Question:
My question is about the psychology of dogs and, maybe more importantly, the psychology of their owners. It specifically has to do with what we might call the endlessly yapping dog. From my personal experience, it's quite common. Why do certain dog owners put their dog (usually a small breed) outside in the yard, then go inside, leaving the dog to bark outside for hours on end? As a dog owner and dog lover for years, it is my thinking that this is unnatural on the dog's part and crazy on the owner's part.
E.S., Dover Plains, NY Jun 13, 2010
Answer:
I agree that constant yapping is "unnatural on the dog's part and crazy on the owner's part." Small breeds tend to be super-yappers, which is partly due to being overindulged and misunderstood. In essence, they never grow up, acting like perpetual puppies constantly seeking and receiving attention. Their yapping is reinforced/rewarded by many owners always picking them up when they bark for attention or by giving them a treat to shut them up; the dogs are training their owners.
All dogs need to be treated like dogs -- with respect and understanding of dog behavior and psychology, as per my book "Dog Body, Dog Mind
." Dogs "mind" when they are understood and are treated properly.
The lunacy to which you allude -- apart from some yappy dogs' parents being hard of hearing -- is psychological deafness or auditory denial. These owners, like many parents I see with their screaming kids, become deaf (and blind) to their canine's delinquent behavior, and their total lack of consideration for their neighbors is inexcusable. Yapping dogs in the wild, like screaming children, would be quickly located and eaten by larger predators.
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