Hi, I'm looking for feedback about my male dobe puppy who has recently (started two weeks ago) to bark at people, dogs, trash cans, large plastic garbage bags etc. with his hair quite "up". I always reassure him and if it is an inantimate (sp??) object I walk him up to it so he can figure out what it is. I have been socializing him with both kids and adults. He seems to bark at people with his hair up, but when I bend down tell him it is o.k he is fine, friendly and social. My question is this...is this something I should be alarmed about? Someone I know was concerned that this was an early sign of a temperament problem and since this is going to be my first SchH dog I am concerned that if this is a temperament problem, maybe he shouldn't be trained. I have been socializing the heck out of him this week and the barking with hair has reduced but not completely disappeared. So, any insight you all have would be appriecated.

Thanks,
Dobemom

Hey Dobermom,

My GSD pup did the same thing at about 3 months.. mostly on night walks.. he would hackle up at cans and strange noises, give his little "who goes there bark"... never people tho. He is now 6 and a half months old and does not do this anymore. I think your pup just needs consistant socializing, it should go away.. your doing the right thing.

I would only start to be concerned if he still did it at 6-9 months old.

One point I think I'll make here is that you should never encourage a young pups overly aggressive responses to people or objects by petting him/her and "reasuring" the pup in a soft manner. What you are really doing is encouraging the behavior with positive reinforcement. The dog may stop the barking or may not, but you don't ever attempt to calm them down with soft voice, petting, patting, loves, etc. That is telling him "good boy" in his mind.

He barks, hackles up and you pet and reasure him. He likes that so next time he is sure to do it again.

The response should either be negative or impartial. You show the dog, by your own example, what proper behavior is. (i.e. walk up to person or object while ignoring dog and act normally. Not reinforcing the behavior at all. Some pups will take the hint that it is OK, no reason to bark. Your other option is correcting the behavior and then behaving appropriatly.

There are lot pups with different temperaments so there are a few different approaches, I'm sure that you will hear a few now, but don't do anything that the pup will associate as pleasurable when they are not behaving in a proper way.

Example, in most cases, I will immediately correct my pups for barking or showing aggression to children. I do not bend down and try to make them feel better about the situation with a lot of praise. Not a good idea in my opinion.

my male Dobe will only bark,growl act aggressively when he is on his own property, will bark when he hears leaves rustling in the woods at night or sees the dogs that live next door, although when he was young they both acted aggressively toward him.

he will bark at the young girls next door but not at my other neighbor on the other side which he has met several times.

when he barks at what i would want him to bark at (noises in the woods, strangers entering property) i praise him. when he barks at things i do not want him to then i tell him stop.

however, he does not bark at inanimate objects. if your dog sees a trash can as a threat not sure what that would mean temperment wise. :rolleyes:

Thanks for all the advice. I especially like what was said about NOT giving him attention after he barks to try and make him more secure. I can now see how that could easily be seen as praise. I think I will try the "quiet" command when he starts that and otherwise ignore the behavior. Thanks so much.

Dobemom

Dobe,

The can could be a migit with a silver suit on ready to pounce on him...... to a puppy. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

My 3yo Lab still occasionally seems unsettled by objects that he has never seen before. Recently on one of our walks, there was a new dirt pile with a tarp covering it, where there had been no dirt pile just the day before. My boy thought it was something to be wary of, judging by his hackles and his desire to go the other way. I said "Hey, look, it's a dirt pile!" in an upbeat tone as I approached it, and investigated it by touching it with my foot, and leaning over it to give it a visual examination. When my dog investigated the dirt pile himself, I got happy and excited, and praised him for his confident response. It's actually pretty cute, the way he looks up at me, then investigates the object too! Reminds me of a little puppy at those times. The dirt pile is no longer a threat to him, since he had the opportunity to take a closer look and see that it was just a dirt pile and nothing sinister. Any time my dog seems afraid of an object, I do the same thing. Funny thing is, he's never shown fear of loud noises or big machinery, or anything like that (except the vacuum cleaner, which he's no longer afraid of). If we see another dog or person that he'd like to go introduce himself to, an upbeat "This way" is usually all it takes for him to ignore whatever it is and just keep walking with me.

My old dog went through a phase when he was about 6 months old, that lasted for several months, where if he saw a person that looked "different", such as an old woman walking with a walker, the mail carrier pushing a cart, a person with a stroller, a homeless person with a cart, that kind of thing, he would bark at them. He eventually got over it, and was a very stable and trustworthy dog around people of all sizes, shapes, and ages. I think what that tells me is that even a dog with a stable temperament can go through stages, and that it's probably too early to tell with your dog.

LOL I thought you might...