# new behavior - barking at other dogs



## AthenaClimbs

Seems like just as we overcome one challenge, it's right on to the next...sigh

Our girl Athena is 5 months. She's always been well socialized with other dogs and is very friendly with everyone. Never growls, or attacks but always wants to play! She gets an hour in the doggy park (off leash) in the AM and PM and gets along great with everyone (she's playing with the big boys now).

Lately, when we've been taking her on walks and she sees another dog, she'll immediately start to pull towards them and start barking. I try to get her to sit but it's as if I don't exist! She will not listen, I even try to lure her to sit with her favorite treat and still nothing! I finally let them sniff noses/rears and she calms down. 

I know this is common behavior for a puppy and she just wants to say hi and play. But how do you train her to be calm when another dog approaches?


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## sprklnh2o

omg. I totally have the exact same problem! My pup Berlin is almost 5 months and he's already got a big boy bark! It scares other pups and dog walkers. I would love to see what other people suggests. Currently I just walk the other way in hopes that he will realize he won't get any closer with that behavior.


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## katdog5911

Stella is 5 months today and the way she acts when she sees another dog...well it sounds like she wants to kill it! But she really wants to just play. She barks and growls and jumps and pulls.... I would love to know how to get her to calm down.


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## helvetebrann

Abbey used to do the same thing. It's called leash reactivity. We took her to a behavior specialist to help with other problem behaviors and we've really seen an improvement. 

You need to catch your puppy being good before he or she sees the other dog. Click, treat, click, treat, repeat. Once the puppy sees the other dog and starts acting out, say NO in a firm voice and then try to get your dog's attention. If they pay attention to you, click, treat. 

It took months, but Abbey no longer does this at all.


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## AthenaClimbs

I also feel it's something very common and normal for puppies to do. After they mature, they stop caring about other dogs more.


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## kelseyca

*Help?*

I am having exactly the same problem with my 8 month old pup Kahlua- it is getting out of control! 

What do you recommend? Should I just keep walking when we pass another dog across the street and ignore the barking/pulling? How do I teach her to ignore other dogs?

Is this something she might just grow out of?

KElsey


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## Anthony8858

Kira is almost 5 months, and if I didn't do things to correct it, she would go nuts at the other dogs..

Fwiw, I anticipate this, when I take her for a walk. Before leaving, I make sure I have a high value treat, such as a hot dog. As soon as I sense that she's about to get nuts, I whif the hotdog under her nose, and say " watch me" as I continue walking. She would glance at the other dog, but always comes back to me for the hotdog. 
So far, it's been keeping her in check.


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## RMF

Deezul does the same thing. He just wants to play.


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## Razzle J.Dazzle

We had an experience similar to this today. We were at the vet and waiting our turn when a golden retriever type dog came into the lobby. Razzle (6 months old) instantly started barking and lunging towards the dog. Now that he has his big boy bark, I'm sure other people think he's going to attack. I honestly don't know what he would do if he got to the other dog. The problem is, even if he only wants to play, no other dog owner is going to want to let Razzle "greet" their dog when he is acting that way. And I can't blame them!

My question is this. How can I understand what type of behavior (fear, aggression, playful) he is demonstrating? I will try what is suggested here and be sure to have a treat on me as a distraction, but I am worried if I constantly prevent this type of interaction, he will never get used to it and learn how to behave appropriately. This is my first big dog, so I am a complete noobie when it comes to these things.


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## VegasResident

The problem with a GSD is that they are so large, people always think they are in attack mode when your dog barks and lunges so they back away and sometimes this makes the behavior worse. 

I can tell my boys behavior difference by his hackles. When they go up he is not in the playing mode.

As a GSD gets older and especially enters adolescence, new issues/behaviors may emerge. 

If it is leash reactivity a good trainer can help. Leash reactivity generally can get worse and not just disappear. Dogs that are great off leash does not mean they are great on leash. At daycare I can see a dog that is great in the back go ballistic once it is on leash with its owner. 


Not all GSDs stop caring about other dogs as they mature. I had a female that did not. Training and continued socialization are key and all behavior that you consider inappropriate should be nipped as quickly as possible.

My boy is going to all all GSD class for his adolescent training.


