ASK THE VET

Q: Romeo is a 17-month-old male Chihuahua. He non-stop barks and we are at wits end, nobody can come over because he won’t let them. What do we do?

Melody Barnett, AZ

A: About a third of owners when questioned about their dog’s barking habits describe it as ‘excessive’. The first step to treating the problem is to address the motivation for the barking.

This needs to be done in consultation with an accredited behaviourist who can evaluate exactly when the behaviour started, how it has progressed, exactly what makes the behaviour worse, what you have done to try and stop the barking so far and how that has affected the behaviour.

If the motivation for the barking is inaccurately diagnosed, the treatment can possibly make the behaviour worse.

There are many techniques used that can help with this. Ideally, the exact stimulus for the bark can be determined and an individually tailored plan can be produced which is most likely to be successful to your situation.

If there are other behavioural issues that are contributing to the bark, such as separation anxiety, these will also need to be addressed at the same time.

During desensitisation, ensure there is no positive reinforcement for the bad behaviour.

For example, if introducing a stranger to Romeo’s environment causes him to bark, remove Romeo from the stranger rather than allowing the stranger to walk away.

This way Romeo’s barking will not have had its desired effect at causing the stranger to leave.

Providing any verbal or physical attention (positive or negative) can reinforce the barking. Failure to completely ignore the behaviour consistently is likely to lead to a worsening of the behaviour. Ignoring can sometimes be very difficult to achieve and may require a large amount of time and dedication.