It’s Taco Tuesday and you’re making tacos at home because self-care is important and you’re worth it! Sometimes when making tacos, you might accidentally set off your fire alarm. Do not panic, this will not affect the quality of your tacos! (unless you burned them of course, in which case I am so sad for you. If you were here I would buy or make you a taco). You may be tempted to take the batteries out so thisdoesn’t happen again, but this would be dangerous, because now you have no warning if a fire starts.

This is the same reason we don’t recommend punishing your dog for barking or growling: you are removing a warning that your dog is distressed in some way.

If a dog suppresses their bark to avoid a reprimand, they will still be distressed and may try expressing it some other way, like with a bite. Removing the batteries from a fire alarm is dangerous because you are losing an advance warning of a fire. Preventing your dog from barking or growling removes an advance warning of potentially more problematic behavior, like a bite.

Take note of everything that is happening and your dog’s response
Did they start barking immediately, or did they start growling first? Is the barking continuous? How intense is the barking, is it just a few warning woofs or is he more distressed? How loud is the fire alarm? Does your dog react the same way to a neighbor’s fire alarm, or similar sounds in the distance?

Alter the dog’s emotional state
Keep your own voice and body language loose and cheerful. Position yourself between the dog and the fire alarm, turn it off if you are able to do so without removing the batteries, and you’re certain there is no fire. Give the dog some high value treats and praise. Ideally you want to get the treat in during a moment when the dog is not mid-bark, so we don’t accidentally teach a demand bark. But if the dog’s emotional state is very fearful, it’s more important to change the emotional state than it is to prevent a demand bark. Demand barks are a smaller problem and an easier fix than fear barks. If the dog is growling, we can reward that. Growling is a comparatively polite response to fear and stress that will not result in noise complaints from neighbours. It’s not a good thing. It’s a sign that the dog is too stressed, and we need to help them relax, but it’s preferable to a bark. We should feel comfortable thanking a growling dog for not barking. Keep treats hidden in Tupperware containers throughout the home, so that ideally, you will be able to deliver the treats before the barking even starts next time.

Counter Condition/Desensitize
(CC/DS) your dog to the sound of the fire alarm. Play the sound of a fire alarm going off at an extremely low volume that doesn’t cause your dog to bark, and pair the sound up with good things, like treats and praise. When the dog is responding happily to the sound at the lowest volume, raise the volume slightly and pair with rewarding things until the dog responds happily again, and continue increasing the volume and pairing it with treats until you are able to play the alarm at full volume. You can use an app for your phone called “Soundproof puppy training” to play fire alarms, or any other sound your dog might fear, and since it’s on your phone it’s very easy to control the volume.