The dog is trying to tell you something

A book came out about how to understand the dogs. We publish a fragment

Recently, the publishing house Individuum published the book“The dog with me. How to understand the dog and make it happy. ” “Cold” publishes several excerpts with a reduction in which the dog behavior specialists Maria Mosorsitskaya and Karina Pinti explain what barking happens, which he can signal and what to do if the dog is afraid of noise or people.

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The dog often barks. This is fine?

Lai is a natural and absolutely indispensable part of dog communication with the world. Today, too loud and frequent barking can really become a problem (for example, for residents of high -rise buildings), but for many thousands of years, barking has been considered welcome and useful behavior and was reinforced in every possible way. Yes, and so far it is important for many that the dog guard the house from robbers and just random onlookers. In general, to perceive any barking as aggression and consider it socially unacceptable is a mistake. Dogs communicate with us the way they can, and our task is to try to understand them. Do not adjust (read: “suppress and get rid”), but find out the reason and work with it.

The meaning of barking is determined by the context. Dogs bark on each other to have fun, say “dump”, on the contrary, to attract attention or report their concern. The voice also helps the dogs express emotions, translate their state into the world. In general, for a specialist in behavior, and just for a sensitive person, barking is the most important source of information. Like body language, vocalization suggests what our dog thinks and feels.

Types of barking differ from each other in height and frequency. In addition, one barking can be replaced in the process to a completely different meaning, and different dog breeds bark differently. In general, to learn in 100% of cases to distinguish by sound, what your dog wants to say is unrealistic. At the same time, it is important to at least be able to separate the peaceful barking from the warning "Now I will begin to bite." And here we have excellent news: thanks to a long co -evolution, we can intuitively understand such things.

Below we will tell you what types of dog barking are most often found and how to respond to them. The list is based at the work of Tyurid Rugos "Barking: The Sound of a Language".

• Warning barking. The barking that our ancestors encouraged the ancestors of our dogs. It differs in separate nuts and medium volume. With the help of such signals, the dog reports that something is happening in the surrounding world. You hear them when he smelled someone outside the door, or saw some unexpected object on a walk, or reports to strangers passing by the house. The best that you can do with this bark is to tell the dog “Thank you for the information”. This can even help reduce the duration and volume of a warning bark, because if you sharply and roughly suppress it, it can quickly evolve into excited, protective or even barking from fear.

• Excited barking and barking from frustration. Both types are very common, both are caused by a specific trigger, whether it is too active or the inability to get what you want. The first differs from the second in that at the time of the signal, the dog fusses and shows enthusiasm. The range of emotions with such barking is from despair (for example, if the dog is frustrated by the fact that it cannot approach the other dog) to excessive fun (if the dog was devilishly played with a ball). It is useless to deal with this in the moment, you need comprehensive work with excitement, self -control and the satisfaction of the needs of the dog. Frustration is often confused with the barking of aggression, but they are easy to distinguish from each other in context: the dog drives away another dog or, conversely, wants to get closer to him and talk, but they don’t let it go?

• Protective barking. This is a signal with which the dog drives away relatives or people. It usually sounds menacing.

• Barking from fear. It sounds like a protective. Contains high notes and is heard uncertain. If you hear protective barking or barking from fear, it is best to move away from the dog and leave it alone and safety.

• Barking from loneliness. The saddest barking, from which empathic people immediately begin to save the animal. Dogs who live in an aviary or a chain are barking with this sound or spend too much time at home alone.

• Lai learned. The sound with which the dog tried to get something, and at least once she succeeded. If, after excited barking, the dog received attention, and after the protective security, it will more often use these sounds as a tool in appropriate situations. How to work with this? Help the dog find new strategies for obtaining what is desired.

How to help a dog who is afraid of noise and people?

Fear is another normal reaction to danger and environmental irritants. But if the dog is too afraid of objects, people or animals that do not threaten her, or when the intensity and duration of fear are disproportionate, is a problem.

