Dog Behaviour - Barking

Barking in dogs is a very natural thing. It's their natural way of communicating within their species and to the rest of the world. Most of the time dogs bark for reasons such as when they see a stranger approaching their territory or due to a sudden noise they cannot comprehend like a cracker or a thud. Such type of barking is good and welcomed by most dog owners.

Dogs also bark when they want attention from their owner. This type of bark tends to be very loud and continuous and the dog tends to relent from it only when it has got the attention from the person he wanted. But from the owner's point of view, these kinds of barks should not be given attention as the dog may make it a habit to bark like that every time he feels neglected. Young dogs or puppies use this type of bark the most.

Dogs may also bark when they are excited about something. Such types of barks are small and not as regular or loud as the 'attention seeking' ones. Dogs often bark this way when they are being taken for a walk or for a ride in the car or getting a treat. But remember to stop the dog if it gets a little over-excited.

You would have noticed that sometimes dogs seem to be talking to each other through their barking. Many dogs in a neighborhood start barking one after other. This is an instinctive thing for a dog and a way of informing its mates that it is also there.

But sometimes, dogs may bark uncontrollably and with no reason apparent to their owners. This type of bark seems completely un-invited and unreasonable to the humans around. Such type of behavior may be because of many reasons. The dog may be feeling sick or unloved. Sometimes dogs may also feel lonely due to the lack of interaction with other dogs. Or the reason could be that the dog is a pathological barker and has not been able to leave this habit even after domestication. Such types of dogs are not trained properly and also have discipline issues. The owner should first make sure that there are no medical reasons behind the uncontrollable barking and once sure of that should try to train and discipline the dog.

This type of abnormal barking may be because of an obsessive compulsive disorder in the dog. A dog suffering from this disorder may bark at the tiniest things and may get hyper active. Such kind of dogs need medical attention and should be given proper behavioral training.

The owners of such dogs may approach an animal behaviorist to help them in correcting the dog's behavior with other dogs and humans. The animal behaviorist will help the owners in training the dog properly and control its barking. The owner can also ask a Vet to prescribe some kind of medication to help the dog.

But the most important thing is that the owner should first identify the dog's problem. Barking is a normal thing for dogs and should not be seen as a problem unless until the dog stops listening to the owner's commands and becomes aggressive and violent.
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