5 Reasons Your Dog is Barking Excessively in Amesbury, MA

Excessive barking in dogs can quickly become a serious problem, especially if you have angry neighbors in addition to a headache. However, before you can work on stopping excessive barking in dogs you will need to discover its cause.

There are many different causes for excessive barking in dogs. Possibly the most common causes for excessive barking include wanting to get someone’s attention, alerting you of something, and boredom. However, there are a few other possible causes for excessive barking in addition to these reasons.

Here we will be explaining what the most common causes for excessive barking in dogs are. We will also be explaining how you can work on stopping your dog’s excessive barking. Let’s jump right into it!

 

Why Do Dogs Bark?

Barking is actually a completely natural behavior in dogs. Dogs will bark for a wide variety of reasons including to say hello, alert their owners of something, or as an energy release during playtime. Although a small or moderate amount of barking is normal for dogs, excessive barking is not. Excessive barking can quickly become a problem for dog owners. This is especially true if this excessive barking occurs frequently or is the result of unhealthy anxiety or defensive behavior.

 

5 Reasons Why Your Dog Is Barking Excessively

There are five possible reasons for excessive barking in dogs. The three most common causes for this behavioral problem in dogs is that they are seeking attention, they are alerting their owners about something, and boredom. However, guard barking and anxiety could also cause excessive barking in dogs as well. Here are the five reasons why your dog is barking excessively.

Your Dog Wants Your Attention

Attention barking is possibly one of the most common causes for excessive barking in dogs. This is because people will often give their dogs attention when they bark at them as a way to quiet them down. Plus, we all love giving attention to our dogs as well.

The main problem with doing this is that it teaches the dog that they will get attention every time they bark. This means that they will start to bark excessively every time they want your attention, and this barking usually gets worse if it is not getting them the attention that they want.

5 Reasons your Dog is Barking Excessively in Amesbury, MA

Your Dog Is Alerting You About Something

Alert barking is also incredibly common in dogs, and in some cases this alert barking can become excessive. Although a very wide variety of dogs can alert bark, this behavior is incredibly common in scent hound breeds like Beagles and breeds that tend to guard like German Shepherds.

Your Dog Is Feeling Anxious

Anxiety can also sometimes cause excessive barking in dogs. This is especially common in dogs that are suffering from separation anxiety. Sometimes dogs will also bark because they are feeling anxious when around a person, animal, or thing. This is often referred to as reactivity, and it also often causes excessive barking that is rooted in anxiety.

Your Dog Is Acting Defensively

Sometimes dogs will also bark defensively as a way to guard something. This usually occurs when they feel the need to guard their property or a member of their family. This type of excessive barking is a bit more rare, but it is still seen fairly often.

Your Dog Is Bored

Although this may surprise some dog owners, sometimes excessive barking is simply caused by boredom. This means that sometimes dogs will bark excessively when they are not exercised or mentally stimulated enough.

 

How To Stop Excessive Barking In Dogs

At this point you are likely wondering how you can stop your dog’s excessive barking. After you have discovered the reason behind why your dog is barking excessively, you can start to do some training to stop it. Here is how you can stop excessive barking in dogs depending on what is causing it.

Attention Barking

The best way to stop attention barking is to ignore it. Although at first it may seem like the barking is getting worse as you are ignoring them, it is very important that you continue ignoring them as they bark. This is because this process is teaching the dog that their attention barking is no longer getting them the attention that they want.

Dog is Barking Excessively in Amesbury, MA

Anxiety Barking

The best way to stop excessive barking that is caused by anxiety is to treat the anxiety. The best way to do this is to find a dog trainer that is experienced with separation anxiety or reactivity. This way you can make sure that your dog is on the right track to becoming less anxious, which will also stop the excessive barking.

Defensive Barking

When stopping excessive defensive barking, possibly the easiest thing to do is teach your dog to stop barking on cue. This can be done by teaching them a variation of the quiet cue when you tell them to stop barking. If you are having trouble teaching this command to your dog, then there are many great dog trainers out there that can help!

Alert Barking

Excessive alert barking is actually a fairly common problem that dog owners can face. Luckily, there are some ways that you can stop this kind of excessive barking in dogs. The first option for dog owners is to block your dog’s vision in the areas where they tend to alert bark such as front windows or a certain area in the backyard.

Another way that you can stop excessive alert barking is to teach the quiet cue. This command involves teaching your dog to stop barking and pay attention to you when you tell them to.

Barking Due To Boredom

Unfortunately, excessive barking as a result of boredom is fairly common in dogs. Luckily though, it is also usually pretty easy to stop excessive barking resulting from boredom as well. Increasing the amount of exercise and mental stimulation that your dog gets is usually the best way to stop excessive barking from boredom in dogs.

 

If you have any questions regarding your dog’s health, you should always call (978) 388-3074 or book an appointment online to talk with your veterinarian at Merrimac Valley Animal Hospital to discuss it.

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Merrimac Valley Animal Hospital had humble beginnings in 1968. Dr. Walter Brown opened the animal hospital in a garage next to his home near the current hospital and operated out of this small space until the current building was built in 1969.