Training Guides: Dog Barking at Window
Is your dog barking at the window? Or more accurately, barking at things outside of the window? As a dog trainer, if there’s one behavior that I’ve seen pet owners struggle with the most it’s definitely barking. The worst kind of barking? The dog who sits at the window all day barking at every little thing that passes by.
If you want a full accounting of the different types of barking and everything you need to tackle them, our Ultimate Barking Solution is the best option.
Why is Your Dog Barking at the Window?
The first thing you need to do is understand why your dog is barking out the window. In most instances, the source of a dog’s barking – the source of most behavioral problems actually – tends to stem from a lack of mentally stimulating activity. Dogs who do not utilize critical thinking skills and use their brain are more prone to boredom and/or anxiety.
It seems a bit anthropomorphic, I know, but when it comes down to it all animals need to be stimulated and enriched to live fulfilling lives and avoid problematic behavior. That includes people too! Providing your dog with enrichment opportunities and items that encourage thinking or allow them to perform natural foraging behaviors can work wonders when it comes to unwanted behavior.
If you want to increase your dog’s mentally stimulating activity, our 30 Day Mental Stimulation Challenge is the best resource.
The Best Ways to Ensure Your Dog Has Enough Mental Stimulation
When it comes to mentally stimulating activities, you can find quite a wide range of different types of toys, chews, and other items on the market. Some of the best types include puzzles, lickable items, treat balls (and similar), and chews.
Puzzles provide your dog with a great problem-solving opportunity. Your dog has to work out some type of movement or adjustment to be able to reach the food inside. Some puzzles can be quite complex and really challenge your dog. Other puzzles are a bit simpler and good for beginners!
Treat balls are similar to puzzles as well, but usually, last a bit longer. Your dog will likely be able to complete most puzzles pretty quickly once they’ve figured the puzzle out. A treat ball typically involves a bit more time for them to get all the food out, while still employing plenty of critical thinking skills.
Lickable items also provide a great opportunity for your dog to utilize some behaviors that they’d typically do in the “wild.” Though people have domesticated dogs, they still enjoy doing predatory behaviors, and licking helps alleviate some of that need. Additionally, licking also seems to help alleviate stress and anxiety in dogs to some extent as well. Lick mats can be particularly useful in keeping a dog busy during grooming and other activities they’d typically dislike.
Preventing Your Dog’s Window Barking
While mentally stimulating activity is certainly an important element when it comes to preventing barking, a bit more goes into prevention than increasing mental stimulation. The more a dog sits in the window searching for something to bark at, the more likely they will go and repeat that behavior again… and again… and again!
Dogs get into cycles very easily. They perform a behavior multiple times and begin to automatically do that behavior. The same goes for barking. When your dog is used to spending all their time sitting by the window looking for something to bark, the second they get bored that’s the first thing they will go and do.
Thus, the most important step in stopping that barking is to, well, stop the barking. You have to stop that endless cycle before you can start working on anything else. Keep your dog happy and mentally stimulated elsewhere, but make sure they can’t get to that window to go bark. Once you break the cycle, you can begin working on what your dog should do instead!
What to Learn Instead of Barking Out the Window
Once you’ve established everything you need to stop the barking from repeating continuously, you can begin working on actually teaching your dog. Dogs naturally want to alert you to potential danger, and even tell you about exciting things. It’s the most natural thing a dog can do, and it makes them feel good.
If you want them to stop barking endlessly, it’s important to teach them to do something else instead. To work with them on a better way to cope with something exciting or potentially scary to them. Once they know what they should be doing instead of barking, things become much easier for everyone! We can help them understand what we want them to do, instead of simply getting angry at them for doing what their instincts tell them to do when they spot an intruder.
The Training Aspect
Training your dog is a process. It takes time and effort on your part, but dogs are a commitment. If you want to make sure your dog has the best possible life, and that you can coexist peacefully with one another, training is incredibly important. All of our courses and programs focus on helping you better communicate with your pet. Communication, proper welfare, and a better relationship with your dog is the best way to achieve what you want from your training goals.
When people don’t take the time to understand their dog’s training, or they try to take shortcuts in training because they don’t understand the consequences, it can cause all sorts of unintended problems. Minor issues like barking can become aggressive when they are addressed using outdated methods and poor advice.
That’s why we provide every element and level of training you might need. Whether you’ve got some understanding of training, or you have never had a dog, we have resources for anything you could possibly need help with. No matter the case, your dog deserves the best care and treatment, and you deserve a full understanding of why and how to alter your dog’s behavior for the better!
