Living with a vocal dog like my Malinois, Artimesia (aka “Flappy Mouth”), can be a challenge! Her high-energy, high-drive personality means she can be loud—a trait she inherited from her mom. While I like her excited barks when we’re playing, excessive barking can spiral out of control fast. Here’s what I’ve learned about managing noisy pups after years of raising working dogs.
Dogs can have numerous reasons for barking: attention seeking, separation problems, fear, guarding behaviour, or aggressive posturing. All of these can be managed and improved upon.
Untrained dogs will push boundaries to get what they want. Excessive barking or whining is often their way of testing limits. They’re not masterminds, but they’ll try anything to get attention or rewards. Recognize this, and you’re one step closer to a quieter dog. 😉
You’ve probably heard that teaching a dog to bark on cue helps control barking. I’m here to tell you—it doesn’t work. Barking is an innate behavior, and reinforcing it (even with a command) strengthens the habit. I’ve been down this road, and trust me, it creates a noisier dog in the short and long run.
If you present, offer food, toys, or affection when your dog barks, you’re rewarding the behavior. That means more barking, not less. I’ve heard wild stories of people “thanking” their dog for barking and tossing treats to distract them—yep, that’s a recipe for a louder pup! 🙈
Locking a dog in a “time-out” for barking doesn’t work either. Dogs don’t connect the punishment to the behavior—they lack the deductive reasoning. To weaken the behaviour it has to immediately follow the barking. Normally crates are in another room or the dog gets taken through rooms to be put outside. They cannot link the two events, barking = isolation. They might experiment to get what they want, but they’re not plotting like humans.
When I can’t be around to manage Artimesia, anti-bark collars have been a game-changer. Here’s the breakdown:
Vibration Collars: Inconsistent results. They might work for some dogs, but not reliably.
Citronella Collars: Decent for smaller, sensitive dogs, but some (like my Malinois!) bark right through the spray.
Electronic Collars: The most effective. I use one with 10 stim settings and a vibration option. Vibration-triggered collars are best to avoid false triggers from other noises. After a few uses, I can switch to vibration-only mode, and the dog responds just as well.
Raising vocal dogs like Artimesia has taught me patience and strategy. With consistent training and the right tools, you can manage excessive barking. It’s not all about using bark collars—functional training will be your greatest tool to manage your noisy beast. It’s about understanding your dog’s instincts and setting them up for success.
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