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May 31, 2011

My 6 month old dog is already well behaved except she barks at individuals with darker skin. Any suggestions?

Full Question:

I just found your website but already can't get enough. I have a 6 month old Greater Swiss Mountain Dog who is happy and active. She loves to go out for walks and we frequent our local dog park often. She is already well behaved except she barks at individuals with darker skin. She never shows aggression towards them but does make a point of barking at them until we walk away or they do. We live in a city and this is very difficult because many people stop and want to pet her but when they do she barks. I know when she is full grown this behavior could be very frightening to others. Currently we do the "No Bark" and pat her nose with two fingers. Many people have told us this is a phase but I would like to what I can do to further stop this bad habit. Any suggestions?

Cindy's Answer:

You should probably teach your dog to focus on you, instead of letting her become anxious and bark at them. This barking is a sign of anxiety which WILL likely become aggression if you do not break the cycle.

I would also recommend this 3 part video series on fear periods in dogs, it explains how to condition the dog to things that make it nervous.

I would recommend giving her clear rules and leadership, at all times. Pack Structure for the Family Pet

Become a student of marker training, so you have a way to communicate with her. Patting a dog’s nose isn’t going to teach them anything. I would read our article on training dogs with Markers

I’d also suggest:

Your Puppy 8 weeks to 8 Months
The Power of Training Dogs with Markers
The Power of Training Dogs with Food

We also have a number of eBooks, which include topics that may help you.

I hope this helps,
Cindy Rhodes

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