Barking is a natural form of communication for dogs, but it can be both frustrating and concerning if it becomes excessive. 

Understanding why your dog barks is the first step. Let's explore common reasons behind excessive barking and how training can help you manage and reduce it.

Why Do Dogs Bark Excessively?

Excessive barking can stem from a range of reasons. Certain vocal breeds like Beagles, Dachshunds or Yorkshire Terriers have a natural tendency to bark more than others, but even quieter breeds can develop this habit if something in their environment triggers them. Some common triggers include:

1. Boredom or Frustration: If a dog doesn’t receive enough physical or mental stimulation, they may bark out of boredom.
2. Connection-Seeking  (also known as Attention-Seeking): Dogs may also bark simply because they’ve learned it’s how they best get your attention, whether they want to play, have a fuss, go for a walk, or have their dinner.
3. Fear or Anxiety: Dogs may bark at unfamiliar objects, people, or noises because they see them as threats. Fear-based barking often stems from a lack of confidence or negative experiences with unfamiliar stimuli.
4. Territorial or Protective Barking: Some dogs feel the need to defend their home or family, which leads to barking when they sense a potential intruder.

Below, we’ll explore how to address each of these in turn. If you are unsure which type of barking you are struggling with, read through all the potential sections and start with whichever solution feels the most manageable. If that doesn’t work, then try the next most manageable option until you and your dog are back on track.

Reason 1: Boredom or Frustration

This is simple in theory, but it will mean tweaking your routine with your dog to increase how much they use their brain. Routine change is tough on us humans, so try making one small change at a time over several weeks, rather than trying to change everything at once. Here are some suggestions: 

• Trial giving your dog their breakfast in something which uses their brain more than a standard bowl, for example: 
     Wet or raw food could be spread across a lick mat
     Kibble could be scattered through grass in the garden, or into a snuffle mat inside the house
     For braver dogs, kibble could also go into a toy your dog has to push about to slowly release the food, such as a treat ball or a ‘Kong Wobbler’
• Monitor what time of day your dog usually boredom barks, and give them something to do 15-30 minutes before this time
     Saving some breakfast or dinner to stuff a frozen enrichment device is ideal. If you don’t know how/what this is, sign up for Green Paw’s newsletter to get full instructions
     Give them a long-lasting chew to get their teeth into
• Increase how much they use their brain on their walks; dogs who bark from boredom or frustration are often not mentally tired out from a normal walk
     Increase how much they use their nose by scattering something smelly and fun half way around the walk (when other dogs aren’t nearby)
     Do five minutes of training at the beginning and/or end of the walk
     Play hide and seek, either with yourself or with a favourite toy

By tweaking your routine to increase how much your dog gets to use their brain each day, you can drastically reduce boredom and frustration barking. 

Reason 2: Connection-seeking

This can have some overlap with Boredom and Frustration, so take a look through some of those suggestions and see if adding anything to your dog’s life improves their excess barking. 

However, this has the added element of being a ‘learned behaviour’. This means that they have learned that barking elicits a response from you. 

This is easily done. We try and ignore the barking; sometimes, we give in after only a few; other times, we manage to ignore it for several minutes before exploding. This accidentally creates a persistent bark – your dog learns that they just need to keep going and you’ll eventually do something. It doesn’t matter that the ‘do something’ can be negative, as other times, they’ll get something positive when they bark. So, it’s worth the try.

This uses the same pattern of reward as a slot machine! Think how addictive a slot machine is… is it surprising that your dog has learned to bark more and more? 

All is not lost, though. 

First, add a couple of extras to your dog’s day as explained in Boredom and Frustration. Then, we also need to add in some more formal training to replace the ‘learned behaviour’ part. 

1. Teach a "Quiet" Command: Start by rewarding your dog when they are naturally calm and quiet, saying “quiet” as you reward them. Once they grasp the concept, introduce the "quiet" cue during barking episodes, and reward them when they stop barking on cue. Timing is essential—reward the moment the barking stops, not after they've been quiet for a while, to help them understand the connection. Initially, you then need to do something else with your dog before they start barking again – so that “quiet” doesn’t mean ‘only for a second’! This would be:
2. Redirect Attention: Use treats or toys to shift your dog's focus away from the trigger that’s causing them to bark. By encouraging them to focus on something else, such as performing a fun cue they know, or playing a game, you’re teaching them to redirect their energy.
3. Reward Calm Behaviour Generally: Praise your dog and give them treats for calm behaviour around previously troubling stimuli. For example, if your dog sees someone outside but doesn’t bark, immediately reward them to reinforce the behaviour you want to see. By practicing not barking at other times, the connection-seeking barking will also get easier to manage. 

