Excessive barking when playing outside

[HeidiCaccamise]

I have a 2 year old golden (therapy dog) who is perfect except when I take her out front to play she barks non stop.  It seems she is just excited to be outdoors playing and this is the only time I have a barking problem with her.  I don't know how to get her to stop barking and it's making me, my family and my neighbors crazy.  I am thinking about getting a water proof (we have a pool out front she loves) bark collar but I really don't want to do that if there is another alternative.  I didn't see anything in the training specifically addressing this kind of barking.  Right now I tell her no and some times make her sit and then release her but then she just starts barking again.  Please help.  

[Adrienne]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums!

It's nice to hear that you have a perfect dog other than this, overall, rather innocent habit.

 

Barking on its own is a self-rewarding behavior and a normal form of communication. It's also exciting and fun to play and many dogs look forward to it and express their eagerness through barking. To avoid negative repercussions, this form of barking should never be punished, and a bark collar aims for just that, punishing a dog for simply expressing joy (or a way to release bottled-up emotions), not to mention the risks for side effects, such as a dog associating the correction with just moving around and playing rather than the actual barking. 

 

If you are worried that you may have neighbors who may complain, you have several options to turn this barking down a notch. Here are some ideas:

-Play fetch. If your dog is playing with you when she barks, you can reduce barking if you encourage a game of fetch with her. With the mouth occupied, less barking, so win-win! Train her to sit politely before you toss the ball so you reward a calm behavior rather than barking out of excitement/frustration. 

-Give your dog something to carry that you provide exclusively upon going outside. Being that your dog is a retriever she may look forward to that. There are toys that dogs can carry around when they are excited such as the Kong Stick Squeez or a crinkle toy which dogs love to chomp on. 

-Encourage calmer forms of play in the yard. Scatter some treats in the yard so your dog can go on a treasure hunt, provide a Kong Wobbler filled up with treats and kibble, encourage your dog to dig in a designated area where you have buried her toys. Here are some fun brain games that are suitable for playing outside in the yard (prepare them beforehand so that your dog can go straight to engage in these activities and you can turn them into a routine:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-muffin-game/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-ball-pit-game/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/bobbing-for-treats/

Keep me posted please if you need further ideas or I might not have addressed fully the problem behavior as we can do some deeper troubleshooting. 

Hope this helps,

Best,

Adrienne

[HeidiCaccamise]

Thank you again for this great response.  This has been a real struggle for us and I would never want to discipline my sweet golden.  While she is a therapy dog, I feel her personality is also very fragile.  I appreciate the advice about the bark collar and am glad I never got one.  I would never want to suppress her excitement over playing and getting outside.

I will try the things you suggested and see if that helps.  

Thank you again. 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome!

Keep me posted on how things go and I am always here if you need help,

Best,

Adrienne