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## AthenaClimbs

my girl is still barking at new dogs, however when she sees a pal she's met before, she will pull towards them without barking. Her hackles are never up and I'm 110% sure, she's pulling to say hi. Most people I've spoken to have said that this behavior dissipates around the 1 year mark. GSD generally lose interests in playing with other dogs once they mature. So should I expect this behavior to slowly disappear since it's not aggressive and just puppy excitement? What I'm doing now is making a circle if she sees another dog to calm her down, maybe even put her in a sit. Or lavish her with treats before she sees the dog.


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## RocketDog

I am interested in this too. Rocket does the same thing with the couple dogs he likes. Strange dogs, he's interested in, but I just keep briskly going by. He always wants to change sides if the dog is on the opposite side he's on, so he can get closer/see better, but he doesn't bark or really pull.


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## katdog5911

I have tried treats but Stella is not interested if another dog is walking by... I am taking her to obedience and she is fine around the other dogs. I think I need to walk her around other dogs more and just keep at it..... I know she just wants to play but she is kind of scary when she starts barking and growling and jumping.....


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## oelapoel

My 6 month old GSD also does this... This is my first dog ever, so what should we do?

Do we:
1. just ignore him, walk pass by while holding him + forcing him to walk with us without stopping?

2. Force him to sit down and then treat continuously until the other dog passed by?

3. Keep walking + holding treat in front of his nose until he is calmer, then give the treat?

4. Try to do what cesar milan does with his correction thing?


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## Haru

Haru is in puppy training finally after waiting for her last round of distemper and she is the WORST dog there in losing her mind on EVERY dog. It's awful. She knows lots of commands at home so we thought puppy class would be no big deal, just reinforcement. The other younger dogs are just scared as she barks her head off nonstop. She's okay at puppy daycare when she's off the leash with that pack, so we are wondering what to do here... I see no one really got a response so far, so I'll roll the dice now hah


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## vwitt

Went through the exact same thing, Remy was perfect and then 6 months hit and he developed this issue. What we did is the sit- look- treat method. Before the dog approaches had him sit & lure him to look at me with a high value treat like a piece of beef ( or hit dog but that made his tummy upset). Had him focus the whole time the dog passed. If he was good I treated him & basically threw a party for him. Once he was doing that we progressed to walking past them with him looking up at me. It has taken months but its really improved. Now unless the other dog instigates something, we walk past with little to no drama. Still working on walking past a few of the crazy little dogs on our street that go after him, but overall a huge improvement. I did this in several places - street, hiking, pet stores. There are other methods but this one worked for us. It did not happen overnight though!


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## Baillif

The problem people encounter when they allow their dogs to play with other dogs at dog parks to (blow off energy) is you set up a situation where the pup can learn from a young age that these strange dogs can be way more fun and interesting and exciting than you are.

So if you have been lucky enough to not have a dog get attacked and become dog aggressive playing with other dogs you have a dog that sees strange dogs and automatically gets super excited about the strange dog because ITS PLAY TIME AND THIS IS THE MOST EXCITING THING I AM GOING TO GET TO DO TODAY BECAUSE MY OWNER IS BORING AS A LOG BY COMPARISON! 

So you get ignored the dog pulls for the strange pup, and completely ignores you. You holding the dog back on the leash creates frustration and the dog has to vent this somehow and barking is as good an outlet as any. The good news. Your dog is just excited and not aggressive (although it might be perceived this way by people that just don't know better.)

So how do you correct this? I wouldn't allow the dog to play with dogs anymore. 

You can try high value food rewards to try to get his attention and stop it and this might work for some dogs but I personally have dogs that would rather play than eat steak unless very very very hungry. I made the mistake of trying to recall one of mine from a person with a toy using food treats and that didn't work at all. I had to use a toy he liked more instead. Some dogs are just like this.

Your goal should be to make yourself more interesting to your dog and the only way this is gonna happen is if you get down on the ground with him and play a fighting biting game like tug or horse around with him. Teach your dog to play tug with you. It will make your dog way more interested in you, and you can start using it as a reward for following commands including recall commands. I can recall my 5 month old Mal/shep puppy when he is chasing after cats strange dogs or joggers for his tug. It can be that powerful.

Then you start doing your socialization training the right way. By getting your dog engaged with you around other dogs and people, not by having them actually engage with the other dogs and people.


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## vwitt

That is a really good point. I noticed the behavior after we started going to the dog park. 


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