Excessive Barking

By: Drs. J. Michelle Posage & Amy Marder

Excessive barking is a common canine behavior problem that can lead to sleepless nights for the dog owners, frustration, angry neighbors, legal action and even eviction. For the dog, this behavior can lead to abandonment, abuse by neighbors or owners, or even euthanasia.

However, most barking dogs are not behaving abnormally. Rather, they are responding to an environmental stimulus and/or displaying normal alerting behavior. Some breeds tend to bark more than others. Whining and howling often accompany barking.

To solve a problem with barking, a definite cause for the behavior must be sought and addressed. Barking is a sign of a problem, not a diagnosis. There are many reasons why dogs bark excessively. Some of these include:

Separation anxiety: Dogs that become anxious when separated from their owners often bark or make other noises. They may also become destructive or eliminate in the home. The barking usually begins at or shortly after the owner's departure, and may be continuous or intermittent for up to several hours. This type of barking only occurs in the owner's absence, and is usually predictable.

Reaction to specific stimuli: Some dogs bark in response to certain exciting stimuli, such as delivery people, loose dogs or cats, squirrels or unfamiliar noises. This type of barking may be merely an arousal response or a combination of alerting, protective and fearful behaviors. Unlike dogs with separation anxiety, these dogs bark despite the owner's presence, and the barking stops when the stimulus is removed. This type of barking may be self-reinforcing. For example, take the dog that barks at the approach of a postal carrier: That person leaves after dropping off the mail, but the dog believes his barking caused the person to leave, thus emboldening him to do it again. Dogs will also bark as part of a chain reaction: one dog barks at something and others join in.

My 13yr old dog Neko has increased his barking episodes in relation to his loss of sight & hearing!