9 month old puppy barking at people and children suddenly??

[TheMalamutePup]

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My 9 month old puppy has suddenly started barking and growling at people. She did it for the first time today for no reason. The person not child was no where near her. I instantly corrected her with a little tug on her leash and stepped in front of her to block her view. She was told to leave it and I gave her a treat once she had sat quietly for a minute or so. But as soon as she saw the child and person again, same reaction. I ended up removing her from the situation before it escalated further. It’s not her normal bark, it’s a lot deeper and she sounds almost aggressive. I don’t want this behaviour to continue as she gets older. It’s not her first time seeing this child or person either. She’s been around kids all her life. I like to say she is well socialised. How do I stop this behaviour? I’m not sure if what I did was right or wrong!


She’s a malamute x staff so she’s not exactly small either!

 

[JoanneF]

Can you start by having a read of this - it was written for reactivity to dogs but the techniques will still apply. Please do come back with any questions after you have read it though.

Dog Reactivity

She may also be going through a second fear period which would affect her perception of people and children too.

 

[Hemlock]

Dogs' senses are far keener than ours, and often they pick up through one of their senses that all is not well with one particular person. This makes them feel insecure so they behave in a way that they hope will keep the person at a distance. As already said, she is entering a developmental fear period too, so what may not bother her as a well-rounded experienced adult will do as an adolescent pup.

Blocking her and moving away is exactly right - well done - but forget the leash jerk and resist the perfectly natural desire to speak sternly to her. That merely underlines to a dog that they are right, the person is flaky, look even my own human can't be trusted.

 

[merlina]

Agree with everything said. Your puppy is still a baby and they can have exaggerated responses to things we're not aware of . But no dog does anything 'for no reason'. That's just how it looks to people. We lack their spider senses!