EXCESSIVE BARKING - Sophia Yin...2. Vacalopoulos A, Anderson RK. Canine behavior problems reported...
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EXCESSIVE BARKING : WHEN AND WHY IT OCCURS Corresponding author: [email protected] Department of Animal Science 1 Shields Ave University of California, Davis, CA 95616 Sophia A. Yin, DVM, MS and Sarah L. Richardson, PhD RESULTS: Percent of Dogs in Which Remote Punishment was Effective or Had Adverse Effects Citronella collar Electronic collar Short-term effectiveness 53.9% 65.7% Long-term effectiveness 13.5% 16.8% Adverse effects 22% 39.9% INTRODUCTION: Up to 33.4 % of owners complain their dogs bark excessively 1-3; however, only a few studies addressing solutions to excessive barking exist 4-8 . Fewer studies have examined the etiologies and nature of excessive barking—an important step in helping to focus efforts for developing solutions. PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to determine the contexts in which excessive barking occur, to characterize the nature of the barking and the factors reportedly associated with barking, and to survey how owners address the problem. METHOD: In fall of 2004, we administered a web-based questionnaire to dog owners who received invitations to participate through several on-line discussion groups. These groups were primarily comprised of dog owners with an interest in dog training. We received 996 completed replies. Roughly half of the respondents’ dogs were male (49.5%) and half were female (50.5%). 84.5% of the dogs were spayed or neutered. 79.8% of the dogs spent half or more of their time indoors. We recognize that this convenience sample is not necessarily representative of the total population of dog owners; however, the responses still offer valuable insight as to how and when barking occurs and what dog owners do about it. III. PATTERNS of BARKING BEHAVIOR Barking during the owner’s presence: • 39.6% of dogs bark excessively both when the owner is home AND when the owner is away. • 35.3% bark only when the owner is at home, but not while the owner is away • 18% bark only when the owner is away and not while the owner is at home When owner is home: • 62.4% of dogs bark both inside and outside. • 14.1% of dogs bark only inside but not outside • 23.5% of dogs bark only outside but not outside When barking is triggered by stimuli: • 40.4% of dogs bark excessively at stimuli when they are both inside and outside • 16.2% bark when they are inside but not when they are outside • 11.3% bark when they are outside but not when they are inside When barking is due to attention-seeking: • Dogs that bark for attention inside are not more likely to bark for attention when outside (i.e. to be let in when they are outside) and vice versa. • 20.7% bark for attention only when inside • 7.8% bark to be let in but not for attention once inside. • Dogs that tend to be quiet inside are also quiet when outside (i.e. do not bark excessively to be let in) and vice versa (61% of dogs) When the owner is away from home: 71.8% of dogs that bark when their owners are away bark both when inside and when outside. • 5.4% bark only when indoors, but not when outdoors. • 22% bark only when outdoors, but not when indoors. IV. USE of REMOTE PUNISHMENT COLLARS • 14.2% of all respondents had used a citronella collar • 14.4% of all respondents had used an electronic collar. • 5% had used both. * Most common adverse effects were fear of the collar or areas in which the collar was acti- vated and generalized depressed behavior when wearing the collar. DISCUSSION 1 One of the most common images that excessive barking conjures is that of the lonely or bored dog who is confined to the yard and barks while his owners are away. FINDING: Barking does occur in this context; however, our study indicates that the majority of excessive barking occurs when the owner is present and in the house with the dog. IMPLICATION: While most anti-bark devices, such as electronic and cit- ronella collars, aim to suppress barking, particularly when the owner is absent and therefore unable to control barking, these findings suggest that much nuisance bark- ing could potentially be addressed using positive reinforcement techniques involving the owners rewarding the dog for quiet behavior. 2 FINDING: Furthermore, in this group of dogs the use of remote punishment, such as citronella and electronic collars, was poorly effective long-term and many dogs experienced adverse effects including fear. IMPLICATION: These findings again suggest that other forms of training might be more appropriate. 