Growling and Barking at Strangers

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

Georgia (8.5 months) is pretty darn perfect except for this small issue. Maybe not so small...

When she is entering a house/building it's not that much of an issue. But if someone is entering a house/office etc when she is already in it (even if I'm at a friend's house) she will bark and growl. It's not fear. Even when I say it's okay and tell people to ignore her and turn their back to her, she will still follow them around and bark and growl and get in their face. I've given strangers food to give her-- she will approach and gently take the treat out of their hand, then back up and continue to bark. It goes away after about 5 minutes or so. But it can be scary.

I did meet with a trainer about 3 months ago that experienced it first hand. He said best not to make a big deal out of it, she will probably outgrow it. Yet I think it might be getting worse not better. Some of my friends think I should be concerned. Some actually think it's a good thing. Some good friends who have experienced it say they aren't scared and it's just who she is. I actually hosted a party at my house about 3 months ago and warned people ignore her as they entered and tried to use it as a training experience. She didn't make a fuss at all and behaved perfectly.

She has never exhibited any sign of aggressive behavior other than this. She has been socialized a lot since I got her at 8 weeks, but has never liked strangers that much, even though we walk in public places daily and everyone dotes on her.

How do I work on it and what do I do? I don't want to invite strangers to come to my house/office, the traffic in both places is pretty sparse and unpredictable. And if she knows someone she is super friendly. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I'm guessing Doggie Dan would tell you to thank her first, then turn your back on the visitor after thanking her again if she doesn't stop, then isolating her, crate or another room etc. if she keeps barking. Worth a try.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Exactly what I was thinking F, but I would think that  first the 5 golden rules would need to be in place so the pack leader has been established and she knows that she knows she is not the pack leader and doesn't need to worry.

Nancy what we are referencing here is Doggie Dan the onlinedogtrainer.com       If you did not watch the webinair that Adina set up you might want to check out his website.  You can get a preview for 3 days for $1 and watch as many videos as you like.  Than you can either remain for $37 a month or you can cancel.  There is some really great information on it.   He gives you the 5 golden rules for becoming the pack leader.  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree that you'd need to lay the foundation first.  My guess is that it would take a few times of actually giving her a "time out" in the crate before she truly understands that this behavior isn't going to be allowed.

[Jennifer and Lily]

I will be following this closely. Lily does the same thing. If I can tell the person to come in and ignore her she does ok. Also, if I have them give her high value treats that sometimes works too. Lily has also been socialized, and is very friendly with people she knows.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Ragley does something similar but with over-the-top friendliness rather than barking. She is the most laid back and calm puppy ever and always has been except when certain people come over. I have been working on getting people to ignore her when they come over, but it is so hard to get visitors to ignore the cute puppy! One of my friends came over recently and greeted Ragley excitedly and played with her, baby talked, etc as she came in the door and so of course Ragley was pumped! My friend turned to me about three minutes later as Ragley was bringing her a toy that she had gone and grabbed and asked "Has she seemed to calm down at all?" I wanted to just come back at her with a "WELL NOT WHEN SOMEONE WALKS IN AND TREATS HER LIKE THE QUEEN OF SHIBA". After watching Doggy Dan, I am going to be implementing the time-out method more in these situations I think. It might be worth a try for Georgia as well.

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

Thanks,

I will check out those videos.

[Stella]

How do you know it isn't fear?? My younger doodle (now 5 years old!) is fearful and follows people around the house barking and growling at them if given the opportunity. I have done lots of classical conditioning work with him - see a stranger, get lots of treats (even if growling or barking), as soon as person turns or moves away, stop giving treats. Soon he came to understand that people approaching or being in the house means jackpot on treats!! It has really helped him. I also leash him when there are people in the house that he doesn't know as it helps to break the cycle of behaviour of barking, pacing, following etc.

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

Thanks, I don't know for sure that it isn't fear. I have tried the treat method and it works pretty well, when I have her on leash or I can predict it ahead of time.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We give our dogs a major OUT when they have done something similar.  It is a technique used by our trainer when you want to convey a no tolerance stance.  Basically you give a huge sideways yank on the leash accompanied by your deepest and loudest voiced, "OUT."  You feel like a goober doing this in front of people but it only takes once.   Clancy did this when we went to the park and he saw the people playing basketball and my husband did the OUT yell and that was that.  If you try it, let me know if it works for you.

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

Thanks, I will have to think about this one. The two times I have gotten mad at her and purposely raised my voice to let her know I mean business didn't seem to effective (like when she had a baby bird in her mouth). I think I need to re-establish my alpha role in this relationship.

[Stella]

By if you have a fearful dog, this kind of correction can make things worse. Believe me, I tried it and my dog got worse. If you dog is reacting out of fear, she needs to associate strangers with good things happening, not corrections. That will only make her fear strangers more and escalate her behaviour further.