Is your chihuahua barking at noise outside the house? Exploding into barking reactivity when they hear a card door slam or people in the street?
This kind of explosive barking can be annoying and difficult to manage.
Why do they do it?
When your chihuahua hears something, they make a very quick assessment and decide if the noise is a threat. This assessment or perception is driven by part of the brain called the Reticular Activating System or RAS. (A bunch of neurons towards the base of the brain)
The RAS acts like a telephone switchboard directing the call to different parts of the brain. How robust the RAS is will impact where the ‘call’ gets sent. It could be sent to the prefrontal cortex which is the thinking part of the brain. If it goes here, your chihuahua may express mild interest or awareness and then will probably ignore it.
If the RAS directs the ‘call’ to the amygdala which is the part of the brain responsible for fight or flight, you will get an explosive barking episode.
Barking at threats
Your chihuahua is barking at noise to get the perceived threat to stay away, this is also the reason they charge at things. Which can seem counterintuitive to us humans. They are not protecting you or trying to dominate the other dog nor do they think they are rottweilers, and they really don’t ‘want to play.’ This is an anxiety or fear-based reaction driven by the dog’s idea of what they need to do to survive.
Do gadgets work?
Some people will be advised to use gadgets like E-collars, water squirters, or air horns to stop these barking explosions, but can you imagine the impact that pain or another frightening loud noise will have on the dog’s assessment of whether the noise needs to be considered a threat. It just adds in another layer of anxiety.
Pairing the noise
A human brain will think, if I zap them or squirt them with water when the noise happens the dog will learn not to bark at it, but what really happens is the dog now pairs the additional unpleasant stimulus with the noise. They may also start to pair it with your movement. This is one of the reasons people ‘get bitten out of the blue’. You go to pet your chihuahua, they see your hand move but they fear what is going to happen next and seek to protect themselves by snapping or biting.
The problem is, these methods appear to work and may stop your chihuahua barking at noises ‘in the moment’ from surprise or fear, but longer-term it starts to erode your dog’s confidence and trust and you will pay for this in other behaviour issues down the line.
The impact of yesterday
Your dog’s perception of what’s a threat is driven by what happened yesterday and the more they rehearse this over and over the more barking at noise becomes a default behaviour. It’s also exhausting for them; up every two seconds barking and this tiredness will also impact how the RAS filters events. Think about the ‘tears before bedtime’ analogy we use for over stimulated, tired children. Tired dogs don’t make good decisions.
So , what can you do to stop your chihuahua barking at noises?
Wouldn’t it be good if you could train your chihuahua ‘s RAS to have a more robust filter. To widen their perception of what can be considered a threat. So, when they hear a noise, they don’t feel the need to bark at it. Your chihuahua is making the decision themselves about what’s safe to ignore. The good news is you can!
We do this in several ways.
Make sure the dog has plenty of ‘active rest’ where they get to rest undisturbed. Use a crate or pen or small cosy room. A good nap in the day is ideal even for adult dogs.
Feed your chihuahua healthy fresh diet. The gut biome has a direct impact on the brain and many processed foods like kibble don’t create an optimum gut biome. 90% of serotonin (the happiness hormone) is created in the gut.
Add in a good quality fish oil, we use Nordic Naturals on all the dogs’ food every day. Not all fish oil is equal and this one consistently comes out tops. Fish oil contains Omegas 3s which have so many health benefits (including brain health), it has its own article here. Nordic Naturals is slightly more expensive, but fish oil needs to be good quality and correctly stored to have maximum benefit.
Introduce a calming supplement, again quality is key. We use A-OK9. They have a senior version that we’ve had great success with. A calming supplement isn’t going to solve the issue on its own, but the L-Tryptophan (an amino acid) and other great ingredients have a super effect on brain health. The senior version contains lemon balm which is useful in the fight against dementia. Get yours here with 10% off using code 10%OFFSUPERSAVER
Give your dog activities that pay into calmness, like Kong feeding, lick mats and scatter feeding. Read about scatter feeding here.
Long term chews that your chihuahua can safely nag on. Dogs find chewing and licking calming and relaxing. Lick mats and snuffle mats replicate this and are great activities for your chihuahua.
Play specific training games with your chihuahua to improve brain health and create a more robust RAS with a bigger filter. These games gradually reshape the brain and improve brain health. Creating a more robust RAS and bigger filter. Your chihuahua will learn to make better decisions about what needs a reaction.
If you want to find out more about how you can use games to reduce chihuahua barking at noises, get calmer walks with less barking at other dogs, or grow your chihuahua’s confidence then join us in Chihuahua School. An award winning, online behaviour programme that will help you overcome your chihuahua’s behaviour issues.
You can work at your own pace, there are no big upfront costs, just a small monthly subscription. There is no contract, you can dip out whenever you’re ready.
Join us in Chihuahua School and together we can transform your chihuahua into the confident, sassy dog you signed up for!
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