Barking Dog

Now that Dingo is starting to settle in to his new home we have noticed a very annoying trait he has started. When people are invited into our home he runs around barking at them and acting generally nervous. He also does it when people try to approach him in the street. He will reach out to sniff and then he scuttles backwards and barks at them. What we are afraid of happening is him becoming aggressive with it so we want to nip it in the bud. The only saving grace with it is he doesn't do it to children, only adults. More often men than women.

Obviously we don't want to stop socializing him but we don't want him distressed either. All advise is welcome because I've discovered that banging your head against a brick wall does nothing but give you head ache. *wanders off to get the paracetamol*

Hi Fliggle,

Have you tried asking people to completely ignore Dingo when they come into your house, no petting or eye contact or anything until he calms down? This has really helped Pepper, she tends to get overexcited. And the same when you are out, you want Dingo to be socialized but he has to be comfortable with it, as you say he's obviously nervous, so again no attention until he calms down and then a reward?

Hope your headache is better

J

Hi Fliggle,
There are (allegedly) ten types of bark, I can confirm that the three (Or sometimes two)quick sharp barks is when Rianna is warning us of approaching strangers, so when Dingo does that in the street he is telling you there are strangers approaching. The fact that you know that anyway is immaterial

In the home it might be a different bark or at least a different message he is giving you. As mentioned if visitors ignore him and give no eye or hand contact that may calm him down, I hope so anyway.

I may be wrong but in our experience barking doesn't necessarily lead to agression I will be watching other peoples reply to see if this is the general feeling. Certainly Rianna will never act aggressively even if she has been barking at someone approaching our property.

It's funny you should mention this, it is two short, sharp barks that he does and then he bounces away to spring back and do it again. I will certainly try the ignoring him until he calms down, see where that gets us. He normally walks to the bus with my daughter and I for her to go to school. I think I'll continue this in the morning but stop the afternoon one when all the kids pile off the bus and mob him. Once he's better with the morning trip, I'll start to re-introduce the afternoon one.

This is what I did with my smoothcoat chihuahua when she was younger and it realy worked ....

Ok, the ignoring of the dog isn't working. He just becomes so focused on what he's doing he runs around in circles barking instead. I've tried taking him out into the garden and removing him from the situation but he just jumps around barking, he makes enough noise to wake the dead. We have noticed that he doesn't do it if it's just my husband in the house, anyone can come and go then. If I'm in the house though he goes into full blown burglar alarm mode.

When you have a visitor (outside or inside) will Dingo sit and wait for a treat (given by you initially)? You could keep him on his lead inside for this initially, then he can eventually be let off.

Max and Murphy will often try and bark at visitors, but I've been using the "watch me" command and treating them when they stay still and quiet instead of jumping and barking like loonies. The other week, the Tesco delivery man came and Max sat and looked at him instead of doing his barking thing.

Then you could always progress to letting visitors and strangers give him the treat when he is still and quiet. May help him to realise that "strange" people are actually ok, and nothing to be nervous of.

Or, can he be sent to sit on his bed/in his crate when a visitor arrives? Not as a punishment, but more as a calming exercise?

Thanks for the advice IsoChick, I'll give these methods a go and see what happens.

I'd love to know what's happened to him in his past. If only he could speak english or I could understand woof. He's definitely got more of an issue with men than women.