When the bark is worse than the bite!

  Posted on March 22, 2010  by Joy of Living  No comments

Bo, the cool, calm, and collected cat:  Is it just me, or can excessive doggy barking just painfully get on one’s nerves?  As one who needs his beauty sleep and rest so that I can tend to this blog (among other things), I do get annoyed when Jessie or any of her partners in dog crime bark incessantly.  I know her buddy, Bolt, the Yorki-poo who lives across town, is notorious for random acts of barking.  Just the presence of air makes that little guy bark.  Why do dogs bark?  I took to the internet to find out.

1.)  Dogs bark to alert you when a stranger is at the door.  Please…as a cat, I make no sound so that element on the other side of the door will just go away.  Why let anyone know someone or some THING is at home?

2.) Dogs bark to communicate when they want something, such as a chance to go outside.  What?  I just simply cast that loving glance at my human and she knows precisely what I want.  I don’t have to be the squeaky wheel.

3.)  Dogs bark to communicate with other dogs.  As for me, I use Facebook to chat with my friends.

4.)  Dogs bark when their owners are gone.  When my human is gone, I love it.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love Miss Karen, but when she is away, it gives me the opportunity to surf the web, listen to some tunes, survey the pantry, and watch TV.

If some of you humans out there get irritated by unnecessary barking, as I do, then try these two tricks:

1.) Teach your dog to bark on cue. When your dog begins to bark, have treats on hand.  When the dog is quiet, say “quiet” and then offer the dog a treat.  Just be sure to give the treat only when the dog is quiet.

2.) Teach your dog to do a sit-and-stay act.  Sit the dog on the opposite side of the room from you. If the dog is quiet, go to him and say, “Good boy, quiet.” And then give him a treat.  When you first do this training, put some distance between your dog and yourself.  He will soon be able to move in closer to you.  This is a “sit and watch” procedure that you can implement, say, when you are sweeping the floor and the dog has a tendency to bark at the broom when you do that.

I would offer up my suggestions for what to do with an annoying barking dog, but I don’t want to start my own personal rap sheet.

For now, I will simply learn to deal with Jessie’s barking.  I invested in a good set of ear plugs and have created a “man cave” to which I can retreat when the going gets rough.

Catch you all later!

(Information for this post was obtained at www.pawnation.com)