# 6 Month Old Puppy Growling & Barking At Other Dogs



## Reed1616 (Nov 1, 2016)

Hi everyone! This is my first post on here and my first German Shepherd. I have a 6 month old German Shepherd, his name is Remi. I also have two other dogs that he lives with. Ever since Remi was 12 weeks old I have been taking him to obedience classes so he can socialize with other dogs and learn some lessons. I have taken Remi with me everywhere I can take a dog. Recently Remi has been showing some issues that is concerning me. 

When Remi and myself go for a walk and when we see another dog his hair stands up on his back, he'll lounge forward and he will start barking and sometimes growling, but once he gets up to the dog he is barking and growing at he is totally fine. He will not bark or growl, he will play with the dog and sniff it. Now what's concerning me is that he is barking & growling at these dogs and I have no way of controlling it. I have been trying to put treats in his face to stop him from doing this but it is not working. Is this behavior he is showing aggression or something I am doing wrong? I just want to walk my big puppy peacefully without scaring nobody.


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## cruzingwithk9s (Nov 6, 2014)

It could be that he is fearful. I have a german shepherd that is a fear barker. He barks at everyone to scare them first before they scare him. We tried working on it but he could not feel secure so we just limit the types of exposure he gets so that he feels safe. I tell people he does not do well in new situations and I try to get his attention to be focused on me. It could also be a leash thing. If he only does it when attached to a leash, it could be that he is feeling your fear or insecurity. Now I have been told that if we remain calm when walking a dog, they pick up on it but it is hard to do. The neighborhood we lived always had dogs off leash running up to us so I could never relax as I never knew when or what the other dog would do so I am sure my dog picked up on it.


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## Deb (Nov 20, 2010)

It sounds like excitement, he sees the dogs and he's on leash. He's young and eager to play which is why when he gets to them he is fine. If you're finding it difficult to handle then try talking to one of the trainers you used, maybe take an advanced class with them or just redo an obedience class with him. 


And welcome to the forum! Any pictures of him to share?


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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

sounds like excitement to me also. just try voice and leash corrections. giving him treats while he's doing this it the absolute worst thing you can do to correct an unwanted behavior. you're rewarding him for being bad!


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## Reed1616 (Nov 1, 2016)

Thank you for the advice!! I'm just wanting to make sure he's not going to be aggressive or anything. Remi is my first german Shepherd & I thoughthink I was doing something wrong. He does seem little fearful if the dog approachespecially him & he is just trying to scare him off or something. He is a big boy too, he weighs about 70 pounds right now!


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## Deb (Nov 20, 2010)

He's a handsome boy!


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

My pup is starting to do this too. She's not dog aggressive, just wants to play and be social and learned that idiotic behavior from other dogs. Unfortunately, the dog walker has allowed this to occur and doesn't know how to prevent and redirect. So, what I do is anticipate, bring her to heel, tell her to leave it, stay calm and engaging, keep a treat in my hand as we walk past and she gets the treat and praise if she kept her attention on heel and me. If she barks and lunges at a passing dog then she gets levitated back to heel.


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## Majikman (Oct 10, 2011)

You could also do an abrupt about face and go in the opposite direction. Do not allow him to approach another dog while he is growling or snarling...that's a disaster waiting to happen and it's teaching him bad behavior. Teach him the "LOOK" command which is total focus on you with eye contact, and when you get the correct response, then you reward immediately with a treat or several treats to maintain that focus on you.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

quote Reed 1616 "Ever since Remi was 12 weeks old I have been taking him to obedience classes so he can socialize with other dogs and learn some lessons"

wish people would stop -- the idea looks good on paper and will get approval from your friends and social media -- but -- from dog's perspective , which is the ALL IMPORTANT and only consideration - not so much.

quote Reed 1616 "I also have two other dogs that he lives with. "

He , then, really does not need to meet any other dogs !

quote Reed 1616 " I have taken Remi with me everywhere I can take a dog. "

Why? People will walk with a guide book in front of their face following all the points without once
ever connecting and observing the dog . 

He isn't being bad . He is reacting from his emotions - over whelmed and REACTIVE. Learned insecurity? Possibly.
Genetic insecurity . Possible . Combination of the two , that's probably the ticket.

dragging this over and completing discussion on this thread to make sure it is seen by more eyes than might visit this post 

visit
http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...0-rethinking-popular-early-socialization.html


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## Moriah (May 20, 2014)

What I do know is that, in my case, the situation did not resolve itself. I needed an experience GSD trainer. The dog needed discipline and I needed better leadership skills. One thing I did do correctly from the start is never allow my puppy to be petted by strangers in public--they were neutral background in the environment and my dog should ignore them. This is very useful in keeping the dog's focus on the handler. My dog is dog reactive, but obedience training has made a huge difference.

Effective obedience training is essential, JMO.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

And ... here we go again! The only people that would allow your dog to get that close are people that know no more than you do about dog behaviour. If your comfortable with random dog on the street ... "hooks ups" with other "Is my dog friendly people???" (and they have no idea) then keep doing that. 

If you encountered me and at the time my Boxer, my American Band Dawg and my GSD??? Well first "regardless" of your dogs behavior you would get no closer than 5 feet to my dogs. If your dog was acting like a "nut ball" my dogs would do "nothing!"

"I don't know you ... I don't know your dog ... you keep your distance ... I'll keep mine is how we roll." By and large the only people that don't do that are the "Is my dog friendly crowd??? They by and large have no idea?? 
My dogs don't do unknow dogs. Poorly behaved dogs can "bark and bark" at them till they are blue in the face and they will get "Nothing" as a response. My dogs have never had a bad encounter with an unknow dog (my job to make that happen) ... so why should they care about other dogs??? 


For the most part ... people that actually put the time and effort into training there dogs ... are not to eager to have their work undone by some bad random "Dog on the street encounter." I have "zero" interest in fixing issues behavior issues ( in my dogs) caused by someone else's uncontrolled ... uh ... "Dog!" Works out fine.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

both of my dogs are reminded that they are not going to have anything else to do with strange dogs. We went on a huge group walk yesterday with lots of dogs in the mix. My almost three year old did great. When he was a young thing he was all about meeting the other dogs. I took him to classes to show him that I expected him to work near other dogs, not socialize with them. It took awhile to sink in but it did.

Now my little girl is going through the same thing. She barks to get attention from the other dog or to get the woof out first before they bark. Either way she gets spun back to me. Once I have her attention again she is rewarded. She is also my "no patting" dog. She doesn't like strangers to come to her quickly. She needs time to think about them and study them. So not only does she not meet strange dogs, she doesn't come into arms reach of strange humans who want to pat her.


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