Are You Rewarding Your Anxious Dog For Barking?
Picture this…your dog barks and whines every time you leave the house. You’ve tried leaving them with toys and Kongs, you’ve left calming music on for them and they get PLENTY of exercise. But no matter what, the barking just doesn’t seem to stop. Sound familiar? What should you do? Do you ignore it and let them bark it out? Or should you come back inside to stop the barking? Doesn’t coming back when they’re barking teach them to bark for whatever they want?
Like most dog training questions, the answer is not a simple one, but it’s definitely one that deserves to be addressed.
*This blog post is going to focus primarily on dogs who bark while alone due to separation related problems such as separation anxiety, isolation distress, FOMO, or confinement distress. Dogs bark for many reasons though, so it’s always a good idea to consult with a certified dog trainer to help you sort out what’s causing the behavior and how best to resolve it (you can also check out this article for more info).
How Behavior Works
In order to answer the question, “does returning when my dog barks reinforce the barking,” we first need to dive into a little bit about how behavior works. I’m going to keep this part short and simple, however, behavior is anything BUT simple. If you’d like to learn more, here’s a great place to start.
One of the ways animals (including humans) learn is through something called operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as operant learning). A very simplified way of explaining operant conditioning is to say that all living beings learn through consequences, both good and bad. If a behavior results in a good consequence, something desirable or pleasant, that behavior is more likely to be repeated. This is referred to as reinforcement. If a behavior results in a bad consequence, something undesirable or aversive, that behavior is less likely to be repeated. This is known as punishment.
So, technically speaking, if you walk out of your front door, then your dog barks, and then you return inside, you MAY be teaching your dog that barking caused you to return. This is why some dog trainers will advise you to never return or give your dog any attention if they’re barking. They say that doing so would reinforce (or reward) the barking. However, it’s not quite that simple. See, reinforcement influences FUTURE behavior. We don’t actually know whether your return has reinforced the barking unless we look at how the barking behavior changes over time. If the barking increases, then it has been reinforced. If it decreases or stays the same, it has not been reinforced. In my professional experience working with dogs who suffer from separation anxiety or other separation related problems, I typically don’t see much increase in the barking behavior. It more or less just stays the same.
That’s not to say that returning couldn’t reinforce the barking though. It certainly does in some cases. So, let’s say that the barking has in fact increased. You are certain that your return has reinforced your dog’s barking behavior. The logical solution then is to NOT return in order to avoid reinforcing the barking so the barking will stop, right? Nope. Once again, it’s not that simple.
When we suddenly cut off reinforcement something called an “extinction burst” tends to happen, which is when the behavior actually gets WORSE before eventually (*possibly*) getting better (here’s another great article if you want to learn more about extinction bursts). We also need to remember that behaviors rarely occur independently. So, are you absolutely certain your return reinforced the barking and nothing else? What about the whining, the pacing, or what if your dog was lying down while barking? Isn’t lying down something you’d like your dog to do more of? Are you sure you want to stop reinforcing that?
Ok, but enough science talk…perhaps even more important to consider when we talk about this scenario is the ultimate goal you want to achieve. If you’re like most dog guardians, you don’t just want to stop the barking (because that could simply lead to your dog replacing the barking with another undesirable behavior like scratching at the door or chewing up the furniture). What you REALLY want to teach your dog is to be calm and relaxed when home alone. This is where we run into trouble for a second time if we simply look at the situation in terms of whether or not returning reinforces the barking.
Threshold: An Important Piece to Effective Dog Training
If your dog is barking out of fear or anxiety and your goal is to help your dog learn to relax instead of barking, you’re already fighting a losing battle, regardless of whether you return or not (though, you’ll lose the battle much quicker by NOT returning. More on that in a bit). See, in order to learn effectively, first, your dog must be in a calm enough state TO learn. We call this being “under threshold.” You can think of “threshold” as the point at which your dog switches from relaxed or neutral to fearful, stressed, or anxious. If they’re under threshold, they’re relaxed and/or neutral. If they’re over threshold, they’re fearful, stressed, and/or anxious and in no state to actually learn anything because they’re too busy dealing with the danger they’re in (whether real or perceived).
