A situation like this often ends up physical with something being thrown at the dog, a gentle boot.. a stiff boot Id imagine for some, or the dog being chased off getting screamed at. Lets put an end to this communication breakdown once and for all. As far as a dog knows, short, quick, loud commands such as “stop”, “quiet”, “no” or “shut up”, simply means its in a barking contest! So as you can see, simply yelling commands to stop excited dog barking is not going to do the trick or quiet your noisy dog. Matter of fact, this technique is actually reinforcing the behavior!
Some trainers will employ touching techniques to thwart barking that of course are accompanied with calm voice commands. For example, you can slip the fingers of one hand under the back of your dogs collar. Pull up gently on the collar while pushing down on the top of the muzzle with your other hand. Be sure to command “quiet” in a calm voice while doing this.
Think about it.. do wild canines bark? Ever hear of a Wolf, Dingo or Coyote excited dog barking for absolutely no reason? I would guess not yet while wild canines may bark a bit as puppies when establishing pack hierarchy, barking among a pack can actually draw the attention of predators or scare off prey. Heres a perfect example of how domestication has once again warped the mind and behavior of some pet dogs in another quirky way.
To stop excited dog barking you must be there to catch your dog before it becomes excited. Doing daily training exercises using help from friends or family to “stage” an exciting event works perfectly. Be sure to get the attention of your dog and distract their mind before it reaches an excited state. Use some of the training tips we discussed to keep your dog distracted and focused on you. Keep all commands calm and monotone.. “non exciting”. Use treats, eye contact or other distraction to keep focus on you until the excitement ends.
Remember, certain breeds will bark more than others, its been bred into them. Barking serves a purpose in the canine world yet excited barking serves no purpose. The tips and techniques discussed in this article are meant to help with training exercises. There is no quick fix to excited dog barking unless youre inclined to use an anti bark collar (which sometimes dont work). Well leave that subject for another article;)
Barks made in different situations sound different and likely have different meanings. They are not a one-size-fits-all vocal signal, and they definitely serve a greater purpose than simply saying “hey” or “look out.” They are also emotionally complex. Dogs don’t just bark when they are excited, although it can seem that way when they are trying to get your attention. They bark when they are frightened, lonely, surprised, irritated, and more. That means there are different barks for different moods, as well.
The space between barks is also worth consideration. The quicker the succession of barks, the more aggressive the dog is probably feeling. For example, when a dog is on the attack, his vocalizations will have the shortest pause between barks of any other barking sound. By comparison, the lonely “don’t leave me alone” bark has far longer pauses between sounds.
In addition, the more barks in a row, the more aroused the dog is. A single bark may be given when a dog is surprised or annoyed, as if to say, “huh?” or “knock it off.” On the other hand, a long string of barks likely indicates the dog is far more worked up, such as the prolonged sound of alarm barking.
According to Hungarian research, humans, even those who don’t own dogs, are better at classifying dog barks than you might think. Prerecorded dog barks were played to human listeners, then the listeners were asked to categorize the barks. They were given a list of possible situations that could have elicited the barking and asked to choose the most appropriate one. In addition, they rated the emotion the barking dog was feeling. The results showed that people can match the bark to the situation with accuracy far higher than chance and can identify the dog’s emotion using the pitch of the bark and the pause between barks.
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Many dogs become excited and start barking when they see other dogs approaching. Remember, not all dogs want to meet other dogs. Do you shake hands with everyone at the park? I think not so your dog does not need to meet every dog at the park. (This is socialization gone wrong.)
Next time your excited dog starts barking, teach your dog to do something else instead of barking. You’ll need pea-sized yummy treats, a clicker, leash and your dog’s collar or harness:
Dogs will bark when excited or nervous. This is very common. Many times, if your dog is really excited or frustrated, his barking gets much worse. He’s usually dealing with his frustration or excitement by vocalizing it, as people do. Exciting places can be your vet’s office, dog training classes, your home and the park as well as when they can see dogs or people walking by.
Continue to practice at home so your dog learns barking does not work. Standing still, looking at my pet parent and keeping quiet pays with lots of treats. If your dog does not improve within 2-3 minutes, your timing is off a bit. If your dog is confused, learn to prevent this by reading this article.
Instead, if your dog becomes too excited as a dog is approaching, turn and walk the other way. I like to teach dogs: when you’re on leash, you focus on me and not other dogs. Bring treats and reward your dog when he looks at you instead of the other dogs. Learn more about socialization and greeting dogs at Dog Behavior: Learn to Speak Dog.