The 3 reasons why dog's bark.

Put very simply  dog's bark to communicate, however, sometimes it's difficult for we humans to understand what they are trying to say.

It look's to me like there are 3 main reasons for a dog to bark:

Warning, by this I mean they are telling us that they are worried about something and are feeling threatened and often think that we may be threatened as well.

For Example: other dog's, other people, small children, birds in the garden, cats, leaves rustling in the dark, even their own shadow. This list is endless and the idea of removing all their perceived threats although makes sense and would probably work is very unrealistic and there is another way.

Attention, this is when your dog is looking at you and trying to tell you they want something.

For example: to get you to stop chatting to your friend on a walk, it's dinner time, give me some attention right now, play with me, I need a pee, open the back door it's raining out here, I'm hurt, I'm worried. The list is endless and you could just listen recognise what they would like and do it, this makes sense for some barking requests but not for others and actually if you give them what they want all the time it can become really annoying and frustrating and there is another way.

Separation, this type of barking ( can sometimes be more like a cry or a howl) occurs when your dog has been left alone.

For example: when you go to work, the shops, or even to a different room in the house. The list is endless and the obvious solution that would almost definitely work is to never leave them alone. This makes perfect sense, however for we humans this is often unrealistic and there is another way. 

If you would like to more about what to do about your dog's barking, check out my book, Barking Mad to Calm and Quiet: Beyond Dog Training. This is where I share my framework Peaceful Paws that outline exactly what you need to do in all 3 situations.

If you prefer to buy a real touchy feely copy to keep on your bookshelf for easy reference you can do that from Amazon. 

Peaceful paws always.

Julie x