# Barking at strangers



## gem2304 (Mar 7, 2013)

My boy is now 13 months old and I have recently noticed his behaviour changing such as he would rather run up to another dog than come back to me but we are working on this and it is getting better but there is another behaviour change that im not sure how to improve.....

He barks at people that come to our house if he doesn't know them and it seems like he is scared of them. I have tried giving people treats to feed him and he will take the treat but continue to bark, it makes people feel un-easy around him in our house as they fear he is aggressive which he is not at all! 

He is a bit of a timid character anyway but he gets lots of exercise and plenty of people and dog socialisation, my vet has suggested I get a behaviourist in before he becomes fear aggressive and she commented how it is odd that he would rather stand next to me in the vets rather than exploring his environment.

Does anyone have any experience if this type situation and have any tips to help me boost his confidence with strangers in our house?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Because your vet has observed him first hand, and meets hundreds of dogs weekly, a behaviorist might be your best bet. They could give you the tools to be able to get him more comfortable around strangers.
If he only did this at the vets, and not at home with company over, I wouldn't think to much about it. Boys are always bigger sissies when it come to vets.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

How does he do when meeting people outside? 
Is it better than in the house?
You may want him to meet guest in the front yard, before going in.

You never want to push him to face things he is scared of up close.
Find the distance he is comfortable with, and slowly over days move closer.
The whole time your doing this, make sure he has a good experience so you don't reinforce his fears.


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

I agree with TexasRed that it might be a good idea to talk to a behaviorist - get some good tools to help your boy navigate through this. 

My girl Penny has a fear of men (she's a rescue, so I don't know where this fear came from, but it's very real). When men come over to the house, she will tuck her tail, back away and bark at them. The routine for me is to tell her to go to her "place" (a dog bed in the corner of the room, away from the commotion), then I tell everyone to just ignore her - don't look at her, don't talk to her, don't try to pet her. Everyone comes into the house and sits down and continues to pay no attention to Penny. I just let Penny come and greet everyone on her own time - she will eventually approach people when she's ready and after that she's fine with the company. I encourage you not to try and force the situation, if your guy is fearful of strangers, don't push it and try to make friends with everyone. Give him his space and if he can't settle, put him in his crate or safe place until he calms down. 

Once Penny is comfortable with people in the house, she will try to crawl into the laps of people she was just barking at 15 minutes earlier.


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## gem2304 (Mar 7, 2013)

Thanks for your advice.

He will bark at people even if he meets them on the front yard. When we are out he will not so much bark at people but he won't approach people and is not keen on being petted by strangers.

He just seems to be very wary of people in our house even when he has stopped barking. I will contact a local behaviourist and see how to move forward.

Thanks again


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## trevor1000 (Sep 20, 2013)

You have explained exactly how my boy is.
He is 15 months and started doing it a month or so ago.
Personally I think it is a stage, but time will tell.
He is a very timid boy sometimes but I tell people that come to the house to ignore him with no eye contact and he usually calms down after 5 minutes.
I tried the treat thing too and he doesn't want anything to do with it.
After a few minutes he will start sniffing around people, especially those who have dogs, and I give people high value treats to give him.
I make sure people use him name and give him a treat for free; sometimes I tell them to make him sit.
I am going to wait it out for a while and see how he is.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Dogs that are timid, don't bark at people as much when they are unsure of their surroundings. Its because they are not focused on just one thing. They will normally stick close to their owners, trying to keep a watchful eye on everything going on.
If its a familiar atmosphere that they are comfortable with, the stranger in the room gets all of their attention.


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