Barking at Strangers
 

Hi gang. Lately Sango has a terrible habit of barking and growling at strangers. New people that come into the house (ie. during the Holidays) and also at people when I take her out with me. I tell her to stop and tap her on the snout while shusshing her but she still continues. When we are at home I tell her to sit and sometimes she'll listen sometimes she wont. Even with treat in hand. After about 10min of barking & growling I'll urge her to sniff the person and ask them to give her a treat. (ONLY TO MY FRIENDS & FAMILY IN THE HOUSE, not in the mall outside) She'll sit take the treat, but still bark at them, grumble, & complain a lil' bit. (she's quite the drama queen) Any suggestions?

Oh girl I feel you on this one...can anyone offer us some advice? :confused:

I SECOND THIS BUT MINES AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN IN THE HOUSE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME SHES MORE RELAXED!!! :)

*bump* anyone?

Sorry I can't help you I have a non barker!!! When ever we see the postman I always say "Smudger that's the postamn you're meant to bark at him" lol :rolleyes:

I'll bump this too, I have the same problem. :confused:

I have the same problem, especially outside the house. When she's in her energetic mood, she'll bark at strangers walking by, rollerbladers, dogs everything (especially when it's coming towards us). It's very frustrating, because she's such a sweet dog and not vicious at all. I find that when I have her smell the person or animal, she's okay. But I really don't want her to sniff if she's barking and growling at them. I think it's partly a territorial thing, like she's protecting me. Help anybody???

Mojo never barked until he started hearing our outside German Shepard bark...now if she barks (either at a bird in the yard or a car coming down the drive), Mojo barks. I think this is probably just normal for a dog though...and I don't find this annoying because it doesn't last and it is minimal. He is normally okay...just a quick bark or two to let us know that something is there...

UNLESS it is the postman or UPS driver - boy, then you better watch out. He has a fit over them! I was told to have them carry a treat, so the next time they come, they will be considered a friend with a chewy. I also read one another post not to hold them in your arms because they are more likely trying to protect you. BUT I don't know if I would put my little guy down at the UPS drivers feet!!! HA!

I would like to hear ideas and suggestions too!

How lucky are you! :D

You are SO LUCKY! I would love to know how to stop that barking mess too!!

This issue still isn't resolved for me. She barks at nighttime now also. She isn't crated, she sleeps on her puppy pillow next to my bed, sometimes she'll jump & sleep on the bed with us. She barks at every little sound she hears. People walking by etc. She still also barks at EVERYONE when we take her out for a walk. *sigh* Any suggestions?

Try getting them to bark and rewarding them for that, then say quite and then just reward for the quite.It takes a while, but ours is a work in progress but it seems to be working. We also use when outside a look at me command which we click and treat for , it takes their mind off the barking and gets them to focus on you.

I'll have to try that. Thanks for your suggestion :)

I've also taught a "quiet" command which usually works pretty well.

To teach quiet, when Joey was barking, I said "quiet" and in that one second that he stopped to listen to me, I said "GOOD! GOOD Quiet!". If he was still quiet while listening, he got "GOOD quiet. You're such a good boy. Let's go get your treat!". I gradually increased the length of time that I expected him to be quiet before he got his praise and his treat.

As far as the barking at strangers, from what I've read, you need to drastically increase her exposure to new people. Take her for MORE walks, not less. Take her to places where there are alot of people. While there, do as Julie suggested and try to distract your dog and give lots of treats when NOT barking. Do NOT reward barking with your attention. Dogs are like kids - negative attention is better than no attention.

I wish I had seen your original post. I would have told you to stop tapping her on the nose for barking at strangers. Strangers are stressful to her. She barks because she thinks you and she might be in danger. Tapping her on the nose increases her stress level and "adds fuel to the fire". So does yelling at her. She thinks "strangers come. they're scary. even mom gets scared. i know she does cause she starts barking (yelling) and lashing out".

As far as the night-time barking, I would do 2 things. I'd try to wear her out more in the evenings. Take her for those walks we talked about above. I would also consider buying a DAP diffuser. Vets here carry them; I'm sure they do in the States, too. You might even be able to find it online. It emits a scent that is soothing to dogs. It takes several days to build up, but if you're losing sleep, it might be worth looking into.

This is long. Hopefully, there's something here that you'll find useful.

My Husband saww something on the dog Whisperer and it worked for Chachi. He cupped his hand and put it over the dogs muzzle and said no bark. My husband did it it took a couple of times but it worked.

If you want to try Chachi's advice, I think the important thing is that you do it quietly and calmly. No yelling. No stress on your part.

Absolutely and dont grab the muzzle roughly just lightly cup your hand over the muzzle and say no bark. Chachi waas an extreme barker and this has worked for us. We had to do it a few times before he got the message though.

Thank you guys for the advice I will try them out. For the past few months it's been difficult to take her outside for walk because the weather was too cold, and she'd shake like a leaf even with her jacket on. Now that the weather is finally getting nicer I will take her for walks more frequently.

I have a few questions:
1)When I tell her "quiet" do I say it in a loud & firm tone? Or more softly?
2)When I take her on walks, and she starts barking at someone do I just lead her away from the people calmly? She'll just stand there & bark is I don't. Do I use the quiet command when she's barking at strangers outside? I think when she's barking she's too franctic to stop & listen to me.

I really appreciate all the advice. Thanks again, you guys are the best.

YES! You've got it. Calmly walk away when she is barking. Do not reinforce her by yelling at her OR by reassuring her. Strangers are non-events for you; demonstrate that to your girl.

I would teach quiet like I would any other command. I would start in a place with fewer distractions and where you are more likely to get compliance. Maybe when you are out in the yard with her and she half-heartedly barks at something. As I said, though, don't think you are going to say quiet and she's going to instantly be cured. At first, you are going to reward one second of quiet (half second if that is all you can get). Then, two. Then, three. And on and on. Gradually increase the duration and gradually increase the level of difficulty.

As with other commands, you don't want to let her practice refusing the command. Dont' say "quiet" when you know she can't be! If kids are running and screaming close by, you know she's going to ignore you. Don't give the command then. Just walk her away.

Clear as mud?

Seems whenever I take her outside she ignores anything I say. I guess I should take her out when, no one is around to have the least distractions as possible. I'll be sure to have a pocketfull of treats when I take her out also.

I'll let you guys know how its goes after this weekend. :) :thumbup:

Sounds like a good plan! :thumbup: