Help! My Dog Barks at Every Little Sound!

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Barking is a totally natural and normal way for dogs to communicate. We have selectively bred certain breeds of dogs for their barking abilities! 

The problem is that it can be irritating to us humans. Especially when it is excessive and relentless.

How can we let our puppers know: “Thanks, but that’s enough now” without constantly yelling “NO!”? Which, you may have figured out by now, just isn’t working.

Today’s reader asks:

My dog seems to bark at every noise he hears. I’ve tried removing him from the situation and he does okay, but then he does like mini barks. And when he hears someone come in the house, he goes crazy. I’m not sure what to do. – Sincerely, Barking Blitz

Why Do Dogs Bark?

Let us first look at why Barking Blitz’s doggo wants to bark in the first place. Understanding the root cause of a behavior can help us mitigate triggers or change the pattern of behavior over time. 

Barking Blitz mentions that noises are the main trigger, which is not uncommon for many dogs.

Some other triggers aside from noises might include:

  • Odors. Dogs gather a lot of information through their noses. Their have about 300 million receptors in their nose compared to our measly 6 million.
  • Things they see. Sometimes triggers are walking past the front window, taunting our dogs who are stuck on the other side looking through the glass.

Why do these things cause our dogs to bark?

  • It’s a natural behavior. Dog’s have been selected over the years to bark. They were used to alert us to intruders, and for that they needed highly sensitive hearing. Some dogs, such as terriers and herding dogs were also bred to bark as a part of their job. It is a highly honed skill. And Barking Blitz’s dog is part Corgi and part Australian Shepherd, so they’re in double trouble!
  • Your dog is scared sounds. My dog Juno is quite sensitive to certain noises. These include dogs barking and the sound of hammering (or a basketball bouncing). If Barking Blitz’s dog is feeling scared, he may react to the sounds by barking — a common reaction for dogs who feels fearful. 

Is My Barky Dog Scared?

It is important to look at his body language. Body language is a key tool when investigating the underlying cause of a behavior. 

Nose to tail — check what he is telling you! This means the whole body can indicate fear. A scared, stressed dog might look like:

  • Pacing
  • Panting 
  • Trembling
  • Avoiding (hiding), and the returning to bark.
  • Tail tucked or straight up and stiff
  • Lunging
  • Unable to disengage from barking and doesn’t recover well (takes a while to settle).
  • Whining in between barking episodes.

Because noises happen suddenly and are quite startling, there is generally a lack of early warnings that we might normally see in other scary situations. 

It is important to note, when a dog is fearful (of a sound or any other trigger), it is an emotional response rather than a learned or inherently rewarding behavior.

One of three things will happen when your dog is startled or scared:

  1. Flight. Generally when a dog is frightened, they would rather flee the situation. But what happens when there is no option to flee (like a leash or fence) or if he doesn’t know where the sound might be coming from?
  2. Fight. Without an escape, a fearful reaction will often escalate to barking (and beyond this, may lead to lunging or biting). Because Barking Blitz’s dog continues with “mini barks,” it indicates to me that he has a hard time turning off his high level of arousal.
  3. Freeze. Freezing (lowered body and reluctance to move) can also indicate fear. 

Sound sensitivity can begin to make your dog hyper-aware, even inside your house. Any novel noise can become a trigger.

Often noise sensitivities are related to other forms of anxiety, particularly separation anxiety. Sometimes what happens is our dog is afraid of one sound (thunder, for example), but over time, he begins to generalize to other noises as well. 

If your dog seems stressed and hyper-alert, your problem is likely fear-based.

What Not to Do: Punish the Dog for Barking!

In either situation, we want to avoid punishment. Punishment could make the situation worse and doesn’t teach our dog what we would rather them do instead. 

Likewise, telling our dog “no” repeatedly, is likely not getting you anywhere. The word “no” would need to have some sort of consequence attached to it to have meaning for Barking Blitz’s dog.

For example, “no” could mean a raised voice, enough to scare some dogs. This would be a form of punishment, and doesn’t teach our dogs anything. “No” could also mean ‘stop doing what you’re doing and grab your toy, let’s have a game of tug instead.’ 

These are both a potential consequence of the word “no.” One is positive and one is negative.

However, it could also be completely neutral.

I suspect for most people, you have used this word repeatedly without it really meaning much of anything at all. It’s just become an annoying voice in the background rather than offer any type of information or solution.

How Can I Teach Him Not to Bark?

Prevention before interfering is the first plan of action. If we are aware of our dog’s triggers, we can have our dog redirect to an alternative and more desirable behavior before the barking begins. 

We can also teach him some better alternatives.

