Barking Help????

[ruby04]

My 11 month old Lab barks at people. When we are outside in the backyard, if someone walks by she runs towards them and barks very mean sounding. She is not an aggressive pup and really is quite loving. Is this territorial behavior? When she gets in this mode she does not respond to commands. Since her bark is loud she scares people. She even barks at people walking by when she is in the house looking out of the window. Help? With this behavior it makes it very difficult to take her anywhere in public

[KenZ71]

My Max does this too. If he is off leash in a dog park he greets everyone with a wagging tail. At home he thinks he needs to protect the house.

A citronella bark collar will discourage the barking. As for the protective attitude that I am still working on.

[Snowshoe]

I laugh. Many dogs like a joke and to join in if there is laughing and it's a big risk to laugh when they do something wrong, but cute, when you are training because they can take it as encouragement. But, just like you and I, they don't like to be the butt of the joke and, just like you and I, they can tell the difference.

So my laugh is a bit like the mean kid at school who would laugh when another kid fell down, a lot chastisement, a lot trying to convey disappointment. I actually point at him, laugh and say, "Huh, huh, huh, You big silly. That's nothing to laugh at. You made a mistake. Huh, huh, huh. You should be ashamed of yourself" It works. Now, after some years of this, I can usually just tell him he's being a silly."

Leslie McDevitt's Look AT That game also works very, very well.

I think the laughing and the game both focus attention on me instead of what he's laughing at and anything you can do to win focus and attention will help.

[Tanya]

sounds like alert barking.

if she does not listen, I would only let her outside on a long line so you can control her and bring some high valu treats. Ideall you want to get her attention before she barks (with my foster I can normally tell before she starts to arooo arooo aroo). then use the long line to bring them to you and treat and see if you can use the super yummy treat to coax a very easy behaviour (sit, down, touch which ever command is the easiest).