Hi, All, We have a 6-month old lab who we adore and is generally a great dog. He's currently going through a fear phase and barks constantly (tail up and wagging---so not sure if it's a happy tail or a scared tail just yet) at people passing our home, people or other dogs he sees on our walks, people on the street corner when we pass by in the car, or sometimes at nothing. I think it was in part triggered while we were on a walk about 3.5 weeks ago when we came upon a man doing some yard work that neither of us saw. Pup backed away a bit when man came into view, but was doing just fine until the man broke a large branch in half creating a loud crack. That scared pup so much. Since then, barking. On top of this, our neighbors across the street have a mastiff that they leave outside as a guard dog all day. He barks ALL THE TIME. And his barking seems to have exacerbated my pup's reactions and barking. Our neighbors see nothing wrong with their dog barking all the time and won't do anything about it. So, my question is twofold (sorry for the long post 1) Has your pup gone through a fear phase? How did you navigate it? What worked? What didn't? 2) How do you combat your dog picking up bad habits from your neighbor's dog? Thanks!!!
My puppy is still in a bad fear phase at 10 months - sounds exactly like what you’re dealing with. She gets spooked and barks and continues barking for quite awhile. Some things I’m doing are blocking her view if she’s barking out the window (anything from blowing leaves to the mail person sets her off), calling her inside immediately if she barks outside and daily working on her focus on me while out walking. I pay particular attention to body language - the tail up/alert is a definite sign she’s about to go off. I typically re-direct her attention and do some sits and turns. Once she’s focused fully on me, we continue walking. If she’s already barking I put myself between her and whatever she’s barking at, wait for a break and u-turn from the culprit. I also do things to try and build confidence, like let her slowly approach and sniff something scary (if she’s willing) and visit it again the next day - for things like scary lawn ornaments, construction workers/items, something moving in a bush that sort of thing. I have an older lab who never ever barks so it’s a challenge for sure.
