[cebw12]

I just adopted a dog a week ago, and was told she was very quiet and calm. Turns out she has lots of anxiety, even as she's settled in a bit, and now barks at anyone who comes to the door or comes over. Post-pandemic I'd like to have more people over, so I'm very concerned about this behavior. I know how bad it is to return a dog to a shelter, but I worry that if her behavior doesn't change I may have to consider that. I explicitly did not want to adopt a dog with anxiety/barking issues, that's also why I got an adult dog. I thought I had made a very thoughtful decision, but couldn't have predicted that things would go this way. Does anyone have advice? I wanted to avoid going through lots of training by adopting an older dog that (i thought, she was perfect on paper!) was already well-behaved, and I'm heartbroken that this is going so poorly.

 

[pandora]

Training will help.

We got a pup before covid. we socialised carefully but my idiot neighbour thought it was funny to terrify him by chasing him with a yard broom and since then hes treated all strangers who dont have dogs as axe murders.

We have helped him by walking in places more populated so he gets used to seeing people and we tak to anyone we see when out so that he gets used to strangers. It also helped when we adopted George who is everyones BFF if George doesnt react and gets petted Murphy seems to view that as a green light and is ok.

So theres lots you can do but also to say even if you have a pup from day one and do all the right things some idiot can always come along and spoil it.

 

[parus]

A dog that's just alert barking to guard the house will stop barking so much once she notices what's normal daily routine for your neighborhood, and who's a normal accepted visitor. If the behavior is more illogical or compulsive, here's a great detailed video on how to modify the behavior:

I have some quibbles with Zak George, but I like the way he explains and models in this video:

 

[storyist]

I wanted to avoid going through lots of training by adopting an older dog that (i thought, she was perfect on paper!) was already well-behaved, and I'm heartbroken that this is going so poorly.

The idea that adopting an adult dog means getting a perfect one you won't have to put any effort into is flawed. For starters the dog that is perfect for me may be hell on earth for thee. When I did rescue, the way dogs were different in different environments with different people never ceased to surprise me. A dog is going to be one kind of citizen with a strong personality and another with a soft personality, for instance. While dogs may end up in rescue because of death, divorce and the like, they also end up there because the surrendering owner isn't happy with the dog. We had a recent thread right here from someone who thinks she "broke" her puppy and mentioned getting rid of her and "getting a new one." It happens, and it happens with adult dogs.