EXCESSIVE BARKING :
WHEN AND WHY IT OCCURS
INTRODUCTION:
RESULTS:
PURPOSE:
The goal of this study was to determine the contexts in which excessive barking occur,
to characterize the nature of the barking and the factors reportedly associated with
barking, and to survey how owners address the problem.
METHOD:
• 39.6% of dogs bark excessively both when the owner is
home AND when the owner is away.
• 35.3% bark only when the owner is at home, but not while the owner is away
• 18% bark only when the owner is away and not while the owner is at home
I. WHEN DO DOGS BARK EXCESSIVELY
When owners are away
42.2%
When dogs are left inside
83.1%
In fall of 2004, we administered a web-based questionnaire to dog owners who
received invitations to participate through several on-line discussion groups. These
groups were primarily comprised of dog owners with an interest in dog training. We
received 996 completed replies. Roughly half of the respondents’ dogs were male
(49.5%) and half were female (50.5%). 84.5% of the dogs were spayed or neutered.
79.8% of the dogs spent half or more of their time indoors. We recognize that this
convenience sample is not necessarily representative of the total population of dog
owners; however, the responses still offer valuable insight as to how and when barking
occurs and what dog owners do about it.
When owners are home
74.9%
When dogs are left outside
56.7%.
When dogs are inside
85.9%
When dogs are outside
76.4%
II. WHAT TRIGGERS THE EXCESSIVE BARKING
When Owners are Home
(Percent of dogs that bark for the following reasons)
Dog Indoors
88.4%
Response to appearance of
new stimuli such as squirrels,
sounds, people walking by,
other dogs barking
Play
Attention-seeking
Barking for unknown reasons,
including general boredom
75.3%
70.7%
49.8%
34.3%
• 62.4% of dogs bark both inside and outside.
• 14.1% of dogs bark only inside but not outside
• 23.5% of dogs bark only outside but not outside
When barking is triggered by stimuli:
• 40.4% of dogs bark excessively at stimuli when they are both inside and outside
• 16.2% bark when they are inside but not when they are outside
• 11.3% bark when they are outside but not when they are inside
When barking is due to attention-seeking:
• Dogs that bark for attention inside are not more likely to bark for attention when outside (i.e. to be let in when they are outside) and vice versa.
• 20.7% bark for attention only when inside
• 7.8% bark to be let in but not for attention once inside.
• Dogs that tend to be quiet inside are also quiet when outside (i.e. do not bark
excessively to be let in) and vice versa (61% of dogs)
10.1%
15.7%
1
One of the most common images that excessive barking conjures is that of the
lonely or bored dog who is confined to the yard and barks while his owners are away.
FINDING: Barking does occur in this context; however, our study indicates that the
majority of excessive barking occurs when the owner is present and in the house with
the dog. IMPLICATION: While most anti-bark devices, such as electronic and citronella collars, aim to suppress barking, particularly when the owner is absent and
therefore unable to control barking, these findings suggest that much nuisance barking could potentially be addressed using positive reinforcement techniques involving
the owners rewarding the dog for quiet behavior.
FINDING: Furthermore, in this group of dogs the use of remote punishment, such
as citronella and electronic collars, was poorly effective long-term and many dogs
experienced adverse effects including fear. IMPLICATION: These findings again
suggest that other forms of training might be more appropriate.
3
FINDING: Regardless of whether excessive barking occurs when the owner is
home or away, the barking tends to occur in response to identifiable stimuli rather
than out of non-specific boredom. IMPLICATION: This indicates that increasing exercise and enrichment may not be sufficient to alter barking behavior. Efforts to modify
responses to stimuli might better address this form of nuisance barking.
4
FINDING: For dogs that tend to bark when the owners are away, barking occurs
both when dogs are left inside and when they are left outside. IMPLICATION: Thus
just changing the dog’s general environment without addressing the specific cause may
not be effective.
