Problem barking is sometimes the sign of a fearful dog.

There is no doubt how important our dogs are to us, our family and even our sense of well-being. They are described as family members, our furry children, our mental health supports. And just like our relationships with family and friends, our relationship with our dogs can benefit from structure with rules and boundaries.

In particular, a fearful dog may see the world as a dangerous place. The sight of another dog walking past our house or a stranger delivering a package to our door or, heaven forbid, a visitor coming into our house may incite fits of barking. Barking serves as an alarm, a warning and a threat all at once to protect the dog’s pack, or in human terms, the family. That same dog who is triggered by fear will find it impossible to calm down if it thinks that it’s the one in charge of safety.

Leadership of the pack involves setting boundaries and sometimes saying “no.”

Oftentimes, people are afraid to say “No” to their dogs thinking that they will be seen as cruel. The reality is that a mother dog will correct her puppies in no uncertain terms if she sees them become unruly or push her boundaries. The best example is when she is weaning them and it is time for them to move to solid food. This usually occurs around the 5 week period when she starts making herself less available and when she is close she will start to growl and snap (a clicking of teeth) if they try to suckle from her. She is setting a boundary and her puppies soon learn to move on to the next stage of life. So you see, it is natural for dogs to learn new rules and boundaries.

How to help a fearful dog with problem barking

We can and must help a fearful dog learn that with our leadership we can keep him safe. A fearful dog will only take the leadership position if he sees that the position is vacant. He is not suited for the job but for him “Someone has to do it!” Providing structure reinforces a sense of “I am being cared for so I don’t have to panic.” So when we train our puppy and have expectations of proper behaviour we can show him that we are capable and in charge. This is the biggest kindness that we can show a dog who is afraid.

One little dog that we trained many years ago was a ‘nuisance barker’, as we sometimes call them. Barking at the front window, barking at the birds in the trees, barking at buses and other loud vehicles while on a leash walk. The owner was afraid to place expectations upon her dog because Thumper was so sweet when they were alone together. “Look at that face! How can you say No?” Remember it is not about being mean. It’s about providing some structure. And when we can provide some rules and boundaries, we can build confidence. Thumper could sit at the front window and watch the world go by without being terrorized that they were “coming to kill us all!”

Understandably, loud vehicles were a challenge. Our client lived near a bus route in a hilly part of town where buses would pump their air brakes or step on the gas and loudly make their presence known. This would invariably cause Thumper to stop walking and ferociously bark at the bus until she had “frightened it away.” We started training by doing some leash work in the backyard where there were no buses. Our expectation was for Thumper to walk by the client’s side, stop when she stopped and turn when she turned. Also once in awhile Thumper was told to sit and stay while the client stepped to the end of the leash and then returned to her side. Then Thumper was required to stay sitting while the client walked all the way around her while still holding the leash. Thumper was a quick study and seemed to enjoy the exercise. Since she was doing so well, we decided to take the exercise to the street. Suffice it to say that Thumper deserved a Gold medal when we challenged her to perform the same feat on the sidewalk while a bus passed by. Not one peep out of her. In fact she never even acknowledged that the bus was passing by, she was so engrossed in following her owner’s expectations. Homework entailed practicing the leash exercise in the house, in the backyard and then off-leash in those same two locations. 

Was Thumper damaged by increasing our expectations of appropriate behaviour? Did we suppress her natural instinct to bark? Did it give her a complex to not act out her fears? What I can tell you is that Thumper had a much more enjoyable life after she learned that her owner was taking care of business and their life together became so much more peaceful. 

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