This applies to humans too. Think for a moment of something you’d really like to learn. It could be a new language, a sport, a hobby like cooking or painting…anything that interests you. Now imagine if I came to you and began teaching that topic while someone juggled chainsaws above your head. How well are you going to be able to focus on acquiring that knowledge? Probably not very well, no matter how badly you wanted to learn, because you’re going to be quite preoccupied by those dangerous machines buzzing around you. This is similar to what’s happening to your dog when they’re over threshold while home alone. They can’t focus on much else other than the threat of alone time (it’s worth mentioning that barking is just one of many behaviors that may indicate a dog is over threshold).
Your next thought might be, “but there is no threat or danger. I always return. My dog is safe at home. Surely, he should realize that.”
If only our brains always responded logically. Have you ever been to a haunted house and felt your heartbeat speed up? Ever felt queasy or experienced sweaty palms before giving a speech in front of an audience? In both of those situations, you’re perfectly safe, but your brain and body still react as if you were in danger. Your behavior may even change, too. You may get a bit short with loved ones, or start to pace, cry, or bite your fingernails. If you’re familiar with the fight or flight response, this will come as no shock to you. Sometimes even if we’re perfectly safe, our brains and bodies don’t get the memo. This happens to dogs as well. If you want to teach your dog to relax and remain calm when home alone, you must first make sure they are in a calm enough state TO learn that valuable skill (i.e. they must be under threshold).
Sensitization
If you ignore a dog who is over threshold, not only will they be unable to effectively learn a new skill (such as how to relax and remain calm at home), you’re actually risking making the fear much worse.
Just last week I got a call from a prospective client who told me, “My dog is out of control when she’s home alone. It started about 6 months ago, but it wasn’t that bad back then. She would cry for a few minutes and maybe bark once or twice but then would settle down. At least I think she settled down. We didn’t hear her or get any complaints from neighbors. But then, a couple of months ago, the barking started to get worse. My neighbor actually texted me one day while I was at work to tell me my dog had been barking on and off for almost 45 minutes! We set up a camera and sure enough, he was right. She would bark for a few, then lie down, but then the barking would start back up again, and the cycle would just repeat until we got home. Now, she’s even started clawing and biting at the door frame and two days ago I came home to my couch pillows and the corners of my rug completely chewed up.”
As much as my heart went out to this person, her story was not surprising at all to me. I see this happen all the time. Well-meaning guardians leave their dog home thinking that with enough repetition, their dog will grow out of the barking and whining (It’s pretty popular advice that circulates. Unfortunately, it’s terrible advice). What they soon realize though, is that the opposite happens. The fear, which may have started off as some mild anxiety or uneasiness, grows into full blown panic and terror and the behavior gets worse as a result of that panic. This is known as sensitization and it’s something that is all too common when dealing with fear and/or anxiety.
Ignoring the barking, or only coming back when your dog has stopped barking, in order to avoid rewarding the behavior makes sense at first glance, but in the long run you’re risking making things much worse (through sensitization) and much harder to deal with later on down the road.
So, Should You Come Back When Your Dog Is Barking?
If your anxious dog is barking when alone, should you come back? Yes. Are you rewarding the behavior? If by “reward” you mean preventing them from panicking, being a caring and loving guardian who recognizes that this goes deeper than just what’s on the surface and preventing the problem from getting worse, then yeah. Yeah, you are. Which is exactly what you should be doing.
if you need help helping your dog, I offer private, individualized training programs to not just stop the barking, but to help your dog learn to truly relax when home alone. Schedule a free phone consultation to learn more!
Wags and aloha,
Cori- Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT)
