This week's readers question reads: We have a problem with our three-year-old dog.
She is over-protective of our property and barks at people who walk by on the footpath. Also sometimes while playing in the park she runs up to people and barks at them.
She seems to be in a defensive position, almost sitting down, chest raised and barking. She only does that to people who seem to be a bit insecure (often Asians) or young men.
I always put her on the leash when she does that and say naughty girl. But I am sure it would be far better if I did something else with a reward. But I am not sure how to approach the whole situation. Do you have any advice?
Barking is a common problem for many dog owners. When dealing with this issue, it is important to remember that the primary reason for barking is to warn us of visitors, strangers and passersby, being a trait that was deliberately encouraged when dogs were first domesticated.
Your dog is simply doing her job as "guard" of her home and people within it. The great news is we are able to come to a compromise with this behaviour. This is due to your dog needing to be reassured by you that you are aware that people are close and you have the situation under control.
The key is to allow your dog to follow her instinct by barking alerts in a limited way. To teach the quiet command, approach your dog and ask her to be quiet after allowing her to bark 3 to 4 times, give her a food reward for breaking her focus on barking and looking at you instead to reinforce the quiet command.
Over time, you will be able to ask for quiet from a distance and your dog will appreciate you now having the responsibility of dealing with the reason for the bark and get back to enjoying what she was doing before the interruption. By saying "quiet", you are effectively saying: "Thank you, I hear you and we will be fine. I have the situation under control".
To deal with her protective nature outside your home, make sure she is at heel or behind you on your walks when you come across strangers. This will lower her need to defend you by you being in front to move past what she perceives as threats.
She will be far more relaxed once she is confident in you, which is reinforced by rewarding her for focus on you rather than her triggers.
Paw point of the week:
The worst thing you can do when you get frustrated with barking is yelling "be quiet" - when you yell you are simply "barking" along in your dog's mind which will heighten the barking rather than effectively lesson it.
Contact me for the chance to have your question selected for publication at nadines@dogguru.co.nz for further information on Dog Guru visit www.dogguru.co.nz