# Baron barking at someone today!



## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Ok, my 2 1/2 yo male GSD does it again to me. He totally stuns me with his behavior.

We had a little problem today in a group class that our breeder runs every saturday at 11 am with Baron or maybe it wasn't a problem. I am not sure.

There were only 2 other people there with adult dogs plus the owners of the two puppies from the same litter (a 4 month old M and F). While we were in the field doing some obedience, a man about 25-30 came up to us and asked about the GSD's so I stopped and talked to him. Baron was his usual curious self and came up to the guy and visited with him as he usually does with people. I gave the guy a few treats and he gave them to Baron and we talked for a couple minutes and then he left. Nothing unusual so far. Back to the group and some walking and heeling around. 
Baron was tempted a few times to bark at Harley(another adult male that Baron has never liked since they he was small puppy) but I was able to distract him at these moments and he was pretty good although looking intently at him and naturally Harley was often staring back although he didn't really get off too much either. 

Then we had another guy about the same age as the first come over to the group and asked about what we were doing. So one of the other owners and I were talking to him. Baron of course noticed him and seemed to want to go say hi as we did with the first guy. So I said to him "go say hi' as I usually do. Now I am a little fuzzy exactly what happened next but I seem to remember him petting him a little bit and Baron standing next to me and then suddenly barking like crazy at the guy and doing a small lunge at him! And barking. The guy didn't seem scared at all (even saying to me "Guess he doesn't like me after all" or something like that)but I seem to remember some odd body language -sort of stiff and jerky (not sure as I wasn't really paying attention to his body language). I was able to get Baron calmed down very quickly by moving him away and changing his direction - then we walked back closer (not too close!) and Baron was fine - no barking just looking.

As I mentioned I am still a little fuzzy as to the exact sequence of events leading up to his barking as I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to everything that everybody did. One thing that I do remember was that Baron was a little out in front of me on the leash as we came over to the guy - and I seem to remember that this is not sometimes a good idea (after the fact). Is my recollection of this not being a good idea correct? 

I think that my leash might also have been a little tight but am not positive. Baron's negative reaction seemed almost like a delayed reaction to me thinking back on it. I also did not give this guy any treats to give to Baron - would this have made a difference do you think? 

As you can probably guess I am puzzled by Baron's reaction to the second guy. Can anyone shed any light on his reasoning and what I should do to prevent a reoccurence? 

BTW I did not correct Baron for this except very mildly by voice as I was turning and redirecting him. Also, none of the other dogs reacted to this guy, but then again none of them came up to him either.

Thanks,

****


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

What! No one has any opinions on why he did this and what to do about it?

And even more so, whether i should be worried!


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

well I can't really comment, because I don't know how I would interpret that.

I can tell you an incident I had with Masi tho, similar..walking with my sister and her two paps,,we meet up with a girl I know who is dog friendly, I tell her to go hang on the paps cause Masi isn't a real social butterfly and prefers to sit and just 'watch'..

Ok, everything pretty normal,,the girl pulls out some treats, and before I know it, is handing them to Masi, Masi takes a few, then goes to 'sniff' the girl,,well the girl starts waving her arms in Masi's face,,"Don't sniff me!",,,that's all it took, Masi did a bark and hold, (as this is exactly what it was) , I was caught off guard, and yanked her back and put her in a sit,,,Fine, no problem, back to her normal self..

I do know, some dogs unfamiliar with certain people, do not appreciate being pet on the head, maybe that was the case with Baron? I believe petting on the head vs under the chin, can be perceived much differently by the dog. 

And who knows,,the guy may have been giving off bad/uncomfortable vibes picked up by Baron..

As for Masi, well as I said, out in public, she is NOT a social butterfly, she prefers to 'watch' people vs interact with them, (altho if they are drunk/drinking you can bet she's all over them like a wet noodle GO FIGURE! LOL)..


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Yea, sometimes hard to figure them out sometimes.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

It doesn't matter how you approached the second guy or that you had no treats, your dog's reaction was totally unacceptable and I would have severely corrected him. Your lack of correction let your dog know that it was alright with you what he did and he won't think twice the next time. This was a non-threatening situation and if your dog didn't like him, he could have just backed up and tried to avoid him.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Elaine said:


> It doesn't matter how you approached the second guy or that you had no treats, your dog's reaction was totally unacceptable and I would have severely corrected him. Your lack of correction let your dog know that it was alright with you what he did and he won't think twice the next time. This was a non-threatening situation and if your dog didn't like him, he could have just backed up and tried to avoid him.


First I agree that his reaction was unacceptable but many trainers and behaviorists would disagree with a "severe correction" as a reaction to his behavior (I know because I have had them tell me that). 

That would have been my first reaction to his behavior but I was warned that that could have a negative reaction and help baron to think that "Aha! A stranger comes toward me and I get a whack - guess I better be aware of strangers first". One reason for my post here was to see what you guys thought.

