Barking at Ghosts

[Zorro13]

Zorro has started to bark at nothing quite a bit. I've heard ignoring it is the best to avoid reinforcing the behavior but have also read that fear is not something you can reinforce and that you should comfort them to help them get over the fear. What is the best reaction for this?

[chene]

In what context is he barking? When he is with you or when you are in another room? Is he facing a door or a window or just barking? One thing to remember is that dogs have much better hearing that humans do. It's a different issue if he's barking because he hears something versus barking because he wants your attention. If my dogs bark for attention (ie he's in another room or looking at you and barking) then I tend to just ignore it, unless it's justified in some way. However, If he's hearing noises he thinks it's important to alert you of then in my experience sometimes just letting him know you acknowledge it and then having a command such as "that'll do" or "shush" to tell him to stop will work. Is he a particularly fearful dog?

[Cass C]

I had a trainer tell me that you should at least investigate, because a dog's barking is always trying to tell you something. That something may be that there is someone/something unwanted in your house or maybe just that they heard a funny noise from somewhere. After you assure that there is nothing wait for a quick pause in barking usually after the third bark, then say something like "thanks now be quiet" to acknowledge yes I heard you now shut up. Then distract them with anything from strong smelling food to a toy they love and just throw it in the opposite direction. If that doesn't work then pull the dog away from what they are barking at and then reward when they are removed and all you hear is silence.

 

Eventually all you will have to say is your command to be quiet and the dog will remove them self and be quiet. The key is to never yell as that makes the dog think you are barking with them. Just be calm and use a normal tone of voice.

[Maralynn]

What kind of context is he barking in? Is he waking from a sound sleep and barking? pacing first? something else? Could there be mice (or something) in the walls?

[Lizabeth]

My beagle mix is almost 15 yrs she used to bark at everything and anything wind, leaves, shadows and ghosts I would go look then Id tell her everything is fine and thank her and just walk away. over time she got used to all the things that go bump in the night.

 

Now that she is getting older she don't see or hear so well so things tend to startle her which makes her bark and in turn they all bark, usually its nothing but I just assure her all is fine and she seems ok with that.

[Zorro13]

It's generally at night when he's laying down and is definitely caused by random noises outside. It is a very different bark than his normal voice, It's more of a howling at the moon. In some ways I like it because he's being a good sentry dog but it's been getting out of hand lately.

 

The acknowledgement command seems like a good idea. I was doing that at first to check and see what he was barking at but have since stopped once I figured out it's always nothing.

[Camden's Mom]

It's generally at night when he's laying down and is definitely caused by random noises outside. It is a very different bark than his normal voice, It's more of a howling at the moon. In some ways I like it because he's being a good sentry dog but it's been getting out of hand lately.

 

The acknowledgement command seems like a good idea. I was doing that at first to check and see what he was barking at but have since stopped once I figured out it's always nothing.

 

I think you may be onto two things here.

 

First, you say you kinda' like the behavior. I have absolutely no doubt that Zorro has picked up on this fact and might be offering the behavior even more in order to please you. I'm not saying that this *is* the case but I'd consider it very likely.

 

Second, it sounds like you were very naturally doing what others have suggested, taking a moment to acknowledge and investigate Zorro's barking, but have since stopped doing so. I like to check out whatever my dog is barking at. In several cases his barking has alerted me to legitimate things that need to be handled (a neighborhood dog that got loose and was running around, people delivering packages, etc.). One night he was going really mad at the front window and when I checked it out I saw a figure walking quickly away from our house. I thanked him profusely for his barking on that occasion.

 

But let's face it, normally dogs bark at things that we're not too worried about and it can become a nuisance. In those cases I will investigate his concerns and then say in a cheerful voice, "It's fine, Camden. Thank you". At that point he knows I've checked it out and all is well. If he persists I'll say in a slightly more serious voice "That'll do, thank you" and that's usually the end of it. I agree that the next step would be to calmly remove him from the window, door or room that's setting him off.

 

I think taking the time to acknowledge a dog's concern (i.e. barking) and let them know everything is fine puts the dog at ease without discouraging all barking, which can often be quite useful at times.

[GentleLake]

^^This!