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Page Eight of a twelve-page article:
A Detailed Examination of the Process of Bark Training a Dog

Tips for Lashing Out at Your Pet

Your dog only understands a few words of human dialect, but he has a good grasp of body language. So, you must correct him using the body language of a dominant dog.

When the dog barks, go after him. Do not call him to you. Hurry straight toward him with your shoulders squared and your eyes locked on his. Charge forward with body language that indicates that you are prepared to take physical action. The rule is that the more intimidating your movement during the charge, the less force you need to use when you arrive. So, ham it up. You are playing the role of the ferocious dominant dog rebuking his underling. Do it with all the dramatic flair you can muster.

Just an instant before you reach the dog, say loudly, "No" followed an instant later by a tap on the nose. The strike should be lightly delivered with two fingers, driven by a slight flip of the wrist. The best way to gauge the amount of force to use is to smack yourself on the face or head with two fingers. You'll quickly realize that even the lightest of taps is unpleasant. A smack on the dog's nose can be of slight intensity and still be effective. That's especially true if it is preceded by a sudden rush forward, and accompanied by a sharp "No" and intimidating body language.

Striking a dog forcefully on his nose, or on any part of his head, can cause brain damage that might not become apparent until well into the future, and puppies are especially vulnerable to head injury. Therefore, always remember that your goal in charging and striking the dog is to ensure that he will come to associate barking with unpleasant consequences. So you just need to be very unpleasant. There is no need to be brutal. The point is not to inflict pain or injury, but to create an unnerving consequence that the dog will want to avoid in the future.

The dog's reaction is your best measure of whether you are punishing effectively. Some dogs, like the preponderance of Border Collies, are so extremely sensitive that shouting, smacking or running at them could be traumatic for the animal and might possibly damage your relationship with the dog if it is done too dramatically or repeated too many times. Such dogs will respond to relatively mild punishers like a shout, a disapproving look, or simply being told sternly, "no." If that's the case with your dog then so much the better. It's always best to design your punishment interventions to be as mild as you can make them and still get results in a timely fashion. But let the dog's reaction be your guide.

After you rush out, shout "No" and smack the dog, look to see what he does. If he looks absolutely terrified then you need to switch over to a more gentle, scaled-down approach. But he should at least appear disconcerted. If he yawns and looks altogether unconcerned then you definitely need to crank up the intensity.

If your dog is unimpressed by your intervention, you have four choices for increasing the intensity. The first thing you should try is to adopt more dramatic, more aggressive body language. Put some fire in your eye as you advance quickly toward the dog. Move with the demeanor of one who is attacking and raise your hand as though you were about to deliver a mighty blow. Also, try saying "No" in a more explosive manner. A sharp tone and an aggressive presentation can go a long way toward making the tap more effective. You can also increase the amount of force as you deliver the tap, or you can alternate the tap with any other humane consequence that you know your dog would rather avoid.

Watch the dog when he knows he is about to be punished. When he barks and looks up and sees you coming, and he knows that you're about to smack him, what does he do? If you have succeeded in making the intervention aversive enough, the dog will look shamefaced and apprehensive as he braces himself for the unpleasant event to come. It will be obvious that he is dreading what is about to occur because his body language will say, "Oh no, I wish this wasn't happening." However, the dog should not look terrified. Your goal is just to present him with a consequence that is intense enough to make him want to avoid it in the future. You're not trying to hurt him and you certainly don't want to scare him to death. On the other hand, if he seems unmoved and unconcerned, you'll know you have yet to make an impression.

You need to quickly arrive at a level of punishment that works. Research has shown that, if you start by dispensing mild punishers, and slowly increase the severity of the aversives over time, the gradual increase gives the subject time to adjust. The result is that, in the end, to get results, you must apply more intense punishment than what would have been required if you had used a punisher of adequate intensity to begin with.

Of course, in the end, the ultimate measure of your intervention is whether the dog stops barking. If you find a good punisher, learn to dispense it properly, and deliver it every time, he will respond.

Try Not to Get Mauled

You might want to think twice before you try the lashing-out intervention with an animal you don't know well. If you try it with an aggressive dog who views himself as dominant, you are likely to find that he also knows how to dispense punishment and, indeed, that he has a lashing out intervention of his own.

Also, consider the matter carefully before you lash out at any dog that has been abused or has a history of biting or otherwise behaving aggressively toward people. It is often still a good intervention even in those instances, just be sure you know the dog well enough to predict his reaction. If you have any doubt, consult with a dog training professional before you try that particular approach.

Using Isolation As a Means of Punishment

There is another way to punish your dog for barking that does not necessarily involve lashing out. Although it is not discussed on this page, that technique can be highly effective, especially for dealing with a particularly sensitive dog who you don't want to smack with your hand. That procedure, which involves briefly isolating the animal, is also extremely effective for dealing with a dog that barks at people you have over to the house as guests, or who, for whatever reason, barks while he is indoors. To learn more about isolation as a means of quieting your dog, please read Using Brief Isolation As a Training Technique.

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