What is Fear Barking?

Fear Barking Dog Problem: 10 Steps to a Solution

Solve a barking dog problem with positive methods that work.

Does your dog show aggressive dog behaviors like barking? Are you feeling frustrated and scared? Here you will find the best way to stop dogs from barking.

But, can you stop a dog from barking? Yes! With patience, training, practice and kindness you will help your pet relax, understand you and do what you ask.

Many dogs bark out of fear and this article addressed these particular cases. If you think your dog barks for other reasons (boredom, excitement, guarding, etc) visit the Barking Main Page for more help.

The training methods outlined here require no more than treats and practice. However, if you find it difficult for your dog to relax or learn, then you may need to visit your vet for meds for aggressive dogs. These will only be needed in some cases and your vet should work along with your training plan to reduce medication as the dog progresses.

Understanding fear and stress in your dog . . .

Almost all dogs are afraid of something and most of the time this is not a problem because it does not show very often.

If you are reading this it's probably because your dog is afraid of things that he encounters daily and barking is his way of dealing with it.

To understand why this happens lets learn a little biology. Animals have three biological mechanisms to deal with threats:

Fight: It may start with a mild aggressive dog behavior like barking and escalate to growling, snapping and biting. This option could get one or both parties involved injured!
Flight: The dog will try to escape and put as much distance as possible between him and the scary subject/object.
Freeze: The hound will stay as still as possible (maybe that threatening thing won't see him).

The majority of dogs do not like to get into fights, this is a dangerous thing to do, flight is much safer. But if they are in a situation in which they can't escape (for example, on a leash), they will go into "fight" mode. Fight mode starts with barking. This usually is all it takes to scare a person or another animal away. Now your hound has learned that barking keeps him safe, he will continue doing so and you have a barking dog problem!

Important: NEVER punish your dog for barking. If you don't let your canine friend bark, he will bite!

Another important aspect of fear aggression in dogs is STRESS. When your dog is in fear, stress hormones (like glucocorticoids) are released in his body. The purpose of these hormones is to keep the animal alert for the next 2-7 days in case a similar scary situation happens (then the reaction is even faster!).

The problem with stress hormones is that they can accumulate every time your dog faces a threatening situation. The more they accumulate the jumpier your hound gets.

So, if your dog is afraid of other dogs and you take him to the park every day…guess what? He probably has chronic stress. This is emotionally exhausting and harming. Stress also decreases learning, so your pooch is not in an open frame of mind to hear what you want to teach him to solve this barking dog problem.

How to solve this? You are in control of your pet's life. Make a big difference in his routine.

More reading: https://www.dog-training-excellence.com/barking-dog-problem.html