Help, puppy barking at strangers and family members...

[badamadam]

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Good morning all!

Me and my girlfriend are the proud new owners of our new dog companion Mr.Blue Woofington, an 8 month old Australian Shepherd.

He was previously raised on a farm & quite isolated from unfamiliar faces. He's the most lovely, soft, caring dog I've ever seen -- with me and my girlfriend & other dogs, however with strangers who approach him and even guests to our home, he seems to start barking and gets agitated.

We've only had Mr.Blue for a week, so we thought it might be down to settling in and finding his familiarity in his new home, but wanted to post here and find out what other people might think.

Mr.Blue does really well around other people when we're out walking him, at parks or even just sat in the sun away from the house....Even with dogs that walk past... he's fine, they don't bother him.

I just wonder what the cause might be...

Could it be a case of him settling in?

Or perhaps he's being territorial?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Adam

 

[goldenbear2013]

Hi Adam,

I think its a bit of both.

He is settling so it will take time before he feels completely at home in his new environment. Plus if he was isolated with only his owners then people coming into his domain is something that he not used to at all and will try and defend his territory by barking or otherwise.

When the door bell goes or someone knocks and he barks it is usually to alert you that someone it at the door and in that case a reward by just saying "good boy" is enough to know that he has done the right thing. This is only if he stops barking once the door is open. If he carries on like he has been doing then don't praise him for now otherwise you will be sending mixed messages to him.

If he continues to bark then obviously this is addressed.

At 8 months old no matter how lovely the dog they will test the boundaries of what they can and cannot get away with so a firm hand (not literally) is required otherwise he will end up getting away with all sorts! They are teenagers after all!

When he barks, stand up straight, don't bend over and walk over to him and give a quiet command. It could be SSShhhh or QUIET or whatever you want it to be and put your hand out. He should (in theory) sit down and quiet down. You stay where you are with him and do not move. You need to hold your ground. Do not allow him to move.

Let your girlfriend open the door and allow the guests to come in. If he starts barking again, repeat the process. Remember do not move away from him, if needs be move toward him again so he feels dominated by you, as this is what you want. You need to claim his space and make him submissive. If he lies down you're onto a winner.

Get your guests to ignore the dog completely until he is quiet. This may take a while so please be patient. They don't even make eye contact with him.

if he is quiet praise him how you see fit and move away from him and still get your guests to ignore him, unless he approaches them in a manner that is acceptable to you.

If he starts again, just lead him into the other room by his collar and repeat the process that I have just explained. If his bed is in the other room, then send him to bed.

You must dominate him in this exercise using your presence alone and the odd nudge to him to get him to see that his behavior will not be tolerated.

if you can then ask you guests to come into the same room as Mr Blue and let him approach them to have a sniff and figure them out, all the while they must ignore him. If he is quiet then they can stroke him, but ask them to kneel down to his level but stay away from his face, don't let them bend over as this is a sign of play or if he is agitated he could become scared by this sudden movement and snap (highly unlikely but you never know) or bark in their face and clearly you don't want this.

if you are able to ask every single guest round to do the same every time then it should start to settle him.

He needs to learn that whilst it is his home there will be people that come in and out of the home and that he must accept them whether he knows them or not and greet them in an acceptable manner.

This will take time, but if you are consitant and keep going and hopefully your guests will listen to you and understand that you are training him then he should pick this up very quickly.

Collies are stupidly clever, and there natural instinct is to bark when something is going on. His instinct will be to herd them and go low to the ground and bark. Even though this is all natural and built into the breed this need to be stopped when he is in your home. Out in the field its anyone's game as this is what they do best!

I hope this helps you and please let me know how you get on.

Sophie x

Wow! didn't realize how much I had typed! lol x

 

[badamadam]

Wow, Sophie. That was amazing - thank you so much for taking the time to write all that!

It sounds like brilliant advice, we will surely try everything you suggested and feedback with any results that we get.

Would it be worthwhile giving the family member/guest a treat to drop for Mr.Blue as positive re-inforcement if his behaviour is more satisfying and more calming after doing the things you've suggested?

Thanks,
Adam

 

[goldenbear2013]

it depends really.

If he is nervous and agitated then when your guest go down to the dogs level they just need to sit calmly and let him do his thing around them, like sniffing etc as I said before. Please make sure they are slightly turned away from him and no eye contact, as this can intimidate some dogs and make things worse. This is moreso if you can see he is nervous or anxious. If he relaxes (you will know when he does as you will be able to tell by his body language and his movements as well as the lack of barking) then get them to stand up and then treat him. Get the guest to make him sit before the treat, this way he will learn to take commands from other people not just you and your girlfriend.

You need to know when to treat and when not to. if you have a dog that is excited, barking and jumping all over the place the treat from the guest will only reinforce this behavior.

Calm = treats and cuddles. Simple as that.

If the barking stops you still need to watch the dogs body language. Watching the dogs body language is like watching them speak. Pulled back ears, slightly lowered body and slow moving, tail looking like its going or is between the legs means they are not sure and not comfortable with the situation. Ears pricked up and really wide eyes means excitement including a high tail that looks like its quite upright. These 2 behaviours you do not give a treat as this is what you don't want.

Scared- give them space.

Overly excited- correction.

The ears should be floppy, and the tail relaxed, about the same level as the spine and moving slightly. this will mean relaxed dog.

Excessive panting is also a sign of stress, so watch this too (there is so much to take in!!!!). Unless its really hot then obviously he is just cooling himself down!

As I said Collies are amazing and so clever that he will soon catch on that giving you the behavior you and your guests want result in a treat, whether that be food or his favourite toy.

Sorry about the excessive typing! lol

Sophie x

 

[2hounds8paws]

My guess is at home something gone wrong any of the following could be a big possability-

- Someone tried to pet him when he didn't want it to happen thus he has learned to anticipate being staired at or movement toward him or hand reaching out or possibly tone as omg some one is going to pet me

- Perhaps people on walks owners are more dog savvy then the guests in the home

- It could also be that someone pushed him away or even hit him and he has build up a negative association with guests either way he is clearly barking to repell your guests from or attract them because he wants their attention and their not giving it to him. this could have happend because-

He was barking when they arrived and they gave him attention thus have conditioned his response to the arrival of people meaning i'm getting attention yay! Or if its a bad reinforcement OMG guests!

Barking is a conditioned response

Find out what conditioned his response and work from their step by step.

 

[Essexdogtrainer]

I would not advise taking any advice of 2hounds8paws as clearly if you read her profile she is unable to pass a dog walking qualification. Go to Google research dog beh a violist or trainers. If you like the way the train use them. Often people may give you answers for behaviour problems that can not be answered with out physically seeing the dog.

 

[eingana]

Barking is a conditioned response, but it's also a Shepherd response. Most of the shepherd breeds have been bred to be hypervigilant and bark at the slightest sounds or movement to let you know that there's something moving out there. People visiting my house don't even get as far as my door before Molly tells me that they are there, and I sometimes wonder why I bothered going to the expense of buying a door knocker.

In my experience thanking your dog for alerting you and then sending them off to their bed/behind a gate/into another room is a productive way forwards with this. They can come out when the visitor is settled and they have got themselves back together after the alert and are calm again, but the moment that they go back onto the alert at the visitor they go back into their own space. I've found for dogs that really do get worked up, it helps if they can't see the visitors from their calming space, since dogs are so visual.

Mr Blue is a new boy to your household and he's a young dog who will boundary test, so I'd say that some strong boundaries coupled with treats for good behaviour and consistent expectations could turn him around in days.

Good luck