Here are some things Barking Blitz might consider with their dog:

  1. Desensitize him to noises. If you know what his triggers are, this can be an effective way to train him to be more tolerant of sounds. For Juno, who is scared of dogs barking, I can play a CD of dogs barking on my speakers at such a low level that she can hear it but it’s not worrisome to her. While I am doing this I may play with her, have her search the house for hidden treats, or give her a bully stick of stuffed Kong to enjoy. Over time, I am slowly able to increase the volume. This is something that, after 7 months of working on, still happens every single day in my household. Every dog will move at his or her own pace. There is no need to rush!
  2. Redirect his attention. If you are able, some dogs are easy to redirect onto something more appropriate. You may ask your dog to target your hand, for example, which will earn him a treat. Then once you have his focus, you could engage in a little training session until his urge to bark is only a distant memory.
  3. Teach a “stop barking” cue. I suggest you forget the word no, which has likely little (or even negative) connotations at this stage. Choose something like “enough” or “quiet”. First, teach this cue when he is not engaged in a bark fest. Grab a handful of treats, say your cue word, and scatter a handful of treats in the floor. Over time, when you say your “quiet” cue, he will start to turn his attention automatically to the floor. Your treats must be a high-value option, or it might not be quite enough to entice Barking Blitz’s dog to stop barking once engaged. This might be cheese, hot dog pieces, or steak. My dog loves Ziwi Peak. But I do mix it up, so it’s not always predictable.
  4. Increase enrichment and behavioral outlets. Because Barking Blitz’s dog is a mixture of two working breeds, he needs lots of breed appropriate outlets for his energy and to stimulate his mind. Not only is physical exercise really important for (most) dogs, it is highly important for herding dogs. They also need a mental outlet. Enrichment goes beyond toys and physical exercise, but provides appropriate and engaging avenues to engage his senses. This might be treat hunting games or puzzle toys. But for herding dogs specifically, games of hide and seek, training games or anything that requires focus (for example, scent work or agility) can help to satisfy his innate needs.
  5. White Noise. We don’t want our dogs to practice this unwanted barking behavior when we are out. Leaving the radio or TV on for your dog is a good way to drown out the unfamiliar sounds. Remember, practice makes perfect, so let’s do our very best to set them up for success through prevention.

The Fallout of Bark Collars

What about all of these gadgets out there that claim they can stop your dog from barking? Surely a spray in the face with citronella can’t be that bad, can it?

Actually, it can.

In order for something to effectively stop a behavior, it has not be scary or unpleasant enough for your dog to want to avoid it.

The problem is, this punishment comes at a price. Your dog may become more fearful of not only the sounds, but of other things in his environment that happen to be close by. Including you.

It can be detrimental to a solid bond and a close relationship you have with your dog. 

And, as we just discussed above, there are better and kinder alternatives.

Barking is completely solvable, but old habits die hard. It may take a while. Be consistent with your training and management. Good luck, Barking Blitz, and happy training!

19 thoughts on “Help! My Dog Barks at Every Little Sound!”

  1. Hello, Loved the article, We have a briars, after having many during our lives, usually multiple at a time. Sometime we get mixed breeds, rescues whatever needs a home. As are the briards. Our briard has been with us for years with no problems and has started over the last year to get very vocal with any noise. Even ppl she used to be ok with at the house. I would say it actually borders to aggressive. The only thing I can say is she was attacked by 2 small Maltese x dogs. People laughed as she climbed up my body getting away from them, as the owner did nothing. They were not on leads. They were ripping into her legs. The fact she had long double coat helped her. But after that she changed. Also my mum that lives with me became very sick with stage 4 cancer, and she did everything with her and became quite possessive of her trying to keep her from leaving the house when she had to go to the hospital. She would physically grab her. I wonder if the 2 serious events in the last year to 18 months have affected her so I will look into doing what you suggested with the lady above. Because I can’t have her barking like crazy, it’s not healthy for her, she looks unsettled, and it’s not great for us either. Hope you are doing ok in these crazy times, take care, Willow

    Reply
  2. I live in a condo and my dog barks at the dog into the hallway anytime a person moves out there. Is there a good way to teach her to not do that. I know I can apply some of these tips and try the desensitizing but when she does it is there something I can do right away to make her stop and calm down?
    Thank you!

    Reply
  3. I am fostering, so don’t have any history. Dilly barks randomly. I have read a lot about how to stop a dog barking, but none of the reasons for barking seem to apply. She will be sleeping and then suddenly bark. She will bark at apparently nothing outside. I get that as a foster dog you may think stressed or anxious, but I am sure this is not it. She eats well, plays, is happy as larry. Any ideas?

    Reply
    • Hi Pam – that’s interesting. When she wakes up from sleeping and barks, is the barking frantic and frenzied? Same goes for when she’s outside? What’s the barking like? The quality of the bark can help figure out sometimes!