3 FINDING: Regardless of whether excessive barking occurs when the owner is home or away, the barking tends to occur in response to identifiable stimuli rather than out of non-specific boredom. IMPLICATION: This indicates that increasing exer- cise and enrichment may not be sufficient to alter barking behavior. Efforts to modify responses to stimuli might better address this form of nuisance barking. 4 FINDING: For dogs that tend to bark when the owners are away, barking occurs both when dogs are left inside and when they are left outside. IMPLICATION: Thus just changing the dog’s general environment without addressing the specific cause may not be effective. 5 FINDING: A large percentage of dogs that barked when the owners were home also tended to bark when the owners were gone. IMPLICATION: This suggests that perhaps by addressing the barking that occurs in their presence owners may also be able to address the barking in their absence. 6 FINDING: Dogs that did not bark for attention when inside also did not bark for attention when outside to be let inside. IMPLICATION: If owners focus on training dogs by providing attention when their dogs are quiet and removing attention when the dog is barking when the dog is inside, perhaps the dog will also learn to avoid at- tention-barking when outside. CONCLUSION Because a majority of excessive barking occurs when the owner is home and thus available to reinforce alternate behaviors, because many excessive barkers bark at spe- cific stimuli rather than out of non-specific boredom, and because remote punishment has low long-term efficacy, solutions to excessive barking should focus on helping owners understand the causes of barking and providing them with positive reinforce- ment shaping procedures that address the specific etiologies. REFERENCES 1. Beaver B. Owner complaints about canine behavior. Journal of American Veterinary Medicine Association 1994;204:1953-1955. 2. Vacalopoulos A, Anderson RK. Canine behavior problems reported by clients in a study of veterinary hospitals. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 1993:84 (abstract only). 3. Wells DL, Hepper PG. Prevalence of behaviour problems reported by owners of dogs purchased from an animal rescue shelter. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2000;69:55-65. 4. Juarbe-Díaz SV. Assessment and treatment of excessive barking in the domestic dog. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice 1997;27:515-532. 5. Moffat KS, Landsberg GM, Beaudet R. Effectiveness and Comparison of Citronella and Scentless Spray Bark Collars for the Control of Barking in a Veterinary Hospital Setting. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 2003;39:343-348. 6. Wells DL. The effectiveness of a citronella spray collar in reducing certain forms of barking in dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2001;73:299-309. 7. Wells DL, Hepper PG. Prevalence of behaviour problems reported by owners of dogs purchased from an animal rescue shelter. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2000;69:55-65. 8. Yin S. A remote-controlled positive reinforcement solution to excessive barking in dogs. Animal Behavior Society 2005. I. WHEN DO DOGS BARK EXCESSIVELY When owners are away 42.2% When owners are home 74.9% When dogs are left inside 83.1% When dogs are left outside 56.7%. When dogs are inside 85.9% When dogs are outside 76.4% II. WHAT TRIGGERS THE EXCESSIVE BARKING When Owners are Home (Percent of dogs that bark for the following reasons) Dog Indoors Dog Outdoors Response to appearance of new stimuli such as squirrels, sounds, people walking by, other dogs barking 88.4% • 89.7% of these dogs bark excessively at the door • 94.9% at strangers • 63.5% at family members • 48.0% of owners describe this as very or extremely annoying • 8.3% can stop it consistently. • 35.2% have to keep the dog away from the front door. 90.8% Play 53.7% 41.8% Attention-seeking 48.7% 32.1% (barking to be let in) Barking for unknown reasons, including general boredom 10.1% 15.7% When Owners are AWAY (Percent of dogs that bark and the triggers) Dog Indoors or Outdoors People walking by 75.3% Other dogs near the house 70.7% Wildlife near the property 49.8% In response to owner leaving 34.3%
Transcript of EXCESSIVE BARKING - Sophia Yin...2. Vacalopoulos A, Anderson RK. Canine behavior problems reported...
