Barking At Strangers & Dogs

[PurpleAnonymous]

So Woody has taken a liking to his own voice!

He has started to bark at strangers/dogs when I take him out on walks. I was hoping it'd be something he'd grow out. He has been doing this pretty consistently for the past month.

Even when I take him to his puppy class, he would bark (mostly at other pups, larger pups). And when the other dog owners pet him, he would be very shy, and usually backs off.

He's a fairly small poo. Around 10lbs at 4 months. And I've heard that small pups are just more timid, and barks out of fear.

Right now, whenever he barks at strangers/dogs, I walk in front of him and stand between him and the stranger/dog, and tell him "no!" Haven't had much luck. Usually stops when we have walked away from the stranger/dog.

Do you guys have any tips on how I would correct his behaviour?

[Sara]

I think how you tackle this all comes down to experimenting to understand tje reasons behind why he is doing it. 2 things you could try is distracting him with a treat as he starts tobark at another dog,, let him smell it but don't give him it until he stops barking. Continue this till he realises not barking is a good reaction. Or try turning his bum towards the dog and letting it sniff him.

[DONNA]

I think as said above you need to understand why he's barking first ,it could be that he is distressed and is telling the other dog /human stay out of my space dont come near me,if so yes i would distract him with toy or treat as said above.
I would also maybe get friends with dogs to do some training with him ie: walk passed them stop and chat each time treating him so he feels more comfatable when a person or dog approach's.

[Dylansmum]

As the owner of probably one of the world's noisiest dogs, I have found no cure for this I'm afraid! Welcome to my world :D

[holicon]

I have the same problem with Coco. I have started walking with a friend and her dog and Coco has got a lot better. I need him to stop barking at strangers when they come into the house.

[francesjl]

As the owner of probably one of the world's noisiest dogs, I have found no cure for this I'm afraid! Welcome to my world :D

I think Scamp could give Dylan a run for the money !
He barks at any new noise, at people going by, at lorries, at car horns, when he's on the way to the park, at dogs in the distance... the list is endless and we've tried all sorts of things. Sometimes a distraction will momentarily stop him, but then he starts again !

[pops]

Tilly likes her own voice! She barkes at bigger dogs and has done ever since she was attacked a few months ago. I don't think she's ever going to stop that 

[PurpleAnonymous]

Thanks for all the replies! Sara, the treat distraction has been working pretty well. I find that I have to get his attention before he fixates on the person/dog. And I make a big fuss when he doesn't bark at them.

I also find that when we're walking in an area with many people, he doesn't bark. Probably because he's not able to fixate on one person.

I'm happy to say he's getting much better with other dogs. He'll go up to other dogs (mostly smaller) and sniff them. He's still scared of bigger dogs. Hopefully he'll get better.

[JoJo]

Some cockapoos like to be noticed :) .. who can blame them they are the best dogs in the world :) ha ha ha ... I say Honey is gobby on walks as she is like her mummy .. chatty :) :)

[Sara]

Hi Peter,

Glad woddy is responding to the training. My puppy Pearl is now 6 months and has recently found her bark and is driving me wild. I wouldn't mind but Eric my 16month old poo, you never hear a peep out of.

They are soo lovely though we can forgive them a little attention seeking.

Sara

[MillieDog]

Millie can be a barker, usually in guard dog mode. We've found that if we acknowledge her bark, say 'thank you Millie, quiet now' she usually pipes down quite quickly.

If she's in a really barky mood and wont stop, I grab her muzzle and say Quiet firmly. She then stops, but tries to carry on making a noise without opening her mouth. :D

She has learnt the word Quiet, and that helps.

[MillieDog]

Millie can be a barker, usually in guard dog mode. We've found that if we acknowledge her bark, say 'thank you Millie, quiet now' she usually pipes down quite quickly.

If she's in a really barky mood and wont stop, I grab her muzzle and say Quiet firmly. She then stops, but tries to carry on making a noise without opening her mouth. :D

She has learnt the word Quiet, and that helps.

[Daisy's mummy]

Hi, I'm having the same problem with daisy although it seems worse when she is on her lead so I think she is frustrated. Daisy has also started being dominant to other dogs, she will go over and say hello and let other dogs come to us waggy tails sniffing etc.....but then she quickly has enough and growls, snaps and with the smaller dogs pins them down! She never used to do this? We are staring a new doggy class on Saturday so I'm hoping the trainer will be able to give me some hands on advice. I will let you know how it goes x

[Sam1]

I've got a bit of experience with this from our bc we use to have, she would do the next stage, growl and snap, what I did was what you said you've been doing which is distract her before she even notices the other dog/ person. I use to use the time to practise, sits and walking around me, lies and looking at me, so the focus was on me and not the other. If she looked away I would make a noise so it got her attention again, this then went onto she was allowed to look but still do the exercises, then just sitting watching them go by to sit, walk sit, until she would walk past without the noise or snapping. It worked for me, it took a long time...or maybe it just felt like it did! Good luck, you will have good and bad days.....trick is be consistent! All the best, keep us updated! :)