A Simple Change to Calm a Fear Barker

Is your dog a fear barker? From the smallest Chihuahua to the biggest Saint Bernard, all dogs want to protect us. It is in their nature to sound the alarm when they sense danger. The problem is when everything appears to trigger their alarm barking. These triggers could be as benign as the wind blowing through  the branches of a nearby tree, turning on the blender for your morning smoothie, hearing the next-door neighbour in their backyard or the sight or sound of a delivery person dropping off a package.  If you have a fearful or nervous dog, any or all of these stimuli might set your dog off.

A Shetland Sheepdog who was barking at everything

We had one client whose Shetland Sheepdog would go into fits of hysterical barking when the client cracked an egg for breakfast. The same dog lost it once when the client was emptying her purse and the sound of coins hitting the tabletop set the dog off in a fit of hysterical barking.

The reason this little story is valuable to this discussion on protection is that this same dog would bark uncontrollably on walks and lunge to the end of her leash whenever a person approached on the sidewalk. In dog speak, Bambi was trying to keep everybody away, protecting herself and her owner from certain danger. The poor client could never stop and talk to a neighbour if she was with her dog and being single, it made for lonely walks.

This is where Furry Logic came in. The client wanted to fix the walking on leash. Little did she know that every other problem was a symptom of Bambi’s fear. So how did we approach the training? We had to build Bambi’s confidence in her owner so that the world would feel like a safer place. This all goes back to leadership. We introduced some rules of behaviour to let Bambi know that her life had structure. One new rule, and this is a big one for many people, Bambi could no longer sleep in bed with her person. She was to have her own bed and ideally a crate to sleep in.

Sleeping with our dogs can lead to over protection

The problem when we sleep with our dogs and especially in this particular situation, is that it creates a sense of equality. There is no Pack Leader in this relationship. If we are equal, then who is taking care of whom? If you allow your fearful dog to think that you need him close at night to protect you (because that is what is going on his head) then clearly in the dog’s mind, you are the one who is subordinate. If you need protection at night, then why wouldn’t you need protection during the day?

We realize that many single people do get a dog for protection at night. Rest assured that should your dog hear something out of the ordinary, like someone trying a doorknob in the middle of the night, your dog will bark. Our training will not negate that.

So our advice is to move your dog away from your bed; even simply expect your dog to sleep on a nice comfy dog bed on the floor. In this way you change the dynamics of your relationship to a healthier one. The fear barking will miraculously improve. You are saying that you are quite capable of taking care of yourself and your nervous fearful dog will stop jumping to conclusions thinking that “Everyone is out to get us!”

A tiny terror who needed dog training

In an even more extreme situation, we had a client with a 6-pound Yorkshire terrier, Bella, who would attack anyone who entered the house. This house had the entrance of a classic 50’s bungalow where the front door entered directly into the livingroom. There was no transitional space where a person could stand to give our Bella the impression that they were neither in nor out of the living space. To Bella, anyone who crossed the barrier of the front door was more a terror than she was. Once they came through the door, it was an invasion!

Bella would come at friends and strangers alike like a buzz saw and tear at their clothes and ankles, viciously barking, growling and biting. No one trusted our client to be in control of her dog so she couldn’t host anyone, even her closest girlfriend, in her home.

How did we know that the little dog was sleeping in bed with her owner? In fact, it was sleeping right next to the client’s head on her same pillow. Even more extreme, her boyfriend who had worked his way somehow into the little dog’s accepted circle reported that it would sometimes sleep at the top of her head, positioning itself in the most superior position possible.

Boundaries lead to less of a fear barker

It took some gentle persuasion on our part and some quiet tears on the client’s part to move the tiny canine to its own dog cushion closer to the foot of the bed but still on top of the owners’ bed. This was a major sacrifice but a compromise that we understood and we were grateful that she relented this far.  

That change plus some training exercises that needed to be done on a regular basis gave our client much better control regarding visitors. The couple’s social life opened up again as the little dog realized her protective “attack dog” behaviour was no longer necessary. The little Yorkshire terrier became less fearful and more trusting of her owner’s judgement. Bella now looked to her owner’s nighttime independence and training skills as a guide to her own behaviour.

The purpose of our training is to dial back our dog’s natural desire to bark at and protect us from everything. When we know what boundaries we can set without damaging but actually enhancing our relationship with our dog, canine and human can have a happier life all around.