개가 짖는 이유와 해결 방법

거의 모든 개는 짖습니다. 그것은 음성 커뮤니케이션의 주요 형태 중 하나이며, 위험을 감지하거나 배변을 해야 할 때와 같이 현대 가정 동반자로서의 역할과 진화에 유용했습니다.

개가 절대 짖지 않을 거라고 기대하는 것은 무리지만, 그 짖는 소리가 과도하거나 다른 가족 구성원이나 이웃에게 방해가 된다면 억제하기 위한 조치를 취해야 할 때입니다. 집에서 과도한 짖는 것이 문제라면 첫 번째 단계는 개가 왜 그렇게 많이 짖는지 알아내는 것입니다.

개가 짖는 이유는 다양하며 상황에 따라 의미가 다를 수 있습니다. 

개가 짖는 이유:

• 주의를 기울이십시오.
• 잠재적인 위협에 대해 알려주세요.
• 배변을 해야 한다고 알려주세요.
• 식사를 원한다고 발표합니다.
• 다른 개에게 물러나라고 경고합니다.
• 집에 있는 다른 개에게 그들이 책임자임을 알립니다.
• 공을 던지라고 알려주세요.
• 재미있게 노는 모습을 보여주세요.

다음은 다양한 유형의 짖는 소리와 조치가 필요한 문제를 해결하는 방법에 대한 세부 정보입니다.

주의 짖음이란 무엇입니까 ?

개가 주의를 끌기 위해 짖을 수 있습니다. '야, 나 좀 봐'라고 하거나, 놀아주거나, 쓰다듬어준다. 주의를 끄는 개 행동은 일반적이며, 어미의 보살핌에 전적으로 의존하는 강아지일 때 생존 기술로 발전합니다.

주의를 끌기 위해 짖는 것을 멈추는 방법

강아지를 전혀 인정하지 마십시오. 즉, 강아지를 쳐다보거나 말을 하거나 이름을 말하지 마십시오. 당신이 그들을 인정한다면, 당신의 개가 당신의 관심을 얻는 데 성공할 것이기 때문에 의미없이 행동을 장려하게 될 것입니다. 가장 좋은 방법은 방에서 나가서 뒤에서 문을 닫아 그들이 따라오지 못하도록 하는 것입니다. 2~3분 동안 방 밖에 있고, 돌아올 때 몇 분 동안 그들에게 주의를 기울이지 마십시오.

특히 오랫동안 성공적이었다면 이러한 주의를 끌기 위한 전략을 개를 깨뜨리는 데 몇 주 또는 그 이상이 걸릴 수 있습니다. 인내심과 일관성을 유지하면 개가 짖는 것이 더 이상 주의를 끌기 위한 효과적인 방법이 아님을 알게 될 것입니다.

경고 짖음이란 무엇입니까?

개가 집이나 마당을 지나가는 사람에게 짖을 때 잠재적인 위협으로 인식하는 것에 대해 경고합니다. 위협으로 생각하는 것은 중요하지 않습니다. 개는 항상 본능에 따라 가족을 보호하기 위해 행동합니다. 그들이 짖을 때 좌절하기보다는 '위험, 위험!'이라고 말하는 것으로 이해하십시오.

당신이 그들의 경계하는 짖는 소리에 좌절감으로 대처한다면, 당신이 불안을 발산할 때 그들이 계속 짖어야 한다는 믿음을 키울 뿐입니다. 반려견이 진정으로 스트레스를 받고 있다는 점을 이해하고 침착하게 대응하는 것이 중요하며 가족 구성원으로서 자신을 보호하기 위해 노력합니다.

경고 짖는 소리를 효과적으로 해결하는 방법

<강한>

1. 첫 번째 짖는 소리 후 – '고맙습니다'라고 말하고 강아지의 이름을 사용하여 강아지가 당신이 그들에게 응답하고 있음을 알 수 있도록 합니다. 우리 문화에서 침착하고 감사하는 어조로 '감사합니다'라고 말하도록 배웠듯이 이러한 단어를 사용하여 응답하는 것이 중요합니다. 이것은 당신의 개가 단지 도우려고 한다는 것과 당신의 어조가 침착하다는 것을 기억하는 데 도움이 됩니다. 이는 반응할 때 특히 중요합니다. If your dog stops barking after this, you don’t need to go to the next step.

2. Wait 20 seconds after saying ‘Thank You.’ If your dog is still barking, this means that they are still concerned about the danger. Don’t acknowledge them, walk over to the window they are barking at, look through the window as if you are checking out the potential threat. Then turn around and yawn without acknowledging your dog. This shows your dog that there is nothing to worry about. Go back to what you were doing.