FINDING: A large percentage of dogs that barked when the owners were home
also tended to bark when the owners were gone. IMPLICATION: This suggests that
perhaps by addressing the barking that occurs in their presence owners may also be
able to address the barking in their absence.
When the owner is away from home:
71.8% of dogs that bark when their owners are away bark both
when inside and when outside.
• 5.4% bark only when indoors, but not when outdoors.
• 22% bark only when outdoors, but not when indoors.
6
FINDING: Dogs that did not bark for attention when inside also did not bark for
attention when outside to be let inside. IMPLICATION: If owners focus on training
dogs by providing attention when their dogs are quiet and removing attention when
the dog is barking when the dog is inside, perhaps the dog will also learn to avoid attention-barking when outside.
CONCLUSION
Percent of Dogs in Which Remote Punishment was Effective
or Had Adverse Effects
Short-term effectiveness
Long-term effectiveness
Adverse effects
Department of Animal Science
1 Shields Ave
University of California,
Davis, CA 95616
5
• 14.2% of all respondents had used a citronella collar
• 14.4% of all respondents had used an electronic collar.
• 5% had used both.
41.8%
32.1% (barking to be let in)
[email protected]
2
IV. USE of REMOTE PUNISHMENT COLLARS
53.7%
48.7%
(Percent of dogs that bark and the triggers)
People walking by
Other dogs near the house
Wildlife near the property
In response to owner leaving
90.8%
• 89.7% of these dogs bark
excessively at the door
• 94.9% at strangers
• 63.5% at family members
• 48.0% of owners describe this as very or
extremely annoying
• 8.3% can stop it consistently.
• 35.2% have to keep the dog away from the
front door.
When Owners are AWAY
Dog Indoors or Outdoors
Dog Outdoors
When owner is home:
Corresponding
author:
DISCUSSION
III.PATTERNS of BARKING BEHAVIOR
Barking during the owner’s presence:
Up to 33.4 % of owners complain their dogs bark excessively1-3; however, only a few
studies addressing solutions to excessive barking exist4-8. Fewer studies have
examined the etiologies and nature of excessive barking—an important step in
helping to focus efforts for developing solutions.
Sophia A. Yin, DVM, MS and
Sarah L. Richardson, PhD
Citronella collar
Electronic collar
53.9%
13.5%
22%
65.7%
16.8%
39.9%
* Most common adverse effects were fear of the collar or areas in which the collar was activated and generalized depressed behavior when wearing the collar.
Because a majority of excessive barking occurs when the owner is home and thus
available to reinforce alternate behaviors, because many excessive barkers bark at specific stimuli rather than out of non-specific boredom, and because remote punishment
has low long-term efficacy, solutions to excessive barking should focus on helping
owners understand the causes of barking and providing them with positive reinforcement shaping procedures that address the specific etiologies.
REFERENCES
1.
Beaver B. Owner complaints about canine behavior. Journal of American Veterinary Medicine Association 1994;204:1953-1955.
2.
Vacalopoulos A, Anderson RK. Canine behavior problems reported by clients in a study of veterinary hospitals. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 1993:84 (abstract only).
3.
Wells DL, Hepper PG. Prevalence of behaviour problems reported by owners of dogs purchased from an animal rescue shelter. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2000;69:55-65.
4.
Juarbe-Díaz SV. Assessment and treatment of excessive barking in the domestic dog. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice 1997;27:515-532.
5.
Moffat KS, Landsberg GM, Beaudet R. Effectiveness and Comparison of Citronella and Scentless Spray Bark Collars for the Control of Barking in a Veterinary Hospital Setting. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 2003;39:343-348.
6.
Wells DL. The effectiveness of a citronella spray collar in reducing certain forms of barking in dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2001;73:299-309.
7.
Wells DL, Hepper PG. Prevalence of behaviour problems reported by owners of dogs purchased from an animal rescue shelter. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2000;69:55-65.
8.
Yin S. A remote-controlled positive reinforcement solution to excessive barking in dogs. Animal Behavior Society 2005.