THE BARKING BARITONES

On a recent business trip to the Northern Territory, I was informed by a regular visitor to camps of our indigenous people that the first thing you hear on your approach is the barking of camp dogs to warn the occupants of strangers. This warning procedure, I'm sure, would have been one of the reasons our ancestors would have kept dogs around their fire camps in days gone by.

Yes, dogs bark as a warning but they also bark for attention, to communicate, out of fear or aggression and if excited. Dogs bark for many reasons and in many situations because barking is a large part of a dog's natural behaviour however, something we humans can find extremely irritating. It is also the major complaint that most Councils receive.

Before we can alleviate the barking, we must first establish what is making our dog bark and then remove the dog's motivation to bark. If your dog barks because of boredom, enrich its environment. If your dog barks outside to be let in, and you let it in, it will very quickly learn that it gets what it wants from barking. In this case, you are reinforcing the bad behaviour. You must wait until the dog stops barking before letting it in.

If your dog runs to the front fence and barks at other dogs being walked by, cover the fence so that your dog cannot see out. If your dog barks when guests call, put it away when they are expected, then have your guests throw your dog a treat from a distance when it stops barking and very soon your dog will be wagging its tail in a friendly manner when friends call.

However generally, when your dog barks, reprimand it with voice control saying "ah ah" but don't shout, otherwise it will think you are joining in the barking (definitely a reason for it to keep going). As soon as the barking stops, say "good dog". However, attention-seeking behaviour should be completely ignored. Take away the motivation to bark and you take away the barking problem.