Romanian Rescue Dogs & Barking!

Excessive barking is one of the most common problems adopters ask for help with, and of course it’s something that can cause a lot of problems!

It’s something that can not only be annoying & stressful for you, but also your neighbours as well as your dog. Many people don't realise the impact this behaviour can have on a dogs daily baseline stress levels, which means it can have a knock on effect and be a contributing factor to all sorts of other behaviour problems too.

A lot of our British breeds of dogs can be split into breeds that have a tendency to be more ‘barky’ than others, or should I say have a tendency to bark over and above what’s necessary. These would typically be your terriers, beagles and smaller breeds like the Lhasa Apso, Pekingese and toy poodles.

At the other end of the scale you have breeds that are less likely to bark excessively or over and above what’s necessary. These might typically be your bigger breeds, Newfoundlands, Great Danes, Mastiff types and hounds.

So, with this in mind, you are able to choose, or at least have a better idea, of what you’re likely to get in terms of barking behaviour when you select a particular breed. That being said, any dog of any breed can be prone to excessive barking in certain situations, if they are fearful, lonely, stressed or have simply developed the habit over time through any combination of events, so there is never any guarantee of whether you may end up with a ‘barky’ dog or not.

ROMANIAN & OVERSEAS RESCUE DOGS & BARKING

With Romanian rescue dogs, the majority are mixed breed so it’s more likely that even if they don’t look like a typical ‘barky’ breed of dog, they may have some mixed in. It’s also important to take into account their genetics, being mostly descendants from street dogs, (even though they may never have been an actual street dog themselves) the foreign rescue dogs can are characteristically alert barkers.

In addition to this, again mostly due to hereditary traits, many Romanian dogs can be naturally territorial & suspicious of new things, people or anything out of the ordinary. This means they can have a lower threshold for barking behaviour.

Barking is their ‘go to’ automatic behaviour choice. If it moves bark at it, if I’m worried about it bark at it, if it makes a noise bark at it, if I don’t like it bark at it, if it looks scary or weird bark at it.

They bark first because their default mechanism is;

I don’t know what this is, therefore I want it to go away or keep it's distance until I can decide whether it’s a threat/not a threat, safe/not safe, going to hurt me/not going to hurt me, a problem/not a problem etc

Which obviously means you can end up with quite a lot of barking.

Romanian Rescue Dog Tramp ‘on watch’ in the garden!

Another thing I’ve found quite common with Romanian dogs, is barking ‘just in case’ or anticipation barking. They haven’t actually seen or heard anything specifically, but they bark anyway, this can certainly be common with more fearful, anxious or stressed dogs.

They feel better being proactive about a situation and of course, this too can quickly become a habit and you end up with a dog that is seemingly barking at nothing!

An important point to note with Romanian dogs is that none of them arrive in this country at an age where we would normally socialise and habituate them to the kinds of things they’re going to encounter in a busy human centred environment.

The earliest age you can get a puppy is usually around 5 months by the time they’ve had jabs etc, so your new arrival is now on the brink of adolescence and the socialisation and habituation window has all but closed.

Add to this the fact that around the age of 6 months dogs can hit their first adolescent fear/sensitive period (and this is all dogs not just Romanian dogs) It can become easy to see how barking can become the behaviour of choice at such an unsettled period of their lives, especially given the strong genetic components with overseas rescue dogs.

Tramp as an adolescent dog, on duty in the window! 😅

Putting it simply, during these sensitive/fear periods, dogs can become anxious or fearful about things that didn’t used to worry them before. This means they can be more inclined to establish barking habits or reactive behaviours at this age which, if not managed & supported appropriately, can develop as an ingrained behaviour they take into adulthood with them.

The key with any barking is to become aware of it quickly as a developing behaviour, start to manage it appropriately and deal with it as effectively as possible.

What NOT to do:
Avoid shouting or telling your dog off, dragging them away or becoming aroused yourself. This just confirms to them that either the object/thing is something dangerous or to be concerned about because you’re joining in with them.

They could also begin to perceive that the trigger is something that gets them told off and shouted at, so this behaviour and negative energy from us can upset them and create anxiety which causes them to bark more in future to make the object or thing go away before you can get cross with them!

What to DO instead:
Acknowledge that your dog alerted you to something, calmly let them know you’ve seen or heard what they’re barking at and reassure them. ‘It’s okay, yes I can hear it/see it, thank you I’m here to deal with it.’

In this instance, although ‘It’s okay’ is a form of reassurance, the application of it (and the way I create the association when I teach it) is more as a predictable pattern of reassuring communication rather than a 'fussy' soothing reassurance.

You want to let your dog know you have seen/heard whatever they’re barking at, you are aware of it and will deal with the problem if necessary, rather than simply telling them to be quiet about it.

