If your dog has a habit of barking at strangers is this a problem

Mr Pooch · 02-08-2008, 09:11 PM

My youngest dog (14 months old just) has a habit of barking at strangers mainly from afar but sometimes close,he doesnt growl just barks(really loud) his back goes up and ive had him off leash a few times and he has ran up to people barking then as soon as he reaches them sniffs and wags his tail

another thing is he turns worse after dark barking at everyone and everything

TooneyDogs · 02-08-2008, 11:22 PM

Pretty normal behavior for most dogs. They actually don't see very well....their visual acuity (sharpness of vision) is about 20/70 in human terms. But, they see movement 10 times faster than we do. And, while their night vision is about 2-3 times better than ours, they still only see movement.
Unfortunately, as dogs age and their eyesight fails the barking tends to get worse.
But, on to the problem....he is alert barking...telling you about a possible intruder and that's a good thing. We, of course, want to keep the barking to a minimum so, thank him for alert and then step in front of him. This let's him know that you will handle the situation. At first, he's going to try and get around you to keep his eye on the intruder but, if you do this every time (thank him/step in front/handle the meet and greet first/take over) he will eventually look to you first for guidance. That's exactly what you want and you'll find he's barking far less.

Mr Pooch · 02-09-2008, 12:08 AM

Thanks tooneydogs thats real good advice i'll follow it through

MyCharlie · 02-09-2008, 11:11 AM

Nice question, Mr P, Charlie does the same thing and I've been wondering how to keep it in check.

Inga · 02-09-2008, 11:20 AM

Yes, I agree, You DON'T want your dog "handling" anything. Let him know his job is an alert only, you take care of everything else. All dogs should adhere to this rule, but especially a dog the size of Aslan and with the rep of your breed of choice. I am in the same boat. The people could mess themselves seeing him running at them barking. Bad news.

Dogstar · 02-09-2008, 12:53 PM

An alert is fine. I *would* work on continuing to CAREFULLY socialize him, in case there's an underlying anxiety issue.

Mr Pooch · 02-09-2008, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inga

Yes, I agree, You DON'T want your dog "handling" anything. Let him know his job is an alert only, you take care of everything else. All dogs should adhere to this rule, but especially a dog the size of Aslan and with the rep of your breed of choice. I am in the same boat. The people could mess themselves seeing him running at them barking. Bad news.

I know exactly what you mean Inga i wouldnt want a large dog i didnt know running at me!Im gona work on him

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogstar

An alert is fine. I *would* work on continuing to CAREFULLY socialize him, in case there's an underlying anxiety issue.

Yes Dogstar i sometimes wonder this,he's a lovely great lump and has been EXTREMLY well socialized since he was a pup but being part of a pack of three might be something to do with it?

,as with Bless at the moment getting some extra execise for weight issues,Aslan will have solo walks to work on his trainging(not to mention the leash pulling

)

ChrissyBz · 02-09-2008, 04:23 PM

Mr P. Sounds like you're the one getting the extra exercise.

Mr Pooch · 02-09-2008, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrissyBz

Mr P. Sounds like you're the one getting the extra exercise.

LMAO,tell me about it Chriss

rushane · 02-09-2008, 07:35 PM

I agree with what's being said here, to a point. You should be able to control when the dogs stops barking (standing ahead of the dog, using a command to silence). However, I let my dog bark sometimes. I live in a very low-crime area, but my dogs watch my house, and my wife, when I'm not home. Both my dogs are very non aggressive, but they know they they can bark their heads off if I'm not home, and they see a stranger, hear a noise. I encourage this, and it makes my wife feel safer. Granted, if a stranger wasn't afraid of the barking, and they came in anyway, they would be greeted with paws and kisses rather than teeth and growls.

4dogs3cats · 02-12-2008, 04:10 PM

I wondered this too, Chance does this a lot. When we lived in the house any time anyone would sleep over, people he KNEW, the second they opened the guest room door in the morning he would go charhing out of my room, down the hallway barking like crazy. I started telling them to say, OK Chance, calm down. Like- thanks for coming to see- but its only me. Now in the apartment whenever he sees someone- he barks at people- but i stay calm and correct him instead of pulling back on the leash- i pull up to put him in a sit. i guess we will keep working on it. but they taking over stepping in front sounds like a plan!