# Barking at strangers



## dollydimple (Mar 26, 2009)

Hoping someone can give me some advice on this. I have a female labrador Skye, she is now 15 months old. Came to us at 7 months old, a rescue dog, we were her third home.
She has started barking at strangers, or people she doesn't know very well. In saying that some new people she is fine with but not everyone. She is well socialised with people and other dogs.
Last night I did some childminding and almost every move the kids made she barked at them. She seemed to be showing fear and uncertainty, tail tucked under.
Today someone I work with came to see my dogs and Skye was at it again, he put his hand down toward her and she had a half hearted snap at him.
I need to fix this and would be grateful for advice.


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## fluffybunny2001 (Feb 8, 2008)

my dog is exactly the same,fine with some strangers but barks and growls at others,also fine with some children and not with others,he did try and bite one man last week,and then wouldn`t stop barking for about 10 mins.Alot of the time he shows fear but the time he went to bite the man he meant it.
would also like to solve it!!!


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

I was advised that when Henrick barked at strange men (he didn't have a problem with women) I was enforcing his fear when I consoled him. Instead I now tell him no firmly as it is unacceptable behaviour and I don't tolerate this behaviour whether it is through fear or not, and this method has actually worked for him he hardly ever does it now. Having said that he has never tried to snap at or bite anyone he just used to back away and bark.


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

It sounds like she has _not_ been socialised very well, for instance with children. Do you take her to training classes where she can meet new doggy people? With a food oriented breed, you could ask new people to give her treats so she comes to associate strangers with pleasant experiences, keep a supply with you.


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## Dundee (Oct 20, 2008)

I agree with Burrowzig that it would appear she hasn't been well socialised. These things can happen now as she is reaching maturity and you may not have noticed there was a problem while she was still young.

Please be very careful if you are a childminder and have young children to stay. Rather than get help on a forum, I would urge you to get advice from a trainer/behaviourist who can assess her behaviour on the ground and put in a desensitising plan for you to follow.

I can find someone local to you here.
Local Dog Trainers - Association of Pet Dog Trainers UK


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## haeveymolly (Mar 7, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> I was advised that when Henrick barked at strange men (he didn't have a problem with women) I was enforcing his fear when I consoled him. Instead I now tell him no firmly as it is unacceptable behaviour and I don't tolerate this behaviour whether it is through fear or not, and this method has actually worked for him he hardly ever does it now. Having said that he has never tried to snap at or bite anyone he just used to back away and bark.


I went through much the same with my first springer, only he was barking then jumping away, at the time i was taking him to training classes and she said it was a defence mechanism, and i had to stop consoling him or making anything of it and just ignore him, explain to the person it was directed at and ask them to just speak to me and totally ignore the dog not to even look at him, it was gradual but we got there. Ihad some very lengthy conversations with complete strangers bet they thought i was a real loner when i said just stand and talk to me please.


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## The Dog Master (Apr 5, 2009)

Hi there 
Dogs bark as a warning , the level of this behaviour can heighten , and unfortunately the consequence or this behaviour can be be bad.
The reason your dog behaves in this way can be due to a number of things like lack of socialisation , is it just children your dog does this too?
or perhaps everyone on the other side of the lead?
What tends to happen when owners rescue is they over love there dog ( not that that is a bad thing }, but it does occasionally mean they can develop issues that have not be recognised in kennels , Due to the differing environment .
Dogs can become transfixed with there new owners and guard them ,more common in guarding breeds , they become fearful and owners encourage there fear by trying to reassure there dog (patting e.t.c) this will only feed the anxiety .
No one can diagnose this behaviour from a discussion forum , i would strongly suggest you seek out help and advice from a trainer behaviourist .

Depending on where you live i can recomend in hants/berks i can recommend
Click-2-Heel - Obedience training with a champion dog handler - Di Martin 
Lets Go Walkies


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## goodvic2 (Nov 23, 2008)

Hi. I have a stafi x who has issues with people sometimes. It is nervousness, but needs to be nipped in the bud.

As the owner of 3 rescue dogs, the method I have used on all of the dogs is simple .... Do not allow any humans to pay them any attention, even to the point of saying, "please do not look at my dog, he is in training and is nervous of people". A dog needs to build up his trust of humans and in my opinon, the best way of doing this is for the dog to be able to approach the human without the human acknowledging the dog. This enables the dog to sniff and do the normal behaviour. Once the dog has been able to explore the person, then you can allow the person to slowly put out their hand. If the dog continues to show interest and is calm, then maybe allow the person to stroke under the chin. To touch the top of their head, is in my opinion quite a dominant thing to do (in their eyes) and can cause a dog to become more fearful.

Even a simple glance at a nervous dog can send them into an anxious state. 

I think we need to understand it from a dogs perspective. A person comes over, maybe they are on a lead and cannot move away. Even if not, the person is talking in a language they cannot understand and possibly trying to touch them. How does the dog know what their intention is? Which is why it is important for people to ignore the dog so that the dog does not feel threatened. 

The problem with kids as well is that they are loud, heavy footed, and heavy handed. Until a dog is less nervous, keep kids away.

Hope this helps.
Vicky x


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## dollydimple (Mar 26, 2009)

Than you all for your input. I think I might have waffled a bit about her being rescue, don't think it has any bearing on what is happening now.
I do feel she is well socialised, we are out and about every day for long walks. I have two grandchildren who are here more than at their own so used to children. I have quite a busy house, plenty of visitors. Some people no problem at all but others she seems instantly nervous.
The first time she did this was with my father, she had never met him before. I put it down to the fact he is very deaf (and thinks everyone else is too) so speaks very loudly. Just thought for some reason it had spooked her.
I live in a fairly rural area, though I am in a town. Nearest behavioural help lives 40 miles away, I do not drive, not saying it's impossible but not an easy option.


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## ad_1980 (Jan 28, 2009)

try giving a treat to one of the people she is scared of and let that person give it to her...maybe that will reassure her that that person is ok.


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## dollydimple (Mar 26, 2009)

I look after my grandkids most evenings as my daughter works and their dad works away, no problem with them at all. I never leave kids alone with my dogs, never have done as I don't think it's a responsible thing to do.
Tonight we are going to have a talk about what strategy we are going to use so that we all do the same thing. She is food orientated and I think the treat option is good.
Have tried saying to people do not look and ignore her when she starts this behaviour, but just didn't seem to make any difference.
Yeah, fully agree we need to nip this in the bud before it escalates.


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

I Think sometimes dogs just sense something with certain people, Zeb barks at a man across the road He doesnt bark at anyone else has never shown any agression to anyone. He just is nervous of this one bloke We do stop him from walking make him sit and tell him NO BARK Its working as he will 98% of the tme walk past this bloke without barking but he does stare at him


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## goodvic2 (Nov 23, 2008)

dollydimple said:


> Have tried saying to people do not look and ignore her when she starts this behaviour, but just didn't seem to make any difference.
> Yeah, fully agree we need to nip this in the bud before it escalates.


The point of it is though, that the person needs to ignore the dog BEFORE it starts the behaviour. I know it is difficult as you tell people not to look and they do! Once the dog has started the behaviour, ignoring will make no difference.

Cesar Milan always teaches No talk, No touch, No eye contact. As a big fan (anybody that can have a pack of 40 dogs and keep them calm is amazing in my opinion!) I have found his methods to work well with all my rescues. There is a reason why he teaches this moto. :thumbup1:


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