Hi I've got a 14 month old lab and the last 3 month she barks at men and when out walking she try's to jump up and barks at them,I have to put her on a short lead until they pass us,any advise please
Hi and welcome to the forum Elsa from Hattie 9 years and our rescue boy Charlie 6 years. What's your dogs name? Does she bark at all men or just men with glasses or hats, sticks etc.? Maybe she needs a bit more socialisation around men. Could you get her to sit with good smelly treats when men approach, you could teach a "look at that" or "look at me" with things that make her bark. Have you considered clicker training her? There is a lot of information on the forum to help you get started. You could train her to have all paws on the ground with a clicker. x
hi my dog is elsa I'm louise and yes it's all men apart from my husband I've had family over fir Christmas and tried giving my brother in law treats to give her it took a while for her to take it from him but after she still continued to bark every time he stood up or went near her she would bark,she's a lovely dog and fantastic with my children just the barking at men in the house or when I take her for a walk,I've not tried the clicker but I'll be going to get one thank you
Oops sorry Louise Could a man have hurt Elsa at some point maybe not intentionally? Poor girl I would try getting any men that come into your house to throw treats to her to give her some space and gradually build this up. Everytime a man stands up throw her a treat just to show her there's nothing to worry about. Could you sit in a park and treat her everytime a man passed by, at the School gate, outside shops, anywhere you will encounter men to desentise her? Make sure you take very high value treats such juicy chicken, sausage anything smelly and tasty to do this training. When you buy a clicker please do check out the advise about charging it correctly before you use it to train a behaviour. Lots of Youtube videos and the information on the forum, ask any questions as there are lots of owners here who train with clickers.
My Axel does this. He is 12 months now but he has been doing it for a month or so. Seems to have gotten worse when everyone started wearing big jackets and hats due to winter. I have been treating with "look at that" or "who is that" which 9/10 gets him out of the barking/growling stage into the wiggle with excitement stage. Still working on it but it has helped the most. I used to put him in a sit but that didn't work, just made it worse it seemed. Yesterday it worked with one man walking by but didn't work with a man who was shovelling. But we stopped to talk to the man shovelling and Axel stopped right away with our 'look who is that" and settled down so we rewarded him like crazy. Sadly I forgot the treats that day so we resorted to lots and lots of pets and belly rubs.
Hi thank you for the advice I'm willing to try anything and that sounds good with tasty treats,we've had her from 11 weeks old so she's always been in our care it's only been happening the last 3 month,I'll read up on the clicker and you tube thank you so much for listing I'll be in touch for more advice if needs be
It's probably worse when the man is moving - there is some research that suggests one of the reasons some shy dogs are afraid of men (and not so afraid of women) is because of the way men move. So the dog being ok when a man is still is step one. It's not surprising to have to repeat if the man is moving. You'll also have to repeat for different men, and men in different places. Just feed your dog when men are around. It's just a case of classical conditioning. Men equal yummy treats, men are good. Make sure the dog is far enough away so it isn't overwhelmed, and (as above) start with men being still if you can. You can feed your dog, the man doesn't have to do the feeding and indeed since men have to be close (probably too close) to do this, it's better that you do the feeding in most circumstances. Don't rush your dog, move closer very gradually.