3.   Wait 30 seconds, and if your dog continues to bark, this means they don’t believe you are capable of making that decision and still feel responsible for making the danger go away. Without making a fuss, slip a leash over their head and calmly take them to another small room, preferably a bathroom or laundry room. If they are afraid of the bathroom or laundry room, use a different place for a time out. Puppy proof the room, turn on the light, and if you are concerned about your dog scratching on the door, put some cardboard or plywood in front of the door before you close it. Remove the leash and leave your dog in the room for three minutes. This gives your dog a chance to calm down and is a reminder that it’s not their job to protect you. If they are scratching, barking or whining, wait for a 10-second pause, then open the door and let them out of the room. Again, don’t give them any special attention.

Addressing alert barking with multiple dogs in the home

If there is more than one dog in your home, and both dogs are still barking after step two, the dog who initiated the alert barking goes to a time-out. If the second dog stops after taking the first dog to his time out, you don’t need to do anything. But if the second dog continues barking, they are put in a different room for three minutes.

Your dog will ALWAYS bark to alert you of a threat; it’s in their nature. By following these three steps, your dog will understand that you are in charge and they don’t need to worry. These actions are based on how dogs think and perceive leadership, and after time they will be less intense in their barking and will stop more quickly.

With patience and consistency in your response, your dog shouldn’t escalate to the time outs.

Barking to communicate a need to go to the bathroom

Some dogs will bark to announce, “I need to go potty.” It’s always essential to honor your dog’s request to eliminate.

If your dog barks for this reason, try to appreciate your dog’s call for help, as they are communicating a need in the best way they know how. Calmly walk over to the door and let them out to go potty.

Dogs may not bark when they need to go. They may just stand by the door or circle, pace, whine or paw at the door. Even without barking, let them out regularly to avoid any accidents or discomfort.

Barking to say ‘feed me now!’

While it may seem cute that your dog is ringing the dinner bell, so to speak, this behavior can be a sign of underlying stress.

If you feed your dog when they demand it, whether by barking or other attention-getting behaviors, your dog will believe that they are in charge of the food. This can lead to behavioral issues such as:

• One dog intimidating another away from the food bowl
• Being possessive over their food/bones
• Waking you up earlier and earlier to feed them
• Begging while you eat
• Demanding attention
• Persistent demands to play with them

The easiest way to address this behavior is to ignore their demand to be fed. Wait until they have stopped trying to get your attention for a while, then feed them. I also recommend changing up their mealtimes by 1 ½- 2 hours. Creating a two-hour window, whenever possible, breaks the habit of your dog expecting to be fed at a particular time in your routine. Eventually, they will stop demanding to be fed, and instead of being woken up by your dog earlier than you’d like, you will be able to sleep in!

Warning bark to say ‘back off’ or tell another dog they are in charge

When multiple dogs live in a home, they will sometimes bark at each other to communicate that they want all of the attention. For example, one dog may be getting some affection, then another dog comes over to get attention, and the first dog warns the second dog to back off with a bark. This can be a sign of possessive behavior towards the human and must be addressed.

You must decide when affection is given, especially with multiple dogs in the home, so that one dog doesn’t monopolize your attention. If you allow one dog to push the other dog or dogs out of the way, it can lead to the other dogs feeling like they are walking on eggshells. This can lead to other behavioral issues. You should be able to call a dog over to you without either dog reacting negatively.

When a dog is afraid of another dog in the home, they may:

• Be reluctant to come over to you.
• Slink over to you.
• Be watching the other dog’s movements as they are getting affection.
• Not be able to settle and enjoy your attention, as they fear being reprimanded by the other dog.

If a dog is feeling possessive of you, they are likely to:

• Stay by your side.
• Keep a constant eye on the other dogs in the home.
• Bark, snarl, growl, or even lunge at another dog who tries to approach in warning to back off.

How to address barks that say ‘back off’ to another dog

If your dog exhibits this behavior, it’s helpful to have a leash attached to their collar for easy access so that you can address the action quickly. Of course, you need to ensure that someone is monitoring the dog, so they don’t get tangled in the leash and hurt themselves. If the possessive dog shows signs of telling another dog to back off as you or another family member are giving them attention, they need to be immediately and calmly removed from the room. Step on the leash, don’t look at or talk to the dog, remain calm and matter-of-fact in your energy, and pick up the leash.

