# Aggression - different help needed here!



## serena (Apr 22, 2012)

Hello again all, ive not posted here for some time. But am going to be sticking around more I promise!
Our Ruby is now 1yr in January. She of course is a typical Viszla, but before I tell you the problem, ill fill you in on her surroundings.
We live in the country under mountains, and we are in Ireland, because of where we live there is no need to put her on a leash and we do so rarely, maybe only if we go to the beach or into town.
We dont have any other dogs and there are no neighbours nearby. Shes also spayed.
In the last 2 months, she is showing signs of mild aggression - in fact im unsure if its aggresssion, its more territorial.
She has become extremely protective of the house and car - the postman doesnt get out of his van anymore, and any other callers to the house get barked at.
She doesnt growl, her hackles dont go up and I dont believe she would ever bite, but the bark is quite aggressive, and extends to people on horseback or on bikes when out walking. I tell postman to just stand still and let her sniff round him so she gets to know him but we cant get past the manic barking.
On the plus side she is an excellent guard dog!
So - HOW do we deal with it - chastise her? and if so, how? She is the perfect dog otherwise, obedient and easy to teach.


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## flynnandlunasmom (May 28, 2012)

This does not sound like aggression.

How old is she?

After about a year (at around the time she went into heat) Luna started alert barking at people walking by the house etc. 

I talked to our trainer who suggested we teach her, "thank you" and then "quiet". So, we're thanking her for the alert and then telling her to quiet so she'll know it's ok and can let up. We're still working on it but I won't lie, she still does it. 

I don't think you want to chastise her though, because in her mind she thinks she's doing you a favor by alerting you to someone approaching the pack. 

Or, if it's not alert barking, she may just be doing excited barking. My older dog Flynn barks when I come home at the end of the day. Loudly. Because he's ecstatic. In that case, the command is "quiet".

Not sure if this has been much help but the bottom line is, this doesn't sound like aggression. It sounds normal and sounds like something you can work on.


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## BaxtersMum (Oct 6, 2012)

Hi

What is her body doing when she is barking?

Baxter barks at the kids and our cat and goes down on his front legs with his bum in the air so I know this is playing or excitement.

Have you taught her the 'Quiet' command. I am reading Ian Dunbar's 'After you get your Puppy' e-book at the moment and he says the first thing you should do is teach your dog to 'speak' or 'bark' and then 'quiet'. If they don't know what it means they can't do it. Their is a You Tube video on it. If she is 'Alert Barking' then this may work for you.

With regards to the postman I have also read that you should leave treats at the door or give him some for his van/bike so that when he walks to your house he can greet her with a treat. She will then look forward to him coming


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## serena (Apr 22, 2012)

Thanks for the fast replies! Her body language is on red alert - not with hackles up but with tail out and body stance planted firmly in the way of the intruder.
When she barks at our cats its as you said with her bum in the air and tail wagging, same with other dogs, she has a bark that means play with me give me attention. Its pretty irritating cos she wont respond to shhhh. I didnt want to introduce treats as she may think she is being rewarded for the barking, or should I be rewarding the barking?


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## littlelulu (Jun 21, 2011)

Hi Serena! It sounds like she is both being territorial and fearful/uncertain of strange people/animals, which not surprising if you live in a quiet place (which sounds lovely, by the way!) where she is not constantly exposed to unfamiliar people/dogs/animals/sights. I find that most Vizslas have a natural tendency to be wary of the unknown (i.e. make good alert/watch dogs!) and need to be extensively socialized early on and throughout their lives to overcome this. Also, once you’ve heard both types of barks (excited, happy bark vs. menacing, warning bark) they sound very very different and if you think her bark sounds unfriendly, it probably is! 

