# Dog growling/barking at strangers



## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

My dog is 1.5 years old now. I have moved 2 times since I got him and recently moved from a house into an apartment. The apartment has a lot of strange noises and you can hear people out in the hall. My dog will bark at these strange noises and sometimes howl. Sometimes when we see a stranger in the halls or outside, my dog will let out 1 or 2 warning barks at them. This is embarrassing for me, but I can handle a couple barks.

However, the barking got worse, and I decided to get a bark collar for him while I was gone at work. I didn't want him to bark and have my neighbors hate me. This seems to have worked, but I think he has learned that he can now growl and not set off the bark collar. I only keep the bark collar on him while I am at work. Recently, he has started to growl at strangers in the hall and outside. It is very frustrating for me because the person perceives him as a bad dog and aggresive. He is not aggressive at all and has never snapped or even remotely showed signs of aggressions towards other dogs/people. 

How can I fix this? What should I do when I see someone else in the hall and he begins to growl? I am dedicated to using his gentle leader again. This keeps him from charging the other person (to jump on them.) Besides growling and jumping on people, he has been a great dog and is very loving. I just wish I could fix these two issues. The jumping is getting better. I am also going to try going for more walks, but he seems to growl at people even when he is tired.

Thanks for your help!


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

Can you keep him in a crate and/or cover the windows? I would stop with the bark collar. My neighbor put one on their dog and instead of barking along the invisible fence line, it just makes the weirdest grrring sounds. It is probably much more stressful for the dog too.


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## Wyatt's mommy (Feb 25, 2011)

Just like any tool if used correctly a bark collar works great and will not stress out a dog. Sounds to me he just needs more socializing.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Wyatt's mommy said:


> Just like any tool if used correctly a bark collar works great and will not stress out a dog. Sounds to me he just needs more socializing.


See, I don't think this is the case because we go to the dog park like 2-3 times a week and he loves the people/dogs there. He used to go to doggy daycare once a week too but I have stopped that because of the cost. If the people come up to him he stops growling and loves them.

This is going to sound weird, but in most cases, he only growls/barks at people with features he might not be familiar with. Like maybe a hoodie covering the head, sunglasses, or different races (very caucasian heavy in Colorado area). Also, he only barks at people at my apt complex. Never anywhere else. My theory is that he thinks they are invading and doesn't understand the concept of a shared building lol.

This problem is just so embarrassing for me and I hate having people think that my dog is aggressive. I've had 2 people in the hall make comments on it and I wish I could get a handle on it. Any help would be great.


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## Wyatt's mommy (Feb 25, 2011)

ghuss37 said:


> See, I don't think this is the case because we go to the dog park like 2-3 times a week and he loves the people/dogs there. He used to go to doggy daycare once a week too but I have stopped that because of the cost. If the people come up to him he stops growling and loves them.
> 
> This is going to sound weird, but in most cases, he only growls/barks at people with features he might not be familiar with. Like maybe a hoodie covering the head, sunglasses, or different races (very caucasian heavy in Colorado area). Also, he only barks at people at my apt complex. Never anywhere else. My theory is that he thinks they are invading and doesn't understand the concept of a shared building lol.
> 
> This problem is just so embarrassing for me and I hate having people think that my dog is aggressive. I've had 2 people in the hall make comments on it and I wish I could get a handle on it. Any help would be great.


Ok it sounds like fear growling. My Wyatt will still do this at times. Hoodies is one of them also. He was much worse when he was younger. I think this is just something they will grow out of. just reassure that it's ok when this happens.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

Wyatt's mommy said:


> Ok it sounds like fear growling. My Wyatt will still do this at times. Hoodies is one of them also. He was much worse when he was younger. I think this is just something they will grow out of. just reassure that it's ok when this happens.


Yeah, that's what I think it is. He is afraid of the person until he realizes they aren't a threat. Like I said, usually this happens when people appear out of no where (come through a door, or he sees them coming in from outside while we are walking down the steps). He would never attack or snap at them (at least I don't think so). 

Right now I have been giving him a little snap on the leash (not too hard) to break him out of it and tell him no, but this doesn't seem to be working. I wasn't sure if I should baby him and tell him it is ok or if that would be reinforcing the behavior?


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## KathyG (Nov 21, 2011)

In the house, leave the radio on to muffle outside noise.

Outside the house, train a different behavior. Load up with cookies. He mutters a growl, tell him to sit and cookie. You are rewarding the sit. Pretty soon, he should sit anytime he sees a person. Use high level treats.

