I was very happy to hear this morning that the MA House voted 150-1 to ban the surgical debarking of dogs and cats in the State of Massachusetts.
Dogs bark. It is a form of communication, something to do when bored and an attention getter. Think about children you've seen out in public having "tantrums" to get what they want. They scream and cry for candy and mom gives in. If your dog barks at you for attention or for a treat or to go outside and you reward him by giving him what he wants, what does he learn? Like a child he learns that the behavior gets him what he wants.
There's no need to debark a dog. Training, training, training!!! Training is really just a lifestyle and it's a lifetime of consistency and repetition. We need to teach our canine companions what we expect from them. They don't understand our language or our social habits. The best way to do this is by consitently rewarding for behaviors we want. What do you think would happen if you had a dog that was barking at you for a treat or to play ball and you turned your back on him and walked away from him instead of giving him what he wants? He's going to learn that barking doesn't work. You're likely to see him try "throwing" behaviors at you... in other words trying something else... maybe an unwanted behavior like jumping or pawing. Well, ignore these as well. Now he doesn't know what to do and he sits!!! BINGO!!! Praise him and give him his treat/reward... now he'll start to get it. When he's quiet you can start to attach a "cue" to the quiet behavior. So now when he sees the neighbors cat outside the window or some other "intruder" he'll still bark to alert you but now you can tell him "quiet" for him to stop.
Screaming or yelling at your dog to stop barking doesn't work. He thinks your joining in!
If you have a puppy, please start from day one. They are little sponges at this point and it will be so much easier on you if you start from now. Yes, I agree.. it's so cute to have a little puppy jump up on you but what happens when that puppy grows up to be a big dog that will knock you or someone else down? Not so cute any more, huh?
Nuisance barking is completely controllable and preventable. Make sure your dog is happy, well exercised, trained and healthy.
The AKC has a Public Education page on it's website that talks about barking and other areas of concern for dog owners.
Best Friends Wakefield offers training from puppy kindergarten to advanced classes. Both group classes and board and trains are available. Call us today at 781-245-1237 to reserve your spot in class!!
Agni
Center Manager
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