5 month old barking at dogs - Page 1

Hi there. Had the same problem with my female. This started too at 5 months of age. First I thought this was fun and she would grow out of it. But the incidences became more intense as she lunged at other dogs for no reasons. She was very outgoing at home and rather the bully to my other dogs then anything else. We too went to puppy class, and she acted more shy and reserved there with the other pups.

What worked for me are controlled socialization classes were dogs are correctly introduced to each other so they learn whats aceptable behavior and whats not. Most new dogs have muzzles on and are on leashes, so corrections can be given and no soul gets hurt. We also use e-collars for intense dogs (no, we dont shock the hell out of them). My girl has truly improved drastically. From charging with hackles up at every dog, to learning that