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110 Barking, Excessive

• Regurgitation/aspiration is a common com- • Never administer human medications to pets
Prevention plication in comatose and recumbent animals without first consulting a veterinarian.
VetBooks.ir Technician Tips tube in an appropriate amount of time and SUGGESTED READING
with SMR toxicosis. Leave the endotracheal
Keep medications out of reach of pets.
keep the head of the patient lower than the
Gwaltney-Brant SM: Skeletal muscle relaxants. In
• Be prepared for paradoxical excitement
(vocalization, paddling) when a sedative is chest to reduce the risk of aspiration. Plumlee KH, editor: Clinical veterinary toxicology,
St. Louis, 2004, Mosby, p 324.
given to patients with SMR intoxication. Client Education AUTHOR: Sharon M. Gwaltney-Brant, DVM, PhD,
Be sure doors are closed to prevent escape, • When taking medication, do so in a room DABVT, DABT
have the patient on a surface clear of sharp away from pets with the door closed to EDITOR: Tina Wismer, DVM, MS, DABVT, DABT
or breakable objects, and take precautions prevent pets from ingesting an accidentally
to avoid being injured. dropped tablet.

Barking, Excessive Client Education
Sheet

BASIC INFORMATION physical environments). In these cases, dogs Differential Diagnosis
may scan at windows, along fences, and at • Normal barking, especially alarm barking
Definition doors. Clients may also describe the patient by watch and guard dogs selected to alert
A normal amount of barking that is deemed as unable to relax. by barking, reactive barking in terrier and
unacceptable to humans or a pathologic amount • Determining whether barking occurs in the hound breeds, and working barking in some
of barking as part of an anxiety or other owner’s absence (e.g., associated with separa- herding breeds. These barking behaviors can
behavioral disorder tion anxiety) or whether it ends with the be modified with humane training and
owner’s inadvertently rewarding the behavior, are typically context-appropriate, although
Epidemiology as with a treat to silence the dog (i.e., learned inconvenient or undesirable for some clients.
SPECIES, AGE, SEX behavior) is important. • Learned behavior: barking that elicits a
• Dogs of any age and either sex response/reward from the client (e.g., the
• Puppy vocalizations: more often associated PHYSICAL EXAM FINDINGS dog barks and it is let out or petted to calm
with care-seeking behaviors • Generally unremarkable it down)
• Adult vocalizations: more often associated • Acute excessive barking may lead to inflam- • Separation anxiety
with care-giving behaviors, social interaction, mation of the vocal cords and surrounding • Thunderstorm phobia
cohesion tissue. • Noise phobia
• Rarely, a source of pain or other physical • OCD
RISK FACTORS abnormality can be identified as a trigger Change in vocalization is described on p. 1039.
In breeds that have been selected for specific for excessive barking.
vocalization behaviors, such vocalizations may Initial Database
become more annoying to clients and/or their Etiology and Pathophysiology Minimum database: complete blood count,
neighbors but be normal. • Barking may be used for making contact serum chemistry profile, and urinalysis to rule
with others (including when reuniting after out underlying contraindications for psycho-
CONTAGION AND ZOONOSIS being apart); to signal alarm, concern, or tropic medication, if their use is warranted.
Naive/newly added puppies or adults may learn distress; and to solicit information from other Other laboratory or imaging procedures should
barking by observation. dogs (depending on pitch, tone, frequency, address any physical exam abnormalities.
and pattern).
GEOGRAPHY AND SEASONALITY • Spectrographic analysis of canine barks shows Advanced or Confirmatory Testing
Dogs kept outdoors, especially if confined and that their structure varies predictably accord- Learned behaviors are ruled out if they are
not walked, are more likely to use barking to ing to context; barks likely can be divided extinguished by complete removal of the reward.
communicate with other dogs in the vicinity. into contextual subtypes and are thought to Extinction is a gradual waning in occurrence
convey complex information to canine and of a behavior in the absence of a reward. The
ASSOCIATED DISORDERS human listeners. longer the behavior has been ongoing, rein-
Barking may be a nonspecific sign in any • Studies support the observation that people forced, and/or rewarded, the longer it will take
anxiety-based disorder, including separation can distinguish between barks and can cor- to extinguish it.
anxiety, aggression, obsessive-compulsive disorder rectly identify the context in which a bark
(OCD), and noise, storm, and social phobias. was given. TREATMENT
• Barking can also be a sign of an anxiety
Clinical Presentation disorder, including OCD (p. 701). Treatment Overview
HISTORY, CHIEF COMPLAINT The goal is to treat the disorder or modify the
• Excessive barking is noted by client or from DIAGNOSIS normal behavior based on accurate identifica-
neighbor complaints. tion of cause.
• Barking can appear indiscriminate or Diagnostic Overview
in response to external stimuli. Barking The diagnosis is made based on history. The Acute and Chronic Treatment
associated with an anxiety disorder may context in which the barking occurs determines • If barking is within the normal behavioral
be accompanied by hypervigilant behavior whether the behavior is normal but inconve- repertoire, given triggers, and context, the
(continuous monitoring of the social and nient or indicative of a mood disorder. dog can be taught when (reward good

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