Second I would have been equally upset if Baron had "backed up" and "tried to avoid him". At worst, I would want him just to watch him if he decided that he wasn't going to be friendly. I think that there are way too many shy GSD's as it is today. I don't want to add to the number.

Most of the time Baron is probably a little too friendly to strangers that we meet on the sidewalk and in stores, not quite as aloof as we would want and expect.


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## momsgoingaited (May 21, 2010)

elaine - I agree with you 100%!!! any unprovoked agression towards humans is totally unacceptable & should result in more than mild, verbal correction!


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Not correcting your dog for an unprovoked attack in an nonthreatening situation is going to get you a lawsuit for a dog bite down the road. You are clearly either not hearing the people who are telling you such dangerous stupidity correctly or you need to quit listening to them.

If your dog doesn't like the person for whatever reason, he should back up and avoid confrontation. This is not shyness and you are not teaching shyness, this is the correct response for an aggressive dog in this situation. He knows you know he wants to bite, but it's not appropriate so he's trying to get out of the situation and then you should help him by getting away from the person in question.

Correcting him for this will not teach him to fear strangers, but it will teach him he can't just randomly try and bite anyone he chooses for no reason. 

There is a big difference between being actively threatened in a scary situation and being approached by a stranger during class. Correcting him for the one will not affect the other.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Elaine said:


> Not correcting your dog for an unprovoked attack in an nonthreatening situation is going to get you a lawsuit for a dog bite down the road. You are clearly either not hearing the people who are telling you such dangerous stupidity correctly or you need to quit listening to them.
> 
> *Actually I am hearing those folks quite clearly, but I am not sure of what you are saying. What is the "dangerous stupidity" that you mention above. And just for your information, I did correct Baron when he was barking, not "attacking" as you described his action.*
> 
> ...


Elaine,

I am not sure if i explained Baron's actions clearly or maybe I didn't explain my actions. I did redirect his attention when he barked at the guy just didn't give him a harsh correction. It does seem to ramp his activity up even higher if I try a harsh correction in this situation and when he has his prong collar on whereas when I redirect his attention he seems to calm down very quickly.


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## JudynRich (Apr 16, 2010)

Sorry I missed this the first time out...Has Baron done this before? I had a female GDS (Sue) for 12 years. She was great w/ all people and dogs, but twice she displayed the same behavior. I wonder if Baron sensed something? Be cautious. It seems a bit odd that there were two fellows at the same time, and one asking specifically about GSDs. Make sure no one follows you home. I know the other posts are about the aggressive behavior, but sometimes these naturally protective dogs act just as you described.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

JudynRich said:


> Sorry I missed this the first time out...Has Baron done this before? I had a female GDS (Sue) for 12 years. She was great w/ all people and dogs, but twice she displayed the same behavior. I wonder if Baron sensed something? Be cautious. It seems a bit odd that there were two fellows at the same time, and one asking specifically about GSDs. Make sure no one follows you home. I know the other posts are about the aggressive behavior, but sometimes these naturally protective dogs act just as you described.


thanks. That is essentially what the animal behaviorist said to me also esp. since Baron is generally very friendly to strangers.


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## ThorDog (Feb 12, 2010)

I am just giving my 2 cents. My GSD Thor who has passed, would politely ignore all strangers that passed us on our jogs and walks. He wasn't aggressive but just not interested. On one walk we passed by a guy and he growled, didn't lunge but exhibited a strange behavior. Sure enough about 5 min after I got home (I am a female and at the time living alone) the guy tried opening our gate to come after me. Needless to say Thor gave him a piece of his mind and jumped against the gate barking which made the guy run away. What I am trying to say is that I believe that dogs can be more perceptive than we can at times. Again, I am not disputing the other comments at all, I agree with them but also wanted to add to what JudynRich said.


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## trish07 (Mar 5, 2010)

Personaly, I think that if a dog suddently bark at someone, there is a reason.

Obviuolsy, your dog is not agressive toward strangers in general. Why he didn't like this men, I don't know! Maybe the men looked funny to him or moved a way your dog didn't appreciate. Maybe this guy smelled or stood weird to him ...you can't always say....but your dog is not barking for nothing.

Phenix is anxious toward people who wear veil, hat or cap, especially at night. He is not "agressive" toward them, but he barks a bit and gets "stiff". He is unsure (which is not good!).

If I can suggest you something, when you are doing things with your dog, ignore people. If you are doing two things at the time, your dog can be confuse also. 

Focus on the fact that your dog should always ignore strangers. He should stay by your side and *do not accept stranger foods*! 

I know you want to do it right when you give stranger a bit of food to approach your dog, but (I think) it could turn into disaster if someone want to harm your baby by giving him poison or something else.

I also think that you shouldn't correct him negatively when this happen. Turn around, distract him. Do it the number of time it takes to calm down your dog. If you correct him in a negative way, your dog could associate strangers to harm/punition and it could become worse.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Good points! thanks to all who answered!


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