Territorial barking (sounds scary!)

[Oliver]

Hi everyone, I did a search for "territorial" and "barking" and couldn't find the info I needed so I wanted to post it here to see if you guys could give me any hints or tips.

We have an 8 month old goldendoodle (Oliver) who was neutered when he was 6 months old. Last month we moved into a LARGE house with lots of windows on 3/4 acres of land with 3 homes surrounding our property. Oliver spent his first 7 months of life in a large, end unit townhouse, and he would look out the window and wag his tail when he saw something interesting, but for the most part there was really nothing interesting to see.

When we moved into the new house a month ago he began barking whenever he heard a noise or saw someone outside. He has gotten better over the past month (quite a culture shock going from an end unit townhouse to a huge 5 bedroom house with windows everywhere!) and basically I think it stressed him out. We tell him to "come" and "lay down" (to let him know it's ok) whenever he's trying to alert us of something he sees...and he always slowly walks over to us, whimpers, and does as he is told.

The other day at the park (we were playing fetch in a caged in area) he saw a Yellow Lab on the other side of the cage, walking with his owner......and he started barking at this dog like he was trying to protect me and alert me that he was there! He has a very scary, loud bark and had EVERYONE in the park looking at us. This is brand new for him, normally he just gets really excited and tries to play with any dog he sees! I had him "sit" and "stay" and tried to take control of the situation, but it was difficult and I had never seen him like that before!

A few minutes later we were walking on the same track that the Yellow lab and his owner were on and Oliver saw the dog and did the same type of barking...but then as we got closer he got really excited and tried to play with him...which I was happy to see. It really sounded like he was warning this dog to get back! But in the end he really just wanted to play with him!

Since that incident every time we see a semi-far away person on a walk, Oliver will stop and bark and kind of back up toward me like he's scared and alerting me. I always put him behind me when he does this and calmly give him a command to sit/down and stay, but it's very difficult to get him to pay attention to me when he's in this mode...and it takes me asking him to do it about 3-5 times before he complies. When the person comes close enough, Oliver is fine and excitedly kisses them and acts like he has known them forever! But, if I didn't know Oliver myself and I was the person being barked at...I'd be terrified! I don't want people to be afraid to approach me even though he has a loud voice!

How do I deal with this? What am I doing wrong? I feel like he's trying to be the "dominant, pack leader" and is really scared about that role....but I really feel like he knows that my husband and I are the pack leaders at the same time! I've heard that I shouldnt tell him "NO" when he barks because he'll stop doing any types of alerts or warnings....and if he were ever to really be aggressive toward someone, it would be important to have that alert or warning before he does so (obviously).

[Mindy]

my Paddy is 11 months old. He is an alert barker for sure, and he does bark too, when he gets really excited. I close blinds at night, purchased a few extra curtains, as his own reflection in glass windows sometimes gets him to bark.As far as the alert barking goes, I generally allow one bark, I say "thank you for letting me know" ( when the doorbell rings or he hears someone coming), and I try to discourage any further barking, I try to move in front of him too, to let him know that I can take over from here....it is process for sure, and...I want it to be an event.
We just got a fence for our yard (he has a lot more space to run off leash), and Paddy does the same thing....more barking initially, when something that interested him, seems out of place or in his territory has walked by, thankfully, it seems to be decreasing. TREATS and redirection have totally helped with this....it becomes increasingly easier for me to re-direct him. Paddy is willful too, very smart and can be very stubborn/or possess a short attention span, so at times, if he is into something, well, he into it and I have to either let it go or intervene.
I read on a website about the "birdhouse" that has an ultrasonic pitch, and I have considered trying it in the yard.
Paddy is still small enough (25 lbs) that when he barks too much, I say, in a firm voice "enough", if it does not stop, I say, "thats it" I pick him up, bring him in the house and place him in his crate for about 5 minutes....this seems to help too. He barks at the vacuum and at the lawn mower too. I TRY to be calm about it all, and not over-react, however sometimes I have said, "now where do barking dogs have to go? and he will go to his crate until I finish with the vacuum.
And, as suggested to me, I have used a squirt bottle full of water water and a touch of apple cider vinegar...that will stop the barking from continuing....however it does not seem to deter him.
We had the same thing happen with Paddy barking at certain people or dogs from afar, and thankfully, that was just a stage, that he went trhough at around 6 months of age for a month or so, and that has stopped. For whatever reason, it occurred a lot at night.
Paddy LOVES to play and he is the star of our neighborhood too, and certain neighbors come up and Paddy sometimes barks over his excitement, and we continue to work on this too...he knows which neighbors will chase him, and gets really excited. Paddy goes to camp all day while I am at work, we take an agility class one night a week, we take an evening walk, spend about 20 minutes an evening working on simple commands and turns...so he gets plenty of exercise....I would love help too, as we are getting new neighbors upstairs next month and I would love to feel confident that excessive barking won't occur.