Your Canine's
Sense of Smell

A much larger part of a dog’s brain is devoted to processing smells than yours. Some search dogs locate people buried under the snow of avalanches, search for evidence in crime, and find people in the water. Cloudy days, mornings, and evenings are the best times for dogs to search. And depending on the conditions, dogs can pick up a scent up to a half a mile away!

Learn more about dog senses, training and agility at this free dog agility teleseminar.

Training & Obedience

Stop Dog Barking

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Understanding and Training Older Dogs Not to Bark

Aging dogs, like some aging people, may suffer from arthritis pain, may feel achy and stiff in cold weather, or may just get less tolerant and more crotchety as the years pass. Feeling cranky may cause dogs to bark at things that didn’t bother them much before – other animals, noisy cars or equipment, or children. Older dogs may develop problems with vision or hearing that cause them to become startled more easily (this is also one reason some older dogs start biting people they’ve always liked before. If your dog snaps at you and then acts immediately ashamed, you may have startled him).

If your older dog is suddenly barking a lot, start by checking out his physical surroundings and any obvious changes in his health. If you don’t see anything different, haul him off to the vet for a check-up and talk to your vet about possible physiological changes that may be causing your dog’s new behavior. As an older dog’s hearing starts to go, he may bark at things that are not really there. In his mind it’s better to be safe and bark than to be caught unaware and asleep on the job.

Sudden and/or prolonged barking may signify a change in your dog’s mental state—old dogs sometimes suffer from confusion and even dementia just as people may—and there are drugs to help with these problems of aging.

Article Summary

Older dogs have unique health issues (pain, confusion, crankiness) that may contribute to barking.
Have your dog’s eyes and ears tested.
Arthritis may make a dog feel achy and stiff – especially in cold weather.
Notice whether he is sometimes startled.
Dogs may suffer from age-related dementia, or chronic joint pain, which might cause them to bark and bite.

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