Our dogs rely on barking to communicate their needs with others. While the occasional bark from your Vizsla is expected, excessive barking can disrupt a peaceful home.
Vizslas will bark excessively when bored, frustrated, understimulated, seeking your attention, demonstrating territorial behavior, or due to health issues. All will be explained further below.
Understanding a Vizsla
Vizslas are a social breed that love spending time with those they love. These pups are known for becoming extremely attached to their owners, as well as the activities that you participate in together. No matter what you are doing within your home or on an outdoor adventure, the Vizsla loves to be glued to your side.
Vizslas are considered extremely active, and require anywhere from 1-2 hours of daily exercise each day. A lack of daily exercise and stimulation can lead to an unruly pup, and an increase in undesirable or destructive behaviors. Whether you offer your Vizsla multiple play sessions or one extended session of exercise, your Vizsla will need plenty of opportunities to burn off some steam.
Vizslas are also considered very intelligent, and they thrive in a home that offers them plenty of mental stimulation. Having an intelligent pup is wonderful when it comes to implementing basic obedience, but it does require a bit of hands-on care in offering them plenty of mental exercise. Some of the best mentally stimulating activities for Vizslas include learning new commands, playing interactive puzzles, running errands with your pup, and even offering them new toys.
Vizslas are a wonderful pup for an active owner. Though they have an endless list of positive traits, these traits can also become a burden if your Vizsla is not receiving the specific care they require each day. Excessive barking can be a result of this complication, leading us into our discussion below!
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Are Vizslas Vocal Dogs?
Vizslas are known to be more vocal than the average pup. The typical Vizsla will rely on whines and barks to communicate with their owners, whether they have a specific need or they are just saying hello.
Though this breed may talk quite often, they should not participate in excessive barking at any point. Excessive barking is not a standard behavior of a healthy Vizsla, and often points to the evidence of something lacking in their daily lives.
6 Reasons Your Vizsla Is Barking So Much
Now that you are aware of the fact that excessive barking is not standard behavior, it’s time to dive into the possible causes of your Vizsla’s constant barking. Let’s get to the bottom of your Vizsla’s chatty behavior!
1. Lack Of Exercise
Lack of exercise is one of the most common causes of excessive barking in Vizslas. Vizslas need anywhere from 1-2 hours of daily exercise, and anything less can cause them to experience pent up energy. A restless Vizsla is more likely to vocalize their frustrations in the form of excessive barking, as well as an array of undesirable canine behaviors.
A Vizsla that needs more daily exercise may bark excessively, turn to destructive behavior, appear restless at night, whine at their owners, and disregard their known commands. If your Vizsla is not receiving the physical stimulation they need each day, you will likely begin to see these behaviors manifest.
2. Boredom
A bored Vizsla can get themselves into trouble in multiple ways. Just as a bored child is more likely to be unruly and hyper, our Vizsla pups are no different.
Boredom can cause a dog to bark more often than they normally would, as they may be more inclined to engage in any distractions around them. A Bored Vizsla may also bark at you in effort to get your attention, as they know you are the one that can offer them a fun release of energy.
A bored Vizsla may bark excessively, destroy their toys, destroy items around your home, paw at you for attention, and even whine excessively. Boredom in Vizslas is often a result of a lack in both physical and mental stimulation, requiring a bit of extra effort to correct their restlessness on our part.
3. Attention Seeking
One of the easiest ways for our dogs to communicate with us is through vocalizations like barking and whining. Vizslas can’t speak our language, so they may bark at us in effort to get their point across.
Dogs may bark at us to let us know they are hungry, bored, need to go outside, or even when they hear a strange noise around our home. Vizslas could be trying to gain our attention for many reasons, and excessive barking is a common way to do so.
4. Loneliness
A Vizsla that is left alone for long periods may bark and howl due to their loneliness. Some dogs may do this in the moments after you first leave your home, while others will bark excessively the entire time you are away.
Vizslas are often deeply attached to their owners, so they may struggle more with being left alone than other canine breeds. This is why it’s important to either leave your Vizsla with plenty of distractions to keep them busy while you are away, or make sure someone can check in on them occasionally throughout the day.
It’s important to note that not only will some Vizslas struggle with loneliness, but they can also suffer from separation anxiety. Vizslas can easily develop separation anxiety due to how attached they become to their owners, as well as how much they enjoy being in the presence of their family.
Vizslas can experience separation anxiety if they are often left alone for long periods, they experience the sudden disappearance of an owner, a change in their normal routine occurs, or even when an owner is suddenly away after spending all their time at home.
5. Territorialism
Some Vizslas will bark excessively when they are feeling territorial of their home or family. Vizslas are not the best guard dogs out there, but they will certainly alert their loved ones to any perceived danger around their home.
Vizslas may bark excessively if they hear other dogs nearby, people are walking past your home, someone rings your doorbell, or even when someone new is visiting your home. This behavior will decrease when your Vizsla is properly socialized, but any pup can feel territorial from time to time.
6. Health Decline
Increased barking and whining can occur when our Vizslas are experiencing any form of health decline. This is especially common in older Vizslas suffering from cognitive dysfunction, as this can often cause a dog to bark excessively without reason.
Not only can a change in health cause a dog to bark more often than usual, but they may also experience other troubling symptoms as well. A Vizsla with an underlying illness may experience a change in appetite, lethargy, weight loss, change in sleep pattern, and any other change in their standard behavior.
If you notice any abnormal symptoms in your Vizsla pup, we suggest contacting your vet for further guidance.
How To Get Your Vizsla To Stop Barking
If our Vizsla is barking constantly due to any of the factors listed above, there are typically ways to end this behavior through changes in your daily routine. To help you put an end to your Vizsla’s frequent barking, let’s list some of the best tips to end excessive vocalizations below.
- Try to identify your dog’s trigger. For example, if you notice that your dog barks more on the days in which they don’t go for a long walk, then you can easily stop this trend by implementing more exercise.
- Offer them mental stimulation. Vizslas not only crave physical stimulation, but they need to exercise their brain as well. You can do this by using interactive dog toys, licking pads, puzzle treats, and even teaching new tricks.
- Offer them plenty of daily exercise. A lack of daily exercise is one of the most common factors behind a noisy Vizsla. By tiring them out each day, they will have less of a desire to participate in undesirable behaviors.
- Socialization and exposure is key. Socialization and exposure to your Vizsla’s triggers can be the best way to end territorial barking. The more exposure your dog has to other canine friends, the less likely they are to bark at every passing pup they see. Just make sure that you are offering them a safe and controlled socialization experience.
- Do not leave your Vizsla unattended for long periods. Vizslas love to be around their family, so long periods left alone at home can cause them to bark more than usual. We suggest either limiting your time spent away from your pup, having someone check in on them if you are gone all day, or consider enrolling them in a dog day care.
- Have them seen by a vet when all else fails. If your Vizsla is struggling with an underlying illness, the tips listed above may not succeed in ending their excessive barking. We suggest seeking advice from a veterinarian if your dog’s constant barking will not resolve, especially if they are experiencing any other abnormal behaviors as well.
Final Thoughts
A Vizsla that is constantly barking is typically trying to let us know that they are missing something in their daily lives. Once you have a full understanding of the many reasons why your dog won’t stop barking, you can put an end to the behavior for good.