# Barking and nervous behaviour around people



## Nicky

I have a spayed bitch. Wire haired viz. just 2yrs old. I have trained her to quite a good level and taken her beating and picking up ( in a training capacity, as still young) She is loving and a joy to work. We have 2 other dogs, they get on very well.
Unfortunately my girl is nervous of strangers and will REALLY bark at people. I socialised her so well as a pup and she is happy to get in the beating Waggon with all the others and walk around a show ground. I have to be on the look out for people on walks or people approaching her. Even friends coming to our home. She seems to be protective of me for some reason. Once she knows and trusts you she is your best friend. I am a knowledgable dog owner but this has got me stumped. Please give me some viz advice , as she is my first.


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## KristinKM83

Nicky -
I am looking for the same help! Our V is 2.5 and his defensive/anxious barking has gotten progressively worse over the last few months.
An example of Chieftain barking is driving in the car, we roll down the window to let him stick his head out...someone will be walking down the street and its 50/50 chance he will bark loudly, scaring us and the person. Why does he feel the need to protect us this way?
Any help is appreciated!


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## R E McCraith

Have U tried leaving the pup with a friend the pup likes 4 a few days - different enViroment & new people 2 meet - may or may not lesson the need 2 protect - worth a try


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## Nicky

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I have a (dog walker)friend who walks her with other dogs and has had her to stay over night, several times. Takes her to a local farm, where she works, to get used to livestock. I hoped this would help but no. I have used positive reinforcement training and I do not allow my dogs on furniture. They wait before feeding, go in beds when we eat etc. since reading other past posts, it seems quite a common problem with this breed? This saddens me. I am concerned as with the dangerous dog act in uk. A person just has to be in fear of being bitten and you can be reported. It is like having a dog with 2 distinct sides...one loving and amazing...the other side very worrying. I have trained dogs for many years and now to have this trait in my beautiful dog is heart breaking. Does it get better???  please reply vizsla people.


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## Nicky

Kristen. I feel for you , it is such a worrying problem. If you read past posts, we are not alone....how sad.


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## R E McCraith

Nick - try a pinch collar or E-collar - at 2.5 yrs the pup knows it's commands - correct at once 4 bad behavior - everytime with out exception - there is no positive reenforcement 4 bad behavior - may sound harsh - U are the leader of the pack - as such - U protect the V not the other way around - V's mayV soft but they R Very hard headed - with a P or E collar - put the pup at heel or sit stay - U move on when the pup is calm !!!!


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## Nicky

Thanks. Will give it a try.


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## texasred

Nicky it sounds like your pup is a fear barker. Slow counter conditioning may help. She does not have to face her fears head on. I would start working with her at a distance that she is comfortable with. Places were people gather and you can work with her from 50-100 yards away. Only moving closer as she gets comfortable.

Also you can have her on a leash when people come over. Have a bowl of treats by the door for your guests to give her. Have them come into the room and make not contact with her if she is barking, this means no eye contact too. If she approaches them without barking, have them offer a treat. The treats are only offered if its her coming closer, and the guest is not to move towards her. While this is going on you are to remain quite and not interact with her. No petting or soothing her. You are only there to hold the leash.

Chieftain maybe a little different and if it is not barking from fear, then I would go with REMs advice.
One thing you have to understand is that dogs bark/growl if they are uncomfortable with something. If you take that away you have less warning before the bite.


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## Nicky

Thank you Texas red, this is the advice I was looking for. I was grateful for other posts but their way felt wrong to me with nervous behaviour. It is no criticism of others, it's just not for me. I will be putting your advice into practice and hope it will help her. Thank you again. Nicky.


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## texasred

I hope it helps her. Make sure you use high value treats and don't expect a overnight fix. Over coming a fear is usually gradual.


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## CrazyCash

My Penny has a fear of men - especially if they are wearing a hat. I've been working with her trying to get her over this and it definitely takes some time. She's better than she was but still not completely over it. When people come to my house if Penny is uncomfortable she will start barking at whoever is making her uncomfortable and she'll back away from them. I tell my guests to ignore her and to sit down on the couch - Penny is much less threatened if they are sitting. I'm to the point now that I don't have her on the leash anymore but I definitely did at the beginning. Once everyone is sitting Penny will stand back for a bit and watch us and then when she's comfortable she'll approach everyone, including whoever is making her nervous. I give that person treats and if Penny goes up to them then they give her a treat. Now it doesn't take her too long to warm up and calm down. Sometimes she will bark again if someone gets up unexpectedly and startles her but if they just ignore her she will stop. 

She also gets a little uneasy on walks if a man jogs past us or unexpectedly shows up in front of us. This behavior has almost completely gone away because I've started walking her with other dogs who don't have this issue and I can tell you that works wonders. When she sees that the other dogs don't react at all it has really helped her to remain calm. I also make sure that I keep her moving forward with no change in our walking, no tightening on the leash, no talking to her to "warn" her that something is coming, I just continue to walk on like usual and if she starts to act up she gets a correction and "leave it". The other night I was walking with a friend and her dog and it was dark out. We walked past this pond with trees around it and as we were walking past a tree there was a man standing there - I don't know what he was doing, but Penny went crazy when she saw him, got in front of me, growling and barking - let's just say I didn't correct her that time and she sounds pretty nasty, so this guy got the message that he should stay clear of us. After we got around the corner my friend commented that she feels very safe walking with Penny, especially since her dog didn't pay any attention to the man. . I like that Penny is still Penny, she just needs to know when it is ok to let me be in charge and when it's ok to let her instincts kick in. 

It's not easy to get them over a fear, but the key is to be consistent and try to stay calm.


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## Nicky

Thank you so much for your replies. It so helps to know I am not alone with this.


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