barking at strangers

this a most unpleasant habit zeus has started doing- but only when hes off lead, it used to be the other way round! He has great recall and responds well to "leave","wait" amd "stay" however just the last 2 weeks he has been running up to men who walk by us while we are out walking and barks at them- if they say hello or stop walking , he wags his tail and waits to be petted but this is a behaviour i wont tolerate. Hes also started barking at people we drive past in the car. Could it be the start of his teenage years? please please can soemone advise me how to nip this in the bud- Zeus is as soft as butter but it gives people the wrong impression of the breed!

[Stuart]

I am wondering if Zeus has just got his confidence and now wants to `greet` everyone he meets,...in the hope he gets petted.

After all many dogs do greet like this,.. Sam even does it to us when we come home,... but he stops instantly he is told,... maybe thats your next training lessen for Zeus,..the `quiet` command

[heygirl28]

The 'Quiet' command. Now that sounds like a 'must', especially for Zara, she's so vocal and answers back to everything - is it easy to teach????

[Bonniesmummy]

Originally Posted by heygirl28

The 'Quiet' command. Now that sounds like a 'must', especially for Zara, she's so vocal and answers back to everything - is it easy to teach????

Well apparently so.... HOWEVER I personaly haven't managed it yet and its been a while lol ..... well she does sometimes for 'enough'

Zeus.... stop being a naught boy
Hope he stops soon Trish

[Stuart]

To be honest I dont know how to, I am not a good trainer,..but from the very first moment I brought all my rescues home,.. when they barked and I wanted them not to,...I told them to be quiet, and they have ever since.

Which has enforced my long time believe that it is not always something to teach dogs to do things you want them to,..it is also the way you say it, and the body language you use,...dogs dont speak English, our words are only sounds to them, they read body language and tone of voice much better,...

lol,... now if someone can help me with dogs Sam doesnt like on the street from time to time,.........

[kita]

Originally Posted by jonsgirl

He has great recall and responds well to "leave","wait" amd "stay" however just the last 2 weeks he has been running up to men who walk by us while we are out walking and barks at them-

You could always recall him before he has chance to run up to them, then you can make sure that he is put into a down or a sit and that will stop him from barking at them (it is hard for a dog to bark when it is lying down). Then you can ask them if they wish to stroke him or not.

Personally I would never allow my dog to run up to strangers - even if they are being friendly, as you don't know what people's reactions are going to be - they may be terrified of dogs, or allergic to them. Some people may even kick out at the dog and injure them.

Remember that GSD's are a guarding breed and they will automatically bark at things they think we should be aware of, it is just their way of alerting us to possible danger.

Sue

Quiet is easy to teach as long as you pair the behaviour (stopping) barking with a reward so the dog actually learns what you want. But as Stuart says if the relationship's right with your dog then they sort of know what you want so you don't have to 'train' it per se. If your status isn't high enough in the dog's view this won't occur.

For most behaviours you don't want the dog to do, I've found getting in with an obedience command works, like Sue says, recalling before barking. Another example, Zee likes to jump up for greeting strangers so I make her sit rather than saying No, then her praise is fuss from the person or me.

A lot of owners don't shape the behaviour they want from their dogs - dog doesn't know what is required and so it continues. Dogs work on avoiding unpleasant things and wanting to do nice things, so the reward system is key. Just saying No! Stop that! will be ineffective if it doesn't know what behaviour you DO want.

Any command I give to stop an un-required behaviour in my dogs which they do successfully gets praise. I'm not a trainer but this does seem to work.

[Chrystie22]

Originally Posted by jonsgirl

this a most unpleasant habit zeus has started doing- but only when hes off lead, it used to be the other way round! He has great recall and responds well to "leave","wait" amd "stay" however just the last 2 weeks he has been running up to men who walk by us while we are out walking and barks at them- if they say hello or stop walking , he wags his tail and waits to be petted but this is a behaviour i wont tolerate. Hes also started barking at people we drive past in the car. Could it be the start of his teenage years? please please can soemone advise me how to nip this in the bud- Zeus is as soft as butter but it gives people the wrong impression of the breed!

Our Diva's similar age to Zeus and she acts exactly the same, ie she barks when strangers approach and as soon as they say hello, she goes all soppy and waits for them to pet her. My OH is not keen on that sort of behaviour as he thinks it'll make her too friendly to strangers and an easy target if someone decides to harm her or steal her, etc...Dont get me wrong he doesnt want her to be aggressive, far from it, but just a bit more neutral if that makes sense?! I tell him that she is still young and her guarding instincts have just kicked in and she doesnt know yet how to differentiate. But, her barking puts off quite a few people and we dont get that many 'daring' to approach, only the ones who really can read dogs' behaviour and know she is only young and doesnt mean any harm..