A puppy barking for attention can be an annoying behavior and you may be wondering what steps you can take to train him to chill out and relax. In order to stop a puppy barking for attention it helps first to better understand what type of attention is fueling the barking behavior in the first place. Puppies thrive on attention and you may sometimes inadvertently fuel the barking behavior if you aren’t attentive on discerning the underlying trigger that brings out the annoying bout of barking. Once recognized the underlying key component, you can then tackle it accordingly.
Puppy Barking for Attention
Many puppies get very excited when their owners come home after a day at work. They may jump, wiggle and greet as if they haven’t seen their owners for a very long time. After some time, once the owners have settled in the house and are sitting to read the newspaper, eating and conversing, some puppies may start relaxing and going on with their lives playing with toys and maybe even taking a nap.
Many puppies however, may find it difficult to do so because they are very focused on their owner’s return and feel too excited! They want to interact with their owners, be petted and play with them.
They may get annoyed therefore when their owner settle in the house, sitting down at the table to eat or on the couch to hold conversations or watch TV, read emails or read a book.
The puppy may therefore try getting some attention, wiggling in between their owners, perhaps licking their hands etc. If he doesn’t get the attention he craves though, the puppy may resort to barking. When the pup barks he’ll likely make eye contact with the person he craves attention from as if saying “Hey, look at me! I want to play, stop talking and ignoring me!”
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Often, the bark works wonders in getting the owners to look at him or maybe even interact with him by holding a brief conversation with the pup “Are you barking at me? Why do I deserve being barked at, pal?”
Bingo! The pup now feels that he is being acknowledged this way, which obviously leads to, you guessed it… more barking! The behavior of barking is therefore reinforced and fueled by the attention so it will likely persist. If not tackled soon, barking can turn into the default behavior used by the puppy to get his dog owners to interact with him!
Stopping A Puppy Barking for Attention
Stopping you puppy barking for attention may require a multi-faceted approach. Sometimes you may have to use a variety of strategies to get it under control.
First of all, prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior. In other words, prevent the behavior from taking place in the first place. The more dogs get to practice a behavior and get reinforced by using it (in this case through attention) the stronger and more persistent it will become.
Also, consider if you may have accidentally set up a habit. If every evening you sit on the couch, and interact with your puppy, your puppy will come to expect such interaction EVERY SINGLE TIME.
So that day you don’t interact with him much, he’ll feel the need to prompt you for the interaction to take place. There are several ways to tackle this behavior and it may sometimes take mixing several methods to keep the pup’s barking at bay.
Make the Puppy Tired
It may help first of all to make the puppy tired before settling for the evening. It’s a good idea to take the pup for a walk, perhaps followed by a fun play session in the yard. This may help take the edge off a bit for puppies who act too excited when you want to settle down and relax for the evening.
Doggy day care or hiring a pet sitter or dog walker may be an option if your pup must stay a long time alone during the day. This can help meet your pup’s needs for exercise, mental stimulation and socialization.
[adinserter block=”2″]Provide an Alternate Activity
Giving something else for the puppy to do after his needs for exercise have been met is also a good management plan. Many pups can be kept occupied by providing them with a long-lasting interactive toy such as a strategically stuffed Kong or a portion of the pup’s meal (or even all of it if your return home from work happens to coincide with your pup’s meal time) placed in a Kong Wobbler or some other slow releasing toy.
An age appropriate safe chew toy can also be provided and given only in the evening when it’s time to settle down. The puppy can learn a routine of chewing it when on a mat while you are reading a book or watching TV.
Avoid Any Form of Attention
Providing a consequence for barking can help too. A puppy may play with a toy and then finish or grow uninterested and go back to you for a barking session as a plead for attention.
It’s important to remember that a puppy barking for attention is fueled by any form of attention (looking at the pup, talking to the pup, touching the pup), and that also includes attention of the negative type (yes, things we perceive as negative such as the visitor scolding or pushing the pup away).
Totally ignoring the barking and ignoring the pup as if he wasn’t there can often help the pup understand that his barking is not working. Have other family members understand this zero-attention-when-barking rule and inform them to also totally ignore the onset of some potential extinction bursts (the barking increasing in intensity, or the onset of new behaviors like pawing or nudging when the barking is no longer reinforced with any type of attention).
Then, when the pup gets the message that barking no longer works, the moment he leaves and engages in some other activity, make sure you praise him and perhaps provide him something to keep him occupied for a little more. Repeat as needed.
Yes and No Game
If you love to pet your puppy in the evening and don’t mind doing so every evening unless he barks, you can try to play the yes and no game. Of course, you don’t have to say yes or no to your puppy verbally, you just have to provide feedback that tells your puppy what behaviors are desired and which are not.
Here’s how it goes: totally ignore your pup when he is barking and then pet him when he is quiet. The moment he starts barking, abruptly stop petting him. When he barks, don’t look at him, don’t touch him, don’t say anything. When he’s quiet, pet him. He’ll eventually get the message that barking doesn’t earn him attention, while quiet does.
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