Practice obedience in your hall way. Practice attention. Regardless of where he is, he should always be focused on you.

Kathy


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## Wyatt's mommy (Feb 25, 2011)

ghuss37 said:


> Yeah, that's what I think it is. He is afraid of the person until he realizes they aren't a threat. Like I said, usually this happens when people appear out of no where (come through a door, or he sees them coming in from outside while we are walking down the steps). He would never attack or snap at them (at least I don't think so).
> 
> Right now I have been giving him a little snap on the leash (not too hard) to break him out of it and tell him no, but this doesn't seem to be working. I wasn't sure if I should baby him and tell him it is ok or if that would be reinforcing the behavior?


And your recent move from a house into an apartment probably plays a big part. More scary people coming and going lol! I think what you are doing is fine. Just takes time I think.


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

KathyG said:


> In the house, leave the radio on to muffle outside noise.
> 
> Outside the house, train a different behavior. Load up with cookies. He mutters a growl, tell him to sit and cookie. You are rewarding the sit. Pretty soon, he should sit anytime he sees a person. Use high level treats.
> 
> ...


Thank you. I will try the cookie trick. I just hope he doesn't think I am giving a cookie for growling? I do need to work with him on heeling and such. I am going to enroll in an intermediate training course soon.



Wyatt's mommy said:


> And your recent move from a house into an apartment probably plays a big part. More scary people coming and going lol! I think what you are doing is fine. Just takes time I think.


Yes. This is a big factor. He was never this bad. Though we have been living here for 3 months now and he hasn't gotten much better. I think I will leave a radio on like was suggested to help tune out some noises.


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## unaffected (Apr 13, 2011)

KathyG said:


> Outside the house, train a different behavior. Load up with cookies. He mutters a growl, tell him to sit and cookie. You are rewarding the sit. Pretty soon, he should sit anytime he sees a person. Use high level treats.


My Kelsey has recently been doing something similar to what the OP posted. What would you consider a "high level treat"? When there are people around, I cannot get her to be interested in any kind of treat or food.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

With people he knows and is comfortable with practice having them approach in the hall and/or outside your aparttment, give him a treat a quick greetng, and then keep moving past him. Practice enough and eventually the idea is for him to learn that someone approaching him is a good thing. Start with familiar people, and then once he is ok with them, see if you have some neighbors or other friends he doesn't know well that will practice with him too.


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## go4thegold (Dec 25, 2008)

I love the idea of the radio playing at home when you're away. I would also recommend you find a talk radio program where they don't use music or sound effects so you don't have to be concerned about him being startled by something other than human voices.

Your dog may have gone through a fear period during that last move, but it may just be the new environment is scary and stressful for him. People tend to block out a lot of sounds and things they've already decided are not a problem, but a young dog might not be able to do that.

You might want to try a DAP collar. DAP stands for Dog Appeasing Pheromone. It looks like an flear collar, but is impregnated with a subtance that mimics a pheromone emitted by lactating female dogs; it calms the puppies while they are feeding. It has a similar calming effect on many older dogs, too. So if your dog is experiencing stress or anxiety during the day, the DAP may just help mitigate that. Much better than the bark collar. Remember that if your dog is barking out of fear or anxiety, anything bad that happens at the same time may get connected with that in the dog's mind. So if your dog hears a strange sound, feels fear and barks, whatever "zap" ensues from the collar will intensify the fear/stress and may make the dog believe the thing he's afraid of is responsible for his discomfort (making it even more scary).

Same thing goes for collar popping him when he sees someone he's afraid of. Better to carry some chicken or string cheese in your pocket, and when you see the dog become concerned about someone, start feeding the good stuff so his connection with the scary thing becomes better. If the "guy with the hoodie" makes me feel scared, then if we change the picture to the "guy with the hoodie makes cheese happen", then the guy becomes a whole lot easier to take!


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## ghuss37 (Nov 27, 2010)

go4thegold said:


> If the "guy with the hoodie" makes me feel scared, then if we change the picture to the "guy with the hoodie makes cheese happen", then the guy becomes a whole lot easier to take!


lol, I love that quote.

I agree with you. I think the bark collar has intensified his reaction to the strange noises. He doesn't bark as much, but he seems to dislike the noises even more. Though, at least now he doesn't go crazy and howl. ANytime he hears these noises, he always runs to me. He is either scared or wants to go play with whoever is walking outside our door. I hope the ideas posted in this thread help. I'll post an update soon.


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