wag the dog article: problem: excessive barking
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 7:19 PM                
 

Problem: Excessive barking

Hi Shannon,

I noticed another post that mentioned this topic, but I have a few additional questions.  My boyfriend and I are the proud parents of a 4 month old American Staffordshire Terrier named Zuffa.  We rescued him when he was ten weeks old and he has been doing very well with the majority of his training.  He will start puppy kindergarten soon.  Since it has been recommended to us that we keep him from dog parks, we have been socialising him with our friend's dogs.  He plays best with Rufus, a five-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer.  From the moment they met (at Rufus' house), Rufus established himself as the alpha.  When Zuffa and Rufus play together, I don't hear a peep out of Zuffa.  Also, he does not bark, except when he is playing or demanding attention from us, which we ignore.  He also plays with a three-year-old Bichon Frise named Wally.  Wally is extremely submissive and Zuffa mostly growls (in a playful way) while playing with him.  The excessive barking occurs while he is playing with Tessie, a three-year-old Boston Terrier.  When the two first met, we made a mistake and introduced them in our house instead of on neutral territory.  Tessie, a very dominant female, basically bowled over Zuffa and growled terribly.  We have since walked them together and they are able to play. However, when they play, Zuffa barks continuously at her.  I have been told that this breed does tend to be noisy while playing, but constant barking for 45 minutes straight is a bit much.  I am concerned that the barking will lead to bigger problems in the future as Zuffa grows and becomes stronger.  It also annoys Tessie, as well as the rest of us.  Do you have any suggestions?  I have read articles that suggest putting them in time out or slowing the play, however, we do not use the crate as a punishment tool and we will not hold him during this time since we don't want to reinforce this behaviour.  We would love to allow our dogs to play and watch a movie at the same time.

Earplugs galore

Hi Earplugs galore,

This type of behaviour can be very annoying, but generally only to humans.

It probably stems from a combination of low grade anxiety and frustration. I would assume that Zuffa has a healthy level of respect for Tessie, which was probably a result of their first meeting. He is probably a little anxious when around her and the barking helps ease this.

I would imagine that he is trying to illustrate his subordinate status by initiating play with Tessie. She seems to be a very confident and perhaps aloof dog and so she would respond appropriately by ignoring him – of course this means that Zuffa tries even harder and the barking becomes more intense. His barking is acting as both an appeasement and an invitation.

Handling it can be problematic as the best solution is to ignore this behaviour, but it is virtually impossible to do so unless one has incredibly bad hearing. So you have a couple of options:

  • Management – Ensure that the situation does not arise. This is not particularly helpful as it becomes very restrictive and Zuffa and Tessie may never spend any time together.
  • Provide an alternate – Perhaps when these two are together you should give them activities that give them a “mouth outlet” i.e. chewtoys, Kongs, toys etc. They probably won't play with each other, but Zuffa is learning that there is another behaviour that he can perform in Tessie's presence.
  • Set up for success – Zuffa should ideally be exposed to different ways of behaving, so it is important that the context in which he and Tessie are together is altered. If Zuffa is always excited and full of energy when he is with Tessie then he is likely to always behave in the same manner when with her. So, change the context and see what happens. Perhaps if Zuffa has a long walk or intensive exercise prior to a Tessie encounter he may well behave differently?
  • Encourage coping skills – Try teach Zuffa some self-control. Get him excited with a game and ask for a brief calm period before play resumes. If he gets too excited and starts barking then the game stops. This is such a simple exercise, but it can be incredibly useful in teaching a dog to exercise self-control during high excitement times. Take a look at the “Jazz Up and Settle Down” exercise outlined on the website www.dogstardaily.com . You'll find it under the Training Textbook, Adult Dog Training.
  • Be realistic – Not many four month old pups have great self-control and let's be honest, terriers are not the masters of impulse-control in the first place! It is great that you are taking heed of this behaviour and wanting to prevent it from getting out of hand, but don't worry too much about this being a precursor to major problems.

Best of luck

Shannon

 
                       
         
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