# My dog Barks at other dogs and won't listen when.



## BabyStella (Feb 8, 2020)

My Stella is now 6 months old. The odds have been stacked against her socializing with other dogs and she's afraid of strange dogs. I know dogs bark and she's not that bad normally, but when she starts she doesn't stop. I've been training loose leash walking and when she sees other dogs, she goes crazy and won't stop. Anyone have any suggestions to get her to listen? When this is all over I would like to take her to the coast as she loves playing in her pool but I can't have her barking non-stop at other dogs. And pictures of Stella simply because I love her so. Day I got her and one from almost a month ago.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

Be patient and consistent. You have to act BEFORE she gets it into her head to bark. Watch where her eyes focus, how her ears turn, her breathing (watch for huffing). Those could mean that she is getting interested in another dog and deciding what she is going to do about it. THAT is the time for you to teach her. I'll move away and make distance. Have her sit next to you or even better sit down together. If she stays calm, praise and reward with food or a toy. If she explodes, get up and move on down the street, no reward! If my dogs start to lunge I walk into them calmly and force them around in a circle with my legs. After a couple of times around they look up at me and I talk to them calmly, "oh, nice to see you again, remember me?" or something silly like that, and we loose leash or heel down the road. A few blocks later I might do some Obedience games and reward my dog for focusing on me. And watch your own breathing. Your dog will follow your cues somewhat. If you start to breath differently, walk differently and tighten the leash your pup will start to take those as "oh oh, something dangerous might be coming up"


And remember that lunging on the leash is not necessarily aggression. It could be frustration. Our young dogs want to go and inspect the other dog and we don't let them. We have to teach them to look but not lunge and that walking with us is rewarding and fun. Put on some fun music (but don't put earphones in both ears. You want to hear your surroundings) and walk briskly. Find places along the way to play a little bit. Do some stretches. Do some jogging. Do some "sniff this".


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## BabyStella (Feb 8, 2020)

car2ner said:


> Be patient and consistent. You have to act BEFORE she gets it into her head to bark. Watch where her eyes focus, how her ears turn, her breathing (watch for huffing). Those could mean that she is getting interested in another dog and deciding what she is going to do about it. THAT is the time for you to teach her. I'll move away and make distance. Have her sit next to you or even better sit down together. If she stays calm, praise and reward with food or a toy. If she explodes, get up and move on down the street, no reward! If my dogs start to lunge I walk into them calmly and force them around in a circle with my legs. After a couple of times around they look up at me and I talk to them calmly, "oh, nice to see you again, remember me?" or something silly like that, and we loose leash or heel down the road. A few blocks later I might do some Obedience games and reward my dog for focusing on me. And watch your own breathing. Your dog will follow your cues somewhat. If you start to breath differently, walk differently and tighten the leash your pup will start to take those as "oh oh, something dangerous might be coming up"
> 
> 
> And remember that lunging on the leash is not necessarily aggression. It could be frustration. Our young dogs want to go and inspect the other dog and we don't let them. We have to teach them to look but not lunge and that walking with us is rewarding and fun. Put on some fun music (but don't put earphones in both ears. You want to hear your surroundings) and walk briskly. Find places along the way to play a little bit. Do some stretches. Do some jogging. Do some "sniff this". Walks and night is when she's not. Normally she can't bothered with anyone outside of the yard. Except at night. Sent two teens running at 2am. They had no clue where she was and she's loud already.


I don't think she wants to hurt them either. She wants to play she just doesn't know how to act due to lack of interacting with dogs other than the ones she lives with. For the most part, she is a quiet dog bark wise.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

The thing to remember about letting your dog play while on a walk is that you can build the expectation of play. You won't want that when your full grown dog wants to pull you across the street to join another dog in a romp. Best to have "play dates" if you can with even tempered dogs, off leash in a fenced in yard. Admittedly, those can be harder to arrange than play dates for kids.


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## Alissa_09 (Jan 18, 2020)

Dog barking at others is a common problem. I think training could help. See if this could be helpful for you online dog training program.


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