The first step in monitoring the environment for a shy dog ​​is to make sure that she has a safe place where she can hide. It can be a basement without windows, a closet, a box or bathroom that you will never lock. Second advice: Try to shade loud noises with neutral background: sound radio, white noise generator, working air conditioning or fan. Turn on the dog classical music or free playlist "Music for Dogs" on YouTube. However, these are not universal measures - some dogs from background noise are only worse.

Another remedy is pheromones. They are sold in pet stores in the form of diffusers, napkins, creams, sprays or even collars. To reduce anxiety, you can apply them to the bandana, litter or favorite toy of your dog. These are over -the -counter, but at the same time quite evidence -based medicine. There are quite a few “dog” studies on the effectiveness of pheromones; True, as practice shows, they do not act on everyone.

As for our support. There are dogs who are pleasant to your proximity and confidence that you are broadcasting. Others from constant stroking and encouraging become only more alarming. So choose the behavior more suitable for your dog. But you should definitely not ignore the condition of the dog.

Fear of noise can be overcome using desensitization and control. The essence of the first method is that the dog is gradually accustomed to the effects of a frightening sound - at first they put it very quietly, then a little louder, and so a week after a week, until the dog stops reacting sharply to the noise (by the way, the microdozin method also works with other fears). Controling is an attempt to break the noise association with fear.

Another way to reassure and distract the dog can be food or something for biting. It can also be simple search games, sniffing balls and rugs. But remember that you can use all these methods only in a safe place and not at the moment when the dog is in a panic.

And what to do with the fear of people?

The reasons why your dog can be afraid of people: poor -quality socialization, negative previous experience (for example, if a dog was forbidden to approach people), cruel or rough treatment in the past, inhumane training techniques, genetics (if your dog had shy parents), aging (cognitive dysfunction syndrome), brain diseases and toxic substances. It happens that dogs are more afraid of men than women. Usually this is a consequence of a psychological trauma (men beat the dog), but sometimes the problem is simply that men have a lower voice and they are taller, so that the dog perceives them as a greater threat.

How can you help? The first rule: do not force the situation. It doesn’t matter if your dog is afraid of men in hats or rustling dark bags - just take care that it is a little more often faced with a source of horror. Do not persuade her to approach the trigger. The second point: make sure that the dog has the opportunity to leave or hide from the frightening object. The leash should be long, the doors should be open. The third step: support your dog in the way that suits him, and do not scold for cowardice. The dog should know that you are on her side.

What else can the guardian of a shy pet do?

• Learn the dog’s body language. So you will always understand whether your dog is calm either uncomfortable and scary.
• As accurately as possible, determine the incentives that cause fear. Is your dog afraid of all people or only men? She’s scared only when they communicate with her (lean, hold out a hand), or to observe the object of fear from afar also alarming? As soon as you find out all this, begin to control the interaction of your dog with frightening factors. Do not allow their sharp appearance: for example, make sure that the dog suddenly does not end up in the crowd or next to the person who is obsessively strokes it.
• Feel free to ask people that they do not approach a shy dog ​​and do not strok it. Explain to others that they do not look at the dog point blank, do not try to touch him, speak or somehow initiate contact. The dog is more afraid if the attention of the frightening object is directed at it, and most of the dogs perceive the look point blank as a threat.
• Be a guarantor of safety for your dog. If next to you she feels good and confident, it will be easier for her to start overcoming fears.
• Do not punish the dog for fear and do not force her to do what she does not want. The dog must freely express his emotions and go to the shelter when she wants. Do not scold your dog if it is rocking. If you practice this, over time it can start rushing at people and bite without a preliminary warning signal.
• Contact the specialist as soon as you notice that the dog is showing aggression of fear. This will help prevent worsening behavior.

In any case, remember: there is no magic pill with fear. The fight against phobias is a long process that sometimes takes many months. Be patient.