Freya V. Locke - Dog Behaviourist | Author | Blogger. Issue 31 2024
Freya V. Locke - Dog Behaviourist | Author | Blogger. Issue 31 2024
Is barking driving you mad? Get some help for it, in this week's issue.
Hi Gang
It’s been a busy week here, what with starting our second book, and moving the Fun Not Fear® Club community features from Facebook to here on Substack. Along with keeping up with 121 sessions with several new clients, it has been a dog-filled seven days for me.
Of course, a dog filled day is my favourite kind of day!
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Excessive Barking Blues
Excessive barking has been a recurring topic this week. Our dogs' reactions to everything and anything is both frustrating and exhausting.
It is tempting to feel and then act angrily with them. Some people might even try to punish the behaviour. As humans, we are only, well … human.
But as we all know, punishment and aversive methods can make the issue worse. If a dog associates a trigger with bad things happening, making even more bad things happen will not help how that dog feels about that trigger.
Dogs do not always figure out that their barking is the reason for their dogparent’s anger, and even if they do, how is it fair to take away their voice when they are trying to communicate a need? Besides - a dog who cannot bark, growl or vocalise their discomfort has no way of telling you they are struggling so these poor dogs can skip straight to biting.
Better to try to work out the cause of the barking, and deal with that instead. Dogs who bark might need help with:
Scary or over arousing triggers.
They might need help to switch off and relax.
They might be in pain, or poorly.
There may be something in their diet that is causing them problems.
Noises, smells and sensory things causing discomfort.
Not being given adequate exercise or entertainment.
Needs not being met.
Seeking attention, affection or resources.
Many other reasons that are specific to the individual dog
It is a very rare dog who barks for the sake of barking, and an even rarer one who would want to bark to be annoying. Barking is a symptom of something deeper.
By dealing with the cause and not the symptom, we can still stop the barking, but we do not risk losing our dog’s trust and taking away their voice. We can provide better support to our dogs and address their problems.
We have in our Gumroad shop a masterclass to help you work through your dog’s barking at triggers. (This is also available free to Fun Not Fear® Club members as part of their courses and resources on the main website.)
Got The Munchies?
How To Have A Lovely Relaxing Lunch, At A Cafe, With Your Dog.
With the summer in full swing, it’s time to revisit this article, and get out and about with our dog to all those lovely seaside cafes!
The Book
Want to know more about helping your anxious dog the Fun Not Fear® way?
We have a book! Available in all formats from Amazon.
Grab your copy, and get helping the dog in your life to overcome their struggles.
Spotted and sharing.
A brilliant article by my good friend
.My other posts - because I write about other stuff too!
Handy links.
Hope you have a wonderful week and I will see you all next Saturday!
Warm ‘n’ Fuzzies,
Freya xx
P.S. Fun Not Fear® Club members, I will be going live on Wednesday night in our zoom room, so do ping me over any questions or topics you would like me to talk about, in our community chat!
Great article. So important we look beneath the behaviour being presented rather than trying to put a band-aid on top! Lack of sleep, rest, pain, so many other things you mention are usually the reasons for the excessive barking. So glad you’ve raised this. And thanks for the mention too ❤️