MORE MANIPULATIVE BEHAVIOUR
Collies can learn quickly, too, that barking secures them much higher levels of owner attention than they would have got if they hadn't barked. And from this early lesson they can then move on to barking, or more persistent whining, as a greater tool of owner control; i.e. not just getting them more attention, but also in pressurising owners to make them do something – like feed them, walk them, give them a toy - much faster than they would otherwise have done.
Dogs with poorer impulse control may also bark or whine at more potentially exciting moments – like meal or walk times – because they have a greater struggle in general containing their emotional states, and this is one way to release the inner mental pressure. They may also then learn that the barking/whining makes an owner act faster in giving them what they want.
Either way, It is important to see this behaviour for what it is, and as well as teaching your dog a ‘quiet’ command – covered a bit later – not giving the dog the reward they seek from this behaviour.
So if, for instance, your dog keeps barking or whining at mealtimes, immediately leave the kitchen – or wherever you usually feed them – and sit in another room doing something else, totally ignoring your dog in the meantime until he or she is quiet again. Do the same if your dog starts barking madly before you go out for a walk. Simply take off their lead, and go and sit in another room, and keep repeating this exercise until they are quiet again. Do not give them their meal or walk until they have sat quietly for you first. So they eventually learn that it is being calm and quiet that gets them what they want, rather than barking. Exercises like these usually only fail because the owner’s resolve gives up before the dog’s does.
BARKING WHEN OUT
Another common collie habit is to begin barking or whining the moment an owner stops to meet others, or talk to others, on a walk. Again this is simply a pressurising ploy on the dog's behalf to get attention back on themselves, and keep the walk moving on. And too often it is allowed to work! Or even escalate on to other pressure behaviours like nipping an owner’s feet or trouser hems. This behaviour is also a way a dog may externalise its own frustration at not being able to make the thing it wants to move, move or move faster.
I try to deter any behaviour like this in my own dogs from day one. First by teaching them a proper 'quiet' command (see end of this feature) as soon as possible, and also getting them to LIE DOWN and WAIT the moment they whine or bark when I am talking to another dog or person. Each and every time they repeat the behaviour they are made to lie down and wait even FURTHER AWAY from me than they were before, until it becomes totally counter-productive for them as a ploy on all levels. Do note however that for this to work best you will first need to have taught your dog more bombproof DOWN and WAIT commands.
ALARM BARKING
Some barking I will view as totally legitimate in my dogs. Such as when they sense some element of threat - e.g. someone posting something through the front door, or some noise in the garden. Too often owners will just keep shouting at dogs to ‘shut up’ when they are alarm barking in this way, which just makes them think YOU are barking TOO! Plus the threat is still out there, uninvestigated by you.
So if your dog is worried and barking about something they heard in the garden or outside the front door, make a big show of personally checking all this out yourself. Look very obviously outside the front door, or all round the garden, before praising your dog and saying very calmly something like "thanks, all OK now, settle down". It might seem a real bit of theatre, but it can also be surprisingly effective.
EMOTIONAL RELEASE BARKING
As highlighted earlier, more persistent barking in collies can also be a sign that they are under some kind of greater emotional pressure, which this behaviour allows them to better physically release and vent. They are anxious about something. Or afraid of something. Or just generally more over-stimulated/excited or frustrated. So the barking cannot stop until you better identify what is causing the mental pressure behind it.
One of the biggest problems for many owners is dogs who keep persistently barking when they are out, causing an ongoing noise nuisance for other neighbours. However annoying it might seem, it is also the sign of a dog in extreme distress, or going out of their minds with the ongoing pressures of confinement and boredom, and huge anxiety in dogs who are more excessively attached, emotionally, to their owners.
Different dogs may have different thresholds, in terms of how quickly they will begin this behaviour once you leave home, and it is important to recognise this. Many dogs can be taught to cope better with being left for shorter periods of time – e.g. two hours max – but others will more continually struggle, and may need the comfort of a dog minder if the barking is ever to stop.
TEACHING THE ‘QUIET’ COMMAND
To me the main issue with barking in collies is not that it occurs - as these dogs must be allowed some physical outlet like this when they are excited, or need to tell you about a potential threat - but that you can stop it when you need to. For this you will need to teach them a proper 'quiet' command.
Odd as it may seem, you first have to wait until your dog actually IS barking. Once this happens, hold some very tasty treats in your hand and let your dog see them. In order to eat these, your dog will first have to stop barking, as it cannot eat and bark at the same time. The INSTANT your dog stops barking in anticipation of a treat, say the word "quiet!", then immediately praise your dog and give them a treat.
Keep doing this every time your dog barks. It is also crucial to work up to ever longer episodes of your dog responding to, or complying with, the ‘quiet’ command before praising and rewarding them. Otherwise they may get into the habit of barking just to get a treat from you. And it’s essential that your dog learns they are being rewarded for staying QUIET, as opposed to barking.
After asking your dog to be ‘quiet’ for a while, you can then divert your dog into another activity, like playing with a toy, having a nice chew, or finding food or kibble hidden around the room or garden, to keep their mind off the barking activity.
The more you do this, and make being "quiet" a far more rewarding activity for your dog than barking, the less barking your dog should do. If this training fails it is usually due to timing; i.e. the "quiet" action, word command for this action and reward must initially all come very quickly together, or because you do not ever prolong the time a dog may stay ‘quiet’ before being rewarded, or your dog's impulse control levels are so poor they first need to be worked on before he or she can sustain any calmer activity for greater lengths of time.
Finally, be aware that more persistent barking in collies can also be a sign of them having insufficient outlets for their physical/mental energies, so this issue may also have to be addressed. Conversely, they may be being more persistently over-stimulated by activities that make them more physically excited/reactive, while making less use of their brains or powers of mental concentration.
More persistent barking in older dogs at seemingly 'nothing' often occurs as a result of more senile changes occurring in their brains.
Meanwhile, far more on the subject of barking, teaching dogs better impulse control and better managing their stress/reactivity levels in general appears in my books.
All text © Carol Price 2024
Carol Price collie books: In the UK from: https://performancedog.co.uk/product-category/books-and-dvds/authors/carol-price/ In the USA from: https://www.dogwise.com/ # and https://www.cleanrun.com/product/border_collies_a_breed_apart_book_1_secrets_of_the_working_mind/index.cfm In Canada from https://www.4mymerles.com/product-category/books/ In Australia from: https://gameondogs.com.au/ And in the Netherlands and Belgium from: https://mediaboek.nl/border-collies-a-breed-apart-book-1.html