Well, we took my 2 pups (4 and 6 months) on their first vacation to the beaches of Erie, Pa. My Little Bear (4 months) has started a new behavior, he chooses different people to bark at. One person he'll want to say hi to, then a guy with his child came by and he actually growled and barked! I corrected and corrected him,(by saying Eh! Eh! Quiet! and even giving a little pop sideways to his collar but he just wouldn't quit unless I forced his face away from looking at them. And then today someone came up to my car to talk to me and Claussen (quiet, sweet Claussen) did his MURP MURP! at him. While we were at the hotel, they would bark at certain people when we would let them out to potty. Is this normal behavior to be barking at strangers when they're not even on their own "turf"? I'm correcting it as I do most of their barking. They won't bark when someone knocks on my door, but they'll bark at certain people, man, woman, child, or dog. Anybody else encounter this? It's not all the time, or even often....for now. They're growing up, so I guess they're starting to show their true colors. I'm afraid Little Bear may have some aggressive issues unless I start training him not to be...he bares his teeth and defends himself ferociously if he doesn't want another dog at the dog park to mess with him. I guess it's good that he stands up for himself (unlike Claussen who hides in a corner if he's uncomfortable with a dog) but I don't want an aggressive dog, obviously.
Starting to bark/growl at strangers?
- Thread starter Lysette85
- Start date
danisgoat
Moderator
Maybe you can bring treats and ask the people that he is afraid of and reacting to...to give him some treats?
Caro
Moderator
This is a fairly common behaviour, esp with small children, although one that you shouldnt tolerate. There are a couple of things you can do. One is to lead him away in the opposite direction to whatever he is barking at. Without saying anything a quick about turn and brisk walk away will tell him you are not happy and break his focus on what he is barking at. The other thing you can do is as soon as you notice a person or child nearby get him to sit and focus on you and give him a treat for focusing. This works if you can do it before he starts barking or looking at the person. Once he has started your best bet is to walk him away and when he is calmer you can get him to focus on you.