Hi everyone, I have a Labrador Cross rescue from Turkey who is about 5 years old now. We have had her for 4 years, and in the last year or so when we go to a pub etc and sit outside to eat, as soon as someone walks past us, or the waiter brings food out to us she starts barking and lunging at them. This was quite a shock to us as she is a very placid dog with a beautiful nature, and very loving. She gets on well with my cats and 9 year old daughter. I dont want people to think we have some mad dog with us when she is not like this at all, and only does it when we are at a table in a pub garden. I am starting to distract her with treats etc and reward her for being good. We ate inside a cafe at the weekend and she was fine. It was a really busy place and she just laid down perfectly. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Try finding a quiet corner of a pub where you go for your own food (no waiters) to get him used to the idea. Stuffed, frozen Kongs may help too. And welcome to you from Mags, Tatze and Mollie from Manchester UK Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab and she's four years old. Tatze means 'paw' in German. Mollie is my fourth Guide Dog puppy, a black Lab who is ten months old. .
Hi Sonya and welcome to the forum Working on behaviour with treats etc is great. I'd also take her to the vet and get her thoroughly checked out, including eyesight and hearing. It sounds like this is out of character.
Shes recently had a check up with her annual jabs, shes in perfect health. I just think its probably a territorial thing. Shes fine inside a cafe. I have begun distracting her with treats and it seems to be working.
If she likes kongs, I'd take a couple of frozen ones when you want to sit outside to keep her busy and not protecting what she sees as your territory.
I doubt it's anything to do with "territory" (there is some discussion as to whether that's actually a thing, since watching the behaviours of feral dogs), but more likely she feels more threatened in that environment for whatever reason. Maybe, unbeknownst to you, she has had an unpleasant experience in that environment; even something as minor as having her foot stepped on or a noise that has startled her could mean she's more on edge. Rewarding her for calm is a good strategy, and will help her to feel more relaxed. Don't tell her off if she does bark, as she's communicating she's uncomfortable and needs space - it's not your job to stop her barking at people, but to make her feel comfortable enough that she doesn't feel the need to bark at people Good luck, and let us know how you get on.
