Owning a Standard Poodle is a pleasure and privilege for thousands of people around the country since they are one of the most loving, friendly and expressive creatures of God. However, there are times when your precious pooch expresses his pent up emotions by barking incessantly, thereby making himself a nuisance both for you and your neighbors. Although it is quite normal for dogs to do this from time to time, if it is doing it for an extended period of time. it is a sure sign that your Poodle has a problem.
In order to solve your pet’s issues, you need to first know why your dog is doing it and for how long. For this you may need to do some sleuth work, especially in a situation where your dog barks when you are not at home. You can always ask your neighbors or friends to walk or drive around the block or even leave a video camera or tape recorder to record your dog’s shenanigans when you leave home. Once you do this for a week or so, hopefully you will be able to ascertain what it is that’s driving your dog nuts. Here is a look at some of the reasons why dogs tend to engage in this annoying activity for hours at a time!.
Loneliness/Seeking Attention/Frustration: One of the main reasons why your Poodle may be doing it is because he feels bored and lonely and is left alone for long periods of time without much to do. He may be feeling lonely because he may not be getting enough interaction with your or his surroundings may be relatively empty without any toys or playmates. Dogs may also bark a lot if they belong to a particularly active breed like herding or sporting breeds and need to stay occupied with some sort of a job. If your dog is a puppy then he may also be making a racket in order to expend extra energy.
Territorial Behavior: Dogs are naturally territorial animals, which is also why they make such excellent live security systems. So sometimes, your dog may simply bark when he senses the presence of “outsiders” encroaching upon his territory. This happens at times when your dog simply doesn’t have exposure to other people and may end up even attacking someone if he feels threatened enough.
Phobia/Fear: It isn’t uncommon for dogs to react to situations or events that they are afraid. Dogs can become nervous when exposed to loud noises like breaking thunder, bursting firecrackers or working construction equipment.
Separation Anxiety: Your dog may bark due to Separation Anxiety as soon as or shortly after you leave home. This will happen especially when your dog is strongly attached to your emotionally. Sure signs which reflect such a strong attachment are when your dog follows you from room to room or greets you frantically when you return home etc.
If your dog is barking for any of the reasons mentioned above, here are few tips to what you can do to stop them for each of the causes:
Loneliness/Attention Seeking/Frustration or Territorial Behavior: The best way to turn your lonely and territorial pet into a “people dog” is to give him more people time. Apart from that, you need to desensitize your dog to people related to you whom he views as invaders. For this you can ask a friend to start walking towards where your dog is, starting far enough so that your dog doesn’t start barking. Then as a person comes closer gradually, reward your dog with small treats like cheese or meat bits. Once your dog connects the arrival of such strangers with pleasant events, he will be more relaxed in such situations.
Besides this, it’s always a good idea to give your dog enough physical activity so that they don’t feel frustrated or done have pent up energy that they need to expend. For instance, you can take your dog for regular walks or give him some other form of exercise like playing fetch or Frisbee catching etc.
Fear and Separation Anxiety: In order to deal with your dog’s phobias, it’s important to identify exactly what it is that scares him and to desensitize him to it. For this you may need the help of your veterinary doctor with regards to anti-anxiety medication while you pay attention to behavior modification. When you aren’t at home you can block your dog’s fears by keeping him in the house and muting the outside world by closing the doors and windows, putting on some loud music or turning on a loud fan at home. With regards to separation anxiety, it is again best to use counter-conditioning and desensitization methods like ignoring your dog when you leave home or upon returning as well.
Thus to conclude, keep the above mentioned points in mind in order to resolve your dog's barking problems and guarantee peace of mind for both yourself and your neighbors.
