Barking At Every Noise? Desensitization is Key for a Calm, Quiet Pup

The cliche image of a dog barking like crazy at the mailman is a cliche for a reason, it just happens so much!

People living in apartments also often have a very difficult time with a puppy, since there are so many noises from the street, hallway, and surrounding neighbors that the puppy seems to be keyed up and barking all the time, especially in the middle of the night, when little sounds stand out even more clearly in the quiet.

You may fear that there is nothing you can do but plead your pup to stop, since they can continue barking, even in their crate! But with a little work, you can have that calm pup that stares quietly out of the window for hours on end.

Dogs bark out of instinct, they are concerned, fearful or anxious and want to protect themselves by being intimidating and want to alert you to potential danger, or even just something interesting. They are just trying to help! Yelling at them to stop is not going to do anything, in fact, it might key your pup up even more, as they think you are barking along with them.

It's up to you to familiarize your pup with the sounds they will be living with, so ordinary things like a bicycle going by your window or an elevator moving from floor to floor won't ruin your pup's peaceful nap, or worse, wake the whole neighborhood up with hours of barking.

Not only is it important to desensitize puppies to sounds, but also...pretty much everything that is out in the world! If my puppy ever got triggered by something out on a walk, showed reluctance or started barking, we would stop at a comfortable distance, and I'd wait until he exhibited calm behavior and was able to relax like this.

Desensitization to noises and sights through the windows and walls can be done in a few ways. My method helps build a trusting relationship between you and the pup, and involves no treats. I just didn't feel comfortable bringing treats into a situation where my very smart and mischievous puppy could figure out that if he starts barking, he will get a treat eventually for stopping. He DEFINITELY would have gamed that system!

To give a very specific example, I used to live with all my windows facing one of the busiest streets in my neighborhood. Lots of foot traffic, kids yelling while going to school, drunk people smashing things late at night, even horse carriages in the winter time! My puppy was going absolutely wild over all the noises at first, and once he got started barking, he never wanted to stop!

My neighbor's dogs didn't help. They were older but never desensitized at all, and barked at anything and everything. Since we shared a thin wall, they got my puppy more riled up too! I felt bad for those pups, since the neighbor said their method was to never open the curtains, so their dogs didn't get triggered, and to keep them on a leash at night and yank them if they started barking. This DID NOT WORK, let me tell you! Those dogs barked all day, all night, for the years I lived there. Try to avoid being that person in your neighborhood.

I didn't just want to teach my boy "speak" and "quiet" because at the time, I knew he was smart enough that he would start barking all the time when he was bored, just to get a treat for stopping. Also, I wanted to build trust between us, not just have him follow a command but stay anxious.

So I made up my own method. It involves two steps:

First Step

This is the more time consuming one, but you want to put in the time, so you don't end up with a bark-machine! It's simple. Spend calm, quality time with your puppy listening to and observing the outside world. Just set up a spot for them where they seem to be triggered the most, whether it's by a window, or in front of the door leading to the hallway. Just sit with them. Read a book, scroll on your phone, etc., but be there with them, and keep an eye and ear out for potential triggers. That way, you can start comforting them even before, or as soon as, they notice the trigger too.

The spot I set up specifically at the window where my puppy liked to bark the most. He loved sitting there, but it definitely involved a lot of barking at first!

Your pup is just anxious and alert when they see or hear a trigger, so you can be there to signal to them that there is no reason for concern! Pet them quietly, give them a calm "Shhhh", and don't make it dramatic. If they start barking before you calm them, say "Thank you." and leave it at that. They are only trying to call your attention to something, after all! They might keep barking the first few times, but if you make it very clear that you see the trigger too, and you are not concerned, they will pick up on that fast enough!

Even with the dogs barking like crazy next door, I made sure my puppy knew that I was the authority on what is a threat and what isn't, and he learned to look to me, and calm down if I was calm. Practice that as much as you can. They need to know that you see/hear the thing they are seeing/hearing, but you don't mind. Over time, they will learn to look to you when they are in doubt.

Second Step

Practice with some distance. You can't be sitting next to your pup by the window all the time! But you can make it a point to look up from the couch/desk if you notice a trigger, make it as if you are checking out the "threat" yourself seriously, then calmly say "shhh" to your puppy, then go back to your activity unconcerned. If they start to bark, again, say "Thank you." and leave it at that. This is also great at night time. I used to just pick my head up, look toward the window, say "thank you" if I woke up to my pup barking at something. He looked to me, and then calmed down.

Once they start being calmer and less insistent with their barking, you can start to just continue what you are doing, or continue sleeping, and calmly and quietly saying "thank you." if they start barking. In a little while, if practiced enough, they will hardly bark at anything! That way, if you hear them bark, you can truly know something is out of the ordinary, and you can check it out yourself. No more "crying wolf"!

Not only did all the desensitization result in a quiet, calm pup, but there was a bonus! Looking out the window became my boy's favorite activity, keeping him entertained when I didn't have time to play with him. He spent more time looking out that window like this, than sleeping! And he only did a lazy tail-wag if he saw his friends walking on the street, too!

Older dogs can set a great example!

If you already have a calm older dog, you might have a much easier job teaching a younger puppy not to be afraid! Puppies look to their older siblings all the time! So if your older dog is calm in a certain situation, it is likely the puppy will take cue from them, and calm down much easier. It's especially great if they see you settle your old dog easily, they will also learn to trust you to protect them. I hardly had to do any desensitization with my puppy girl, because my boy did most of the work for me, just by being a good boy!

Do you want a "Guard Dog"?

Maybe you think, I feel safe with my dog barking at noises, they're a guard dog, they will scare away intruders and keep my family safe!

This is a great intention, but then you either have to live with a dog who barks at every noise at all times, or still selectively desensitize them to certain noises. The truth is, a real guard dog, one that is able to discern between threats and will listen to your commands even in the heat of the moment, takes many years of intense professional training. If you are not doing that training, then what you might get on your hand is a dangerous dog. If they end up biting someone, or even looking like a threat, they can get into trouble and even pay with their lives. Please avoid this and desensitize your pup!

Doing the basic desensitization to every day noises and sights is the first step in making a good guardian. My boy is not fully a "livestock guardian", but he now has a part time job protecting my chickens and garden, since I got a big yard. He already knew to trust me, so I introduced him to the chickens, the neighbors, and he is gentle with the chicks and friendly to known people who would come up to the fence. But I taught him to run around the yard if he hears a hawk, and he barks from a distance to chase coyotes and deer away from my coop and vegetables. He is still an inside dog, but he will hear a real threat from inside easily, alert me, and scare it away if I let him out, and stay quiet if I ask him to. I trust him, and he trusts me, because we built that bond.