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EXCESSIVE BARKING : WHEN AND WHY IT OCCURS
Corresponding author:
[email protected] of Animal Science
1 Shields Ave University of California,
Davis, CA 95616
Sophia A. Yin, DVM, MS and Sarah L. Richardson, PhD
RESULTS:
Percent of Dogs in Which Remote Punishment was Effective or Had Adverse Effects
Citronella collar Electronic collar
Short-term effectiveness 53.9% 65.7%Long-term effectiveness 13.5% 16.8%Adverse effects 22% 39.9%
INTRODUCTION:Up to 33.4 % of owners complain their dogs bark excessively1-3; however, only a few studies addressing solutions to excessive barking exist4-8. Fewer studies have examined the etiologies and nature of excessive barking—an important step in helping to focus efforts for developing solutions.
PURPOSE:The goal of this study was to determine the contexts in which excessive barking occur, to characterize the nature of the barking and the factors reportedly associated with barking, and to survey how owners address the problem.
METHOD: In fall of 2004, we administered a web-based questionnaire to dog owners who received invitations to participate through several on-line discussion groups. These groups were primarily comprised of dog owners with an interest in dog training. We received 996 completed replies. Roughly half of the respondents’ dogs were male (49.5%) and half were female (50.5%). 84.5% of the dogs were spayed or neutered. 79.8% of the dogs spent half or more of their time indoors. We recognize that this convenience sample is not necessarily representative of the total population of dog owners; however, the responses still offer valuable insight as to how and when barking occurs and what dog owners do about it.
III. PATTERNS of BARKING BEHAVIORBarking during the owner’s presence:• 39.6% of dogs bark excessively both when the owner is home AND when the owner is away.• 35.3% bark only when the owner is at home, but not while the owner is away• 18% bark only when the owner is away and not while the owner is at home
When owner is home:• 62.4% of dogs bark both inside and outside. • 14.1% of dogs bark only inside but not outside• 23.5% of dogs bark only outside but not outside When barking is triggered by stimuli: • 40.4% of dogs bark excessively at stimuli when they are both inside and outside • 16.2% bark when they are inside but not when they are outside • 11.3% bark when they are outside but not when they are inside
Whenbarkingisduetoattention-seeking: • Dogs that bark for attention inside are not more likely to bark for attention when outside (i.e. to be let in when they are outside) and vice versa. • 20.7% bark for attention only when inside • 7.8% bark to be let in but not for attention once inside. • Dogs that tend to be quiet inside are also quiet when outside (i.e. do not bark excessively to be let in) and vice versa (61% of dogs)
When the owner is away from home:71.8% of dogs that bark when their owners are away bark both when inside and when outside. • 5.4% bark only when indoors, but not when outdoors.• 22% bark only when outdoors, but not when indoors.
IV. USE of REMOTE PUNISHMENT COLLARS• 14.2% of all respondents had used a citronella collar • 14.4% of all respondents had used an electronic collar.• 5% had used both.
* Most common adverse effects were fear of the collar or areas in which the collar was acti-vated and generalized depressed behavior when wearing the collar.
DISCUSSION1 One of the most common images that excessive barking conjures is that of the lonely or bored dog who is confined to the yard and barks while his owners are away. FINDING: Barking does occur in this context; however, our study indicates that the majority of excessive barking occurs when the owner is present and in the house with the dog. IMPLICATION: While most anti-bark devices, such as electronic and cit-ronella collars, aim to suppress barking, particularly when the owner is absent and therefore unable to control barking, these findings suggest that much nuisance bark-ing could potentially be addressed using positive reinforcement techniques involving the owners rewarding the dog for quiet behavior.
2 FINDING: Furthermore, in this group of dogs the use of remote punishment, such as citronella and electronic collars, was poorly effective long-term and many dogs experienced adverse effects including fear. IMPLICATION: These findings again suggest that other forms of training might be more appropriate.