      Reply
  4. Hi Kayla
    I am working on desensitizing my dog to the sounds that make him bark, but I can’t be outside with him 100% of the time to catch the distractions in time. How much time should I be spending on desensitizing and is it OK to let him bark at the times I can’t be outside with him? I’m not sure how much impact I have if only go outside after I hear the bark.

    Reply
    • Hi Emily, in an ideal situation you really wouldn’t be allowing him to bark at all. If you’re only catching him when he barks 1/3 times, the training will take MUCH longer. Perhaps you can find other ways to exercise him that allow you to supervise more closely when he’s outdoors?

      Reply
  5. Hey Kayla,
    My 7 month old super friendly and happy pup has started barking at every small noise she can hear outside our flat (we are ground level), but ONLY at night time. During the day she wags her tail at passers by but as soon as dark comes it’s all very worrying and scary for her. We have tried a lot of the above suggestions, distracting her with toys and treats instead, closing curtains and putting music and tv on but she still barks and ruffs. We tire her out every day with big runs too and have started to do quick walks around the block at night to see if that will help, but we are at a bit of a loss! Any other suggestions?

    Reply
  6. Hi! My dog is a barker but hes also a smarty pants. He is a jack russell mix. When I first got him and was potty training him I would give him treats every time he peed outside and praised him, until he started to just lift his leg and pretend to pee to get the treats haha. He barks excessively when he hears noises outside, I try to remain calm and have tried giving him treats once he is quieted down as positive reinforcement, but unfortunately that has just taught him to bark for treats. Is there a way to teach him to cease barking and calm down sooner without encouraging bad behaviors? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi Kayla – absolutely. This does happen, but it’s uncommon. It sounds like you’ve got a smart cookie there. In this case, what you want to do is teach him something else to do when he hears a sound. So teach him a cue like running to his bed to lie down; then teach him that when he hears a sudden sound and then goes to his bed, he gets lots of treats. There will be more steps in this training process but will help reduce the demand barking.

      Reply
  7. I have a 1 yo dachshund and she barks at every little noise that comes from outside. I don’t know what way is best to handle this.

    Reply
  8. Hi my guy is about 3 years old and barks at any noise from outside as well but mainly if he thinks someone is coming inside like footsteps. I can deter him away from barking at the foot step but he will continuously bark even at the family including myself when we walk into the kitchen….he has the kitchen and a huge back yard at open access to him at all times so he isn’t kept in the kitchen but even though he knows who we all are he barks continuously at us like we are strangers coming in from outside. I’m having trouble deterring him from this. I feel like I’m doing something wrong. Is there anything I can do?

    Reply
  9. Hi Kayla,

    We live in an old building with kitchen pipes that have steadily grown worse over time. They have gotten to a point where they will randomly make loud noises throughout the day and night that really bother our dog. We’ve been trying desperately to get building management to fix this, obviously, but up until now, they have done nothing to repair it. This is obviously annoying during the day, but relatively manageable as we have taught her the quiet command and she listens to it a lot of the time, at least after the first bark, and will come to us for comfort instead of continuing to bark. It’s a lot more difficult to deal with at night, however. Our dog doesn’t like sleeping in bedrooms with us, and prefers to sleep on her own bed in the living room and will bark whenever she hears this sound. This obviously wakes us up and we are a little bit at our wit’s end of how to get her to stop. I do understand that she is startled / scared / trying to warn us, but how do we convince her that this sound is harmless?

    Any suggestions?

    Reply
  10. My dog is still a puppy she is an 8-month-old (9 months on the 18th) Pembroke Welsh Corgi and I know they bark a lot as a breed. My main issue is when she barks in a frenzied manner, she barks at everything! The smallest noises and sometimes at “nothing at all” we assumed it was because her ears were big and she could hear something we couldn’t. Her main barking trigger is other dogs barking which is the main problem we have. She’ll bark at other dogs all the time if she hears them and most of our neighbors have dogs which is an issue for her. And her main thing is barking because she hears dogs on television, that one is the worst. She will bark and bark and growl while running around like she’s on patrol and trying to protect us from the other dog. Sometimes we want her to bark like when she is trying to let us know she needs to go outside to the bathroom but other times she just doesn’t stop. Is there a way to tell the difference between the barks and let her know when and when not to bark? She will bark by the backdoor when she wants to go out but she won’t always so it’s hard to tell. Also if she barks at the neighbor’s dogs should I try to distract her or let her wear herself out over it? Trying to distract her doesn’t seem to work because she gets so hyper-focused on it that sometimes if you “interrupt her” she will whip her head around and snarl sometimes because she doesn’t want to be stopped.

    Reply

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