It is important to remember, when you have an alert barker you have an alert barker, end of, especially if they have any guardian breed in them, which many Romanian & overseas dogs do.

They’re going to let you know when something’s there or when something’s concerning them, which we actually do want them to do at times don't we?

So eliminating barking completely is an unrealistic expectation.

What you can do at least, is minimise the intensity of it and the effect it has on your dog and your family/neighbours etc. So you may get a few alert barks – woof woof woof - but then your aim is to ‘bring them down’ quickly so they can remain in a think and learn zone which will help you to teach them what to do next or differently in this situation.

Obviously this is unlikely to be something that’s going to work instantly, so patience, consistency and repetition are key as well as all important MANAGEMENT.

It’s also worth remembering, that every time your dog gets into this state, they’re likely to be ‘stress stacking.’ or ‘trigger stacking’. So if it’s happening 5 or 6 times a day or more, you end up with a dog that has trouble truly relaxing and switching off.

This not only means they’re likely to be more ‘barky’ because they’re living on a shorter fuse, but it can also affect their behaviour in other ways and other situations.

TAKE PROACTIVE ACTION: MANAGEMENT

Management is key with barky dogs!

More barking practise = more barking = stronger behaviour, especially with things like barking at people/dogs/bikes going past windows, gardens and cars etc which are all self rewarding.

The trigger comes along > your dog barks > the trigger leaves > your dog thinks barking worked. They don’t know the trigger was going to carry on past anyway they think they did it, so whoop whoop they got the thing to go away!

THIS 👆 very quickly becomes a strong behaviour and an ingrained habit, and that is what you need to stop from happening because that habit will become more difficult to break once established.

If you’re working hard to reduce barking but while you’re not present your dog is getting lots of practise, which behaviour do you think will remain the strongest?

Management suggestions: If you can’t deal with what’s happening in terms of teaching and counter conditioning or desensitisation activities, then you need to manage things:

Prevent access to windows where barking occurs
Cover windows with decorative window film that still lets light in but reduces your dogs view
Cover car windows with shades to restrict view like those you might use for a baby
Travel your dog in a covered crate in the car so they can’t see out
Ask your postman to leave your post in a secure box outside instead of using the letterbox
Put a note on your door saying ‘no junk mail, cold callers or sales representatives’ to prevent unexpected and unwanted knocking on your door
Have music playing in the house to prevent your dog hearing every little sound outside
Take your dog into the garden on a lead to prevent that rush of adrenaline when they first go outside and allow them to ‘come down’ before letting them off.

Once you have your management in place, it’s time to work on reducing the barking behaviour itself.

Barking at passers-by (people, dogs, traffic) when in the house or garden

Management (especially in your absence)
Counter Condition to triggers using positive association building techniques
Desensitise & habituate to particular noises
Work on teaching an alternative and incompatible redirection behaviour (taught and practised away from the trigger situation initially)
Provide enrichment/mental stimulation activities to prevent boredom & keep minds & paws busy

Barking at the Doorbell/Postman

Management (especially in your absence)
Counter condition to the postman arriving and leaving – requires controlled setups
Desensitise to the sound of the letterbox or doorbell
Work on teaching an alternative & incompatible redirection behaviour such as 'go to a place/room/bed (taught and practised away from the trigger situation initially)

Dealing with excessive and unwanted barking can take quite a lot of focus, commitment, time and patience – which is why it’s so important to get on top of it quickly. Even just a few weeks of barking can lead to this behaviour becoming a habit and the longer it’s been happening the longer it is likely to take you to turn it around.

Begin to put strategies into place as quickly as possible and then work with whatever the situation is to minimise the intensity of it and keep your dog under their barking threshold. Break the situation down into components of the behaviour chain and work on each one individually.

Where does the behaviour start? What are your dogs particular triggers? What do you want your dog to do once they have told you something is there?

There can be a variety of strategies for working with alert barking, and each dog is an individual and may respond better to one way than another, but it's also important to remember there can be many contributing factors to the behaviour as well, so it's not always simply a case of applying some 'training' and things will improve.

Where to Get More Help & Information on Living with Romanian & Overseas Rescue Dogs

If you have recently adopted a Romanian Rescue dog or overseas rescue dog, or perhaps you've had your dog for a while and are maybe experiencing some problems, The Dog’s Point of View Website has lots of helpful workshops and home study courses specifically created for these sensitive souls.

There is also the Training & Support Group which hosts the biggest collection of training information, teaching guides, online courses, presentations & workshops, all with the option to ask questions any time 24/7 as well as join regular Zoom calls to get qualified professional support & guidance from the DOG's POV Team. (All for only £27 per month! 😱)

I have literally had 100’s of people tell me they wished they’d found the group sooner and had access to all the amazing stuff inside!

Categories: Dog Communication, Living with Romanian Rescue Dogs, Reactive Romanian Dogs, Understanding Your Romanian Dog