How to teach your dog to be calm around visitors
Nicole Mackie
times of india 14.10.2018
Dogs will guard their homes or territories by nature. In the wild, when an intruder comes too close, one dog within the family group will give a warning bark to alarm the others of the intrusion. We cannot expect our dogs to behave in a different manner in their human families. Often, when a visitor comes to the door, our dog will give a warning or guarding bark to alert us about the visitor. Here’s how you can teach your dogs to be calm around visitors.
WARNING BARK…
A warning bark sounds like a high frequency and a little hysterical. This bark may be constant or a series of small barks with short breaks. A guarding bark sounds like: Grrrrrrr-bark, bark-grrrrrrr. Depending on how defensive the dog is, a warning bark depends on the amount of growling. The bark may also be a deeper bark than usual.
Whether the barking is a warning or a guarding bark, your dog will have a high level of arousal, excitement or fear. You may see your dog react by lunging forward, spinning around, barking, jumping up your visitors or yourself, growling, running around, or she may be reacting with all of these behaviours.
Because of the high level of excitement, arousal or fear involved, your dog will also have a high level of stress. This causes the muscles to become full of adrenalin and become active. This is why it is not possible for your dog to keep still. Giving your dog something to hold in his mouth, such as a toy or blanket, can help your dog cope with the situation.
—The writer has over 14 years of experience in handling, training, observing, studying and sharing her life with dogs
Nicole Mackie
times of india 14.10.2018
Dogs will guard their homes or territories by nature. In the wild, when an intruder comes too close, one dog within the family group will give a warning bark to alarm the others of the intrusion. We cannot expect our dogs to behave in a different manner in their human families. Often, when a visitor comes to the door, our dog will give a warning or guarding bark to alert us about the visitor. Here’s how you can teach your dogs to be calm around visitors.
WARNING BARK…
A warning bark sounds like a high frequency and a little hysterical. This bark may be constant or a series of small barks with short breaks. A guarding bark sounds like: Grrrrrrr-bark, bark-grrrrrrr. Depending on how defensive the dog is, a warning bark depends on the amount of growling. The bark may also be a deeper bark than usual.
Whether the barking is a warning or a guarding bark, your dog will have a high level of arousal, excitement or fear. You may see your dog react by lunging forward, spinning around, barking, jumping up your visitors or yourself, growling, running around, or she may be reacting with all of these behaviours.
Because of the high level of excitement, arousal or fear involved, your dog will also have a high level of stress. This causes the muscles to become full of adrenalin and become active. This is why it is not possible for your dog to keep still. Giving your dog something to hold in his mouth, such as a toy or blanket, can help your dog cope with the situation.
—The writer has over 14 years of experience in handling, training, observing, studying and sharing her life with dogs
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