3 FINDING: Regardless of whether excessive barking occurs when the owner is home or away, the barking tends to occur in response to identifiable stimuli rather than out of non-specific boredom. IMPLICATION: This indicates that increasing exer-cise and enrichment may not be sufficient to alter barking behavior. Efforts to modify responses to stimuli might better address this form of nuisance barking.
4 FINDING: For dogs that tend to bark when the owners are away, barking occurs both when dogs are left inside and when they are left outside. IMPLICATION: Thus just changing the dog’s general environment without addressing the specific cause may not be effective.
5 FINDING: A large percentage of dogs that barked when the owners were home also tended to bark when the owners were gone. IMPLICATION: This suggests that perhaps by addressing the barking that occurs in their presence owners may also be able to address the barking in their absence.
6 FINDING: Dogs that did not bark for attention when inside also did not bark for attention when outside to be let inside. IMPLICATION: If owners focus on training dogs by providing attention when their dogs are quiet and removing attention when the dog is barking when the dog is inside, perhaps the dog will also learn to avoid at-tention-barking when outside.
CONCLUSIONBecause a majority of excessive barking occurs when the owner is home and thus available to reinforce alternate behaviors, because many excessive barkers bark at spe-cific stimuli rather than out of non-specific boredom, and because remote punishment has low long-term efficacy, solutions to excessive barking should focus on helping owners understand the causes of barking and providing them with positive reinforce-ment shaping procedures that address the specific etiologies.
REFERENCES1. Beaver B. Owner complaints about canine behavior. Journal of American Veterinary Medicine Association 1994;204:1953-1955.
2. Vacalopoulos A, Anderson RK. Canine behavior problems reported by clients in a study of veterinary hospitals. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 1993:84 (abstract only).
3. Wells DL, Hepper PG. Prevalence of behaviour problems reported by owners of dogs purchased from an animal rescue shelter. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2000;69:55-65.
4. Juarbe-Díaz SV. Assessment and treatment of excessive barking in the domestic dog. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice 1997;27:515-532.
5. Moffat KS, Landsberg GM, Beaudet R. Effectiveness and Comparison of Citronella and Scentless Spray Bark Collars for the Control of Barking in a Veterinary Hospital Setting. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 2003;39:343-348.
6. Wells DL. The effectiveness of a citronella spray collar in reducing certain forms of barking in dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2001;73:299-309.
7. Wells DL, Hepper PG. Prevalence of behaviour problems reported by owners of dogs purchased from an animal rescue shelter. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2000;69:55-65.
8. Yin S. A remote-controlled positive reinforcement solution to excessive barking in dogs. Animal Behavior Society 2005.
I. WHEN DO DOGS BARK EXCESSIVELY
When owners are away
42.2% When owners are home
74.9%
When dogs are left inside83.1%
When dogs are left outside56.7%.
When dogs are inside
85.9% When dogs are outside
76.4%
II. WHAT TRIGGERS THE EXCESSIVE BARKING
When Owners are Home(Percent of dogs that bark for the following reasons)
Dog Indoors Dog Outdoors
Response to appearance of new stimuli such as squirrels, sounds, people walking by, other dogs barking
88.4%
• 89.7% of these dogs bark excessively at the door • 94.9% at strangers • 63.5% at family members• 48.0% of owners describe this as very or extremely annoying • 8.3% can stop it consistently.• 35.2% have to keep the dog away from the front door.
90.8%
Play 53.7% 41.8%Attention-seeking 48.7% 32.1% (barking to be let in)Barking for unknown reasons, including general boredom
10.1% 15.7%
When Owners are AWAY(Percent of dogs that bark and the triggers)
Dog Indoors or Outdoors
People walking by 75.3%Other dogs near the house 70.7%Wildlife near the property 49.8%In response to owner leaving 34.3%
