Welcome to
Blackwell's Naughty Dog School
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Daisy the Singing Pug –
Why Barking
Is Never Just Barking
Daisy is a young pug who had quite a bit to say for herself!
She was constantly barking! Barking to go out, barking to come in,
barking to get attention, barking at the television ...
It was so bad that her family were very distressed!!
They couldn't even sit and watch their favourite programs!
When Daisy first arrived at Naughty Dog School, one thing became clear almost immediately…
Daisy had a lot to say.
This wonderful little pug had developed quite the reputation for continuously barking — or as we affectionately came to know it, singing. Before long, Daisy became one of our most memorable recruits and proudly earned the title of “The Singing Pug.”
But Daisy also represented something we see time and time again in the dog training world: humans often focus on the behaviour whilst missing the reason behind the behaviour.
You see, barking is never simply barking.
A dog barking at the front door may be trying to drive something away.
A dog barking at another dog may be feeling frustrated.
A dog barking at their owner may be seeking attention.
A dog barking in unfamiliar situations may be experiencing anxiety.
The behaviour may look the same to us, but the emotions driving that behaviour can be completely different.
This is exactly why simply trying to stop a dog barking rarely solves the problem.
With Daisy, we knew we first had to understand why she was vocalising so much. What was she feeling? What situations triggered the behaviour? What emotional need was Daisy trying to communicate?
Once we understood the reasons behind Daisy’s singing, we were able to build a training programme specifically designed to change how Daisy felt in those moments.
Through carefully structured games, confidence-building exercises, and by helping Daisy learn alternative ways to navigate the world around her, we gradually reduced Daisy’s need to rely on barking as her primary form of communication.
At Naughty Dog School, this is what makes our training different.
We do not believe in simply suppressing unwanted behaviour. We believe behaviour is communication. Every unwanted behaviour is driven by emotion, and until we understand the emotion, true progress cannot begin.
Daisy taught us a lesson we share with every owner who walks through our doors:
If you focus only on stopping the behaviour, you miss the opportunity to understand the dog.
Today Daisy remains one of our favourite reminders that sometimes the dogs with the loudest voices have the most important things to teach us.
And although she will always be our beloved Singing Pug, Daisy’s greatest success was not learning to be quiet…
It was learning she no longer needed to sing quite so loudly. ❤️
