# 15 months, lunging and barking (randomly) at ppl and dogs



## HVKTB (Jun 24, 2020)

Hi there,
Our 15 months old (male) V started barking and lunging (randomly) at ppl and dogs two months ago. Usually on leash and when offleash he is OK most of the time but he has barked at two (men) runners (note that he has been around mountain bikes and runners since he was a pup) and one hiker that stalled him ones. He use to be the most ppl and dog friendly dog we knew but now it’s like it’s out if the window at times. We are not sure how much is linked to age (adolescence and/or fear phase) and him being neutered at 11 months (testosterone dropping, could mean less confident) or something else. The two mentioned things have sort of been happening around the same time. Rarely things comes ”out of the blue” but this one took me by surprise. We are having a trainer coming over shortly but keen on hearing your experience with this swift behavior change in a V? How did you manage / resolve it? What was the triggers / reason behind it? How long did it take before it was resolved?


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## 1stVizsla (Jun 22, 2016)

Sorry I can’t give specific advice as I’ve never had this exact problem. However, it sounds like one of those classic “Dog Whisperer” problems where you have a dog that has frustrations, often due to lack of exercise of adequate mental stimulation.

I try hard to give my dogs an off-leash hike in several hundred acres of woods & fields behind my house at least every other day (now that they are between 3-4yo. It does them wonders (chasing deer, turkey and lots of critters) and creates the “calm, submissive” dog Ceaser is always raving about. If you could find such a place and outlet for him I’d bet he’d be perfect for you. Good luck!


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