Ruby sounds similar to our 3 year old female, Lulu. We got her at 8 months old from a breeder that lived in a very quiet rural area. She is timid/uncertain by nature and this combined with not having extensive socialization when she was young, means we have a dog that is not always comfortable with strange things. I know a lot of people on the forum want their dogs to alert bark, which is fine, but we live in a suburban area and do not need Lulu to alert us to every man, woman, child and dog that comes near our house. That being said, I realize that she thinks she is just doing her job and I would never punish her for this. When you punish a dog when they are fearful or uncertain, it just creates a more negative association with the thing they are scared of and the undesired behaviour often escalates. Instead, I have shaped this need of hers to bark into a behaviour I can live with. First, you need an excellent recall. Whenever Lulu starts to alert bark at anything/anyone I let her get out one or two barks and then I say “thank you, that’s enough, Lulu here” (in a calm, “no big deal” voice) and she comes to me to get a treat. She feels she gets to do her job (and a cookie!) and I get a small, manageable alert. Since Vs are smart and chain behaviours very quickly, I now have to only say “thank you” and she comes to me, knows nothing is going to threaten her/us and doesn’t go back to barking. We’ve been working on this a very long time though! Also, don’t worry about thinking you are rewarding her for barking, she’s getting rewarded for stopping barking and coming to you, not the barking itself. She’s also going to make a more positive association with the “scary” person or animal. I would avoid having a strange person directly give her a treat though. Many shy dogs find this to be too threatening (a stranger that close reaching for their face). Often it’s best to have the person ignore the dog (no talking, movement or eye contact) and just drop the treat beside them or toss it to the side. This has worked for us.

Also, when you’re out on trails with her or she’s off leash on your property, I would do my best to never let her approach a stranger before you do. She needs to know that you’ve got things under control and she doesn’t have to worry about anything or “do something” about this impending threat. I know this is hard with a fast, excitable dog! But you can always let her drag a check cord to make sure you can get her back. When we’re out with our girl we never let her approach strange people or dogs. If we see someone, we call her back and get her to walk beside us as we pass the person/dog/biker. We always stay between her and the person/dog so she feels safe. If for some reason we want her to meet a strange person/dog (which sometimes happens if we run into a compatible playmate, like another pointer or a boxer, on the trail) we get her to sit a distance behind us while we introduce ourselves first to the person and dog so she can see they are ok. After we’ve said hi, we say “OK, go say hello” in a happy, calm tone and she does. She’s just the kind of dog that needs us to step up, take control, and be benevolent leaders in every situation. After a while, you might be able to just say “OK, say hello” and she will know this is her cue that everything is ok, and this stranger is safe. But it takes a lot of practice and repetition. If it's just bikers and horseback riders that are mainly the problem, I would call her back beside you to a heel (keep moving!) and give her treats while they pass. Soon enough she will see them coming and come to you for her treats. 

Also, I would get this under control as soon as you can, so it doesn’t escalate. A Vizsla I know well started barking at people when very young and his owners did not realize he was basically screaming “I am uncomfortable with this person! I want them to go away!”. They thought he was just being hyper and did not do anything about it. It got to the point where since his owners were not acknowledging his discomfort he felt he had to take things into his own hands and end up biting (non-damaging warning bites, but bites all the same) a couple of people to try to make them go away since his owners did not. 

Sorry this was so long! It’s just that we’ve been dealing with some similar issues for a long time! It's normal behaviour, but can definitely be toned down if you want to do so. Best of luck to you and Ruby!


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## jjohnson (Nov 9, 2011)

Our Gus does the mean warning bark too, and I also would advise you to be careful around strangers. A dog like this is fine as long as he can bark and run away if he needs to, but if our Gus feels cornered or restrained in any way, his "flight" will turn to "fight" real quick, and he WILL bite. It hasn't happened yet because we are very careful, but the fear can quickly escalate to aggression if you aren't careful, and sounds like this might be the case. Watch her body language- hackles don't always have to up- our Gus will stand very rigidly and hold his tail very straight during his "mean" bark; his hackles aren't always up and he doesn't always growl!


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

LittleLulu makes a lot of sense in her post. I tend to agree with the diagnosis and the potential solutions. Astro also has fear issues, with sometimes similar reactions to certain people. Especially if they approach without him sighting them from a distance. I use either the "friend" command if I am comfortable with him saying hello without me supervising, or the "wait" command if do not know them and want him to stay away till I say OK. Sometimes though he will continue with the barking if he is really unsure. In these cases where possible, I will stand and chat casually with the person until he works out it's OK and stops barking. I find by dealing with it there and then, it also doesn't allow the behaviour to fester and become more than it really is next outing.


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