Reason 3: Fear or Anxiety

Fear-based barking, especially at unfamiliar people or objects, is a natural response for dogs trying to protect themselves. Dogs are wired to respond to perceived threats, but when this response happens too frequently or intensely, it can become a problem. For example, a dog may bark at a person with an umbrella or a child on a scooter because these sights are unfamiliar or have startled them in the past.

Gradual exposure is key here. By slowly exposing your dog to the stimulus that causes them to bark, you can help them learn that these things aren’t a threat. For instance, if your dog barks at other dogs, you might start by having them observe the dog park from a distance while remaining calm. The key here is that it’s to a large enough distance for your dog not to feel they need to bark. Over time, as they grow more comfortable, you can reduce that distance. Gradually, they begin to cope with the trigger being closer and closer to them.

It can also help to do something nice when being exposed to their trigger(s). This could be a fun game, sniffing out some treats, or a lovely chew. 

I offer a free 14-day challenge that can help you with this. Sign up at https://www.greenpaw.org.uk/calm-dog if you’d like to give this challenge a try.

 Reason 4: Territorial or Protective Barking

This one is a bit harder, as it’s often down to a dog’s natural tendencies. If you have a Livestock Guardian Breed (such as a Mastiff or a Shepherd), or if you have a breed designed to alert bark as part of their historical jobs, such as terriers, then a level of territorial barking should hopefully have been expected when you chose the breed type. This includes rescue crossbreeds that have those breeds within their mix. 

Take a look through the other resolutions discussed in all three of the other sections and start including these into your dog’s life. This will decrease the barking and give you a better chance of being able to say “quiet” and have them happy that they have alerted you. 

It can also help to cover any front-facing windows with an opaque sheet, or restrict your dog’s access to front windows when you aren’t with them. It can also help to have a box out for parcels away from your front door, so strangers aren’t approaching your door as directly. 

Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) and Barking

Positive reinforcement training is all about rewarding the behaviour you want to encourage, in this case, quiet and calm behaviour. Instead of punishing your dog for barking, which can increase anxiety, you reward them for moments of silence. This creates a positive association with staying calm in situations that previously caused them to bark.

Let's put ourselves in our dog's shoes (paws?!). 
Imagine I give you £5 every time you look at something you’re afraid of. This could be a spider, a needle, a cliff edge, or anything else scary to you. You are allowed to choose the distance from the scary thing. All you have to do is look, and I’ll give you £5. So, you maybe choose to be 50m away, glancing at the spider or cliff edge every few seconds and raking in the £££. 

If, after you’ve made an easy £100, I say that I’ll only keep giving you £5 per glance if you move one metre closer. Would you do it? 

Absolutely. Nothing went wrong at 50m and you’ve got your eye on a new TV. You move to 49m and keep on glancing. 

You’ve now made £250 from me, in just 50 glances at your trigger. I say I’ll only keep going if you do it again at 48m away. Do you step another metre closer to the scary thing to make another easy stack of cash?

Can you see that, over time, knowing that you’ll receive something valuable when you look, you may start to feel more comfortable and even excited to glance at your trigger? 

Over weeks or months, I could get you beginning to feel a flash of excitement when you see that spider or needle or height, because it brings back positive memories of making a few thousand pounds in just a few minutes a day over a couple of months. 

For dogs, rewarding them when they remain calm glancing at a trigger works works in a similar way. It's about shifting their emotional response from fear to neutrality, or even anticipation of something good. This does take time though. Think of the thing you are scared of, and how long it would take for those glances to become positive. You may not understand your dog’s fear, but hopefully you can see that fears are unique to the person experiencing them.

Final Thoughts

Stopping excessive barking isn't about suppressing your dog's natural instincts but rather guiding them to understand when it's appropriate to bark and when it's time to be quiet. By understanding the root cause, using gradual desensitisation, and applying positive reinforcement techniques, you can effectively reduce barking while strengthening your bond with your dog. 

Remember, training is a process, and with patience and consistency, your dog will learn to navigate their world with more confidence and less noise.