BARKING:  A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Barking is a natural behavior of dogs.  Among the multitude of influencing causes and predisposing factors are: breed-specific genetic predispositions, especially in small and terrier breeds; provocation from social stimulation of other dogs; alarm-barking to visitors or passersby;  learned tendency to bark enhanced by rewards; and barking associated with anxiety reactions, especially separation anxiety.  It comes to be considered a problem when people feel adversely impacted by it.  Thus, there are no specific cutoff points for defining problem barking except the owners’ thresholds for objectionable barking, which are defined by the particular people involved.  Whether barking is defined as a problem may be affected by the proximity of neighbors, the nature of housing and husbandry of the dog involved, and other environmental factors.  Although excessive barking is viewed as commonplace in society, in veterinary clinical practice barking rarely is the presenting behavior problem, and seldom appears as a separate diagnosis.  Barking is rarely mentioned as the basis for relinquishment to shelters, even though it can create conflict within neighborhoods. 

Treatments designed to specifically control barking typically include behavior modification, which may or may not feature a device such as an electronic or citronella-emitting bark collar.  In a variety of studies, such collars have been found to have some initial effectiveness in reducing barking in a majority of dogs tested and lasting for varying periods of time.  The citronella collar may have better acceptance by owners, but there are indications that dogs habituate to it.  Treatment approaches sometimes focus on barking as a secondary problem associated with the separation anxiety syndrome, and emphasize resolution of the primary syndrome.  Management approaches can involve reducing the time spent outdoors by the dog.  Direct punishment of barking by use of a bark collar can be effective, especially when efforts are made to reduce the tendency to bark excessively, such as eliminating barking-evoking stimuli.  New approaches that could be helpful in resolving barking include: a system to monitor barking and track improvements; brainstorming behaviorists for potential improvements in collars; and variable settings for bark collars to take into account barking intensity.  A significant gap exists in quantifying problem barking; baseline data on this complex behavior would allow for systematically testing various types of interventions, including new devices to alter the extent of barking.