Then, escort the dog to the bathroom or laundry room to be separated from everyone. Turn on the light, remove the leash, and leave them alone in the room for three to five minutes. After three minutes, open up the door, put the leash on, with no acknowledgment, and let them out. If they are barking, whining, or scratching on the door, it’s crucial to wait for a 10-second break in the barking, whining or scratching, then open the door. If not, they will think they were let out because they were complaining, and that reaction will escalate.

Some dogs need to be walked on a leash back into the room with the other dogs, or they could go straight to the other dog and lunge again. Don’t drop the leash until the dog’s energy is calm and relaxed. You set the room’s tone by creating as much safety and calm energy as possible, bringing the stress level down, making it easier for the dogs to feel relaxed.

If they have separation anxiety, three minutes is adequate. You don’t want them to get stressed being separated for too long. However, if the dog is assertive and confident, they usually require four to five minutes of separation to digest the message.

Why separation works 

The reason for separation is that dogs understand this consequence as if they were part of a pack on the street or in the wild. If they made a mistake in the pack, essentially challenging the leadership, they would be reminded that they were not in charge of making decisions. They would be shunned from the rest of the pack for a while. As they are now living in our homes, we are their pack, so this consequence makes sense to them. When done consistently, we will teach them their behavior is unacceptable.

It’s vital to ensure that you give each dog in your home attention and that they all feel included. By calling them to you for affection, you are showing them that you are in charge of when they receive attention and that one of them isn’t more important or higher ranking than the other.

This allows all of your dogs to feel comfortable and relaxed with you and in general. Remember, even for a dog who may be bullying, they are feeling stressed, or they wouldn’t be exhibiting that behavior.

Barking used to control other dogs in the home

Dogs can bark to show another dog that they are in charge in other ways:

• Barking to say, “This is my water bowl, and you can’t come over here to get a drink.”
• Acting like the ‘troll’ at the bridge, not allowing other dogs to pass them to walk into a room. They may bark, but they could also growl, snarl, or lunge to exert their control.

Addressing barking as a controlling behavior

For any controlling behavior like this, it’s essential that it’s addressed every time and that you don’t let the dogs work it out between them. You must always show that you are in charge and that it’s never OK for any of your dogs, no matter their age, to try to control another dog in the home.

Just like you wouldn’t let kids fight; an adult would step in to resolve the conflict. For any attempt to control another dog in the home, the dog asserting themselves should be immediately and calmly separated for a time out, as previously described.

Once the issue has been resolved, the atmosphere in the home will change:

• The dogs will start enjoying each other’s company more.
• Dogs may lay closer to each other, even share a dog bed.
• They may start playing with each other.
• Dogs may play with toys more often.
• They will enjoy your affection on a deeper level.

Barking to tell us to throw the ball or they are having fun playing

Dogs use their voice and bark to say “throw the ball!” and to express that they are having fun.

While this is probably the best kind of barking to a pet parent, it’s important that you are in charge of the playtime, meaning that you:

• Decide when playtime starts and ends.
• Establish the rules of the game.

Your dog is in charge of playtime if they:

• Bring balls/toys to you all evening to throw for them.
• Bark at you if you stop throwing the ball or toy.

How to stop play-related demand barking

The easiest way to stop this behavior is simply putting the ball or toy out of sight when you are finished playing the game.

I also recommend adding rules to the game; the more you establish that you are creating the rules for playtime, the less your dog is likely to try to make up their own rules.

For example, if you want to play fetch, ask them to ‘sit’ before you even throw the ball, requiring them to show self-control. Then as you throw it, ask them to ‘fetch’. Once they have picked it up, say, “good fetch, bring it.” If they bring it to you, then say, “good bring it, drop it.”

It’s easier to teach them to drop it, in the beginning, if you exchange the ball for a treat. Once they bring it and you have praised them, hold the treat in front of them, as you ask them to “drop it”. As soon as they drop the ball, pick it up with one hand, as you give them a treat with the other and say, “good, drop it.”

This keeps your dog’s focus on you and what you expect from them to continue playing the fetch game. If they are barking in the joy of the game, but not being demanding, keep playing.

If they start demanding that you throw it, you can walk back inside and put the ball away, ending the game if you like. Another option is to wait until they have stopped barking, then throw the ball. The goal is that you define the rules of the game.

Sarah-Anne Reed is a holistic dog trainer, and owner of  Pack Dynamics, LLC ®.  Her practice focuses on understanding and respecting dogs as a different species and honoring them as individual beings.

This article is copyrighted by Sarah-Anne Reed and Pack Dynamics ® LLC, and no reproduction of this article without the express permission of Sarah-Anne Reed, is permitted.

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