If your dog keeps barking when you laugh, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you five common reasons why they do it and what you can do to get it to stop.
So, why does my dog bark when I laugh? Possible reasons why your dog barks, when you laugh, are excitement, thinking you are in pain, becoming anxious, or having learned that the behavior is rewarded.
It is actually possible that there is a combination of causes at play. However, there are some things you can consider when figuring out the main causes and there are many things you can do about them.
Why your dog barks when you laugh
Below are five common reasons why they do it and what would make them more likely.
Excitement
The reason why it does it is likely to be that it sees that you are happy and it causes it to become excited itself. This would be more likely if it also shows signs of excitement when it does it by doing things such as wagging its tail, jumping up at you, running around, having wide-open eyes or rolling onto its back with its tongue out. You can see more signs of excitement here.
It thinks you’re in pain or in trouble
It might think that you are in pain and it is trying to help or comfort you. This would be more likely if it does it when you are laughing on your own or in an unusual way. It would also be more likely if it seems slightly anxious and it is trying to get you to stop.
Encouraging the behavior
The reason might also be that you have been encouraging it to do it by rewarding it when you laugh and it barks. If you give it things such as extra attention, toys or treats, when it does it, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards. If you don’t want it to bark when you laugh, it would help to ignore it until it stops barking and to reward it then.
It causes it to get anxious
The reason why it does it might be that it causes it to start getting anxious. This would be more likely if it also barks when it hears other noises such as when you cough or sneeze. It would also be more likely if it shows signs of being anxious such as pacing, crying or hiding.
It thinks you’re being aggressive
Depending on the way you laugh, it might find it threatening. This would be more likely if your dog shows aggressive body language by doing things such as showing its teeth and snarling. However, dogs are generally very good at understanding their owner’s emotions so this is less likely to be the cause.
Things to consider
Below are some things to consider when figuring out why it barks when you laugh.
What else happened when your dog first started barking when you laugh
If it did not always bark when you laugh, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it.
If it started doing it suddenly, it would be more likely to be due to it learning that it gets rewards when it does it. Whereas, if it has always done it, it would be more likely that it is picking up on your excitement and it is causing it to become excited itself.
What is different when your dog does not bark when you laugh
If it does not always bark when you laugh, it would also help to consider what is different when it does not do it.
For example, if it does it more before getting exercise, it could be the case that it barks because it thinks that it is going to get exercise soon.
How to get your dog to stop barking when you laugh
Below are some things you can do if you want your dog to stop doing it.
Avoid rewarding the behavior
One thing to do would be to avoid giving it rewards for barking. Instead, it would help to reward it when it is not barking and to wait for it to stop barking, by ignoring it, before rewarding it when it does start barking. Doing this should teach it that barking will cause you to stop giving it rewards.
Avoid punishing it
It would also help to avoid punishing it when it barks at you laughing since this is a form of attention and it could actually encourage the behavior. Instead, it would help to avoid rewarding it and to give it lots of positive reinforcement training so that it learns how it should behave.
Positive reinforcement training
Positive reinforcement training is where you encourage your dog to behave the way you want it to by rewarding it when it shows signs of behaving that way. To use it to get it to stop barking when you laugh, you could pretend to laugh and reward it when it does not bark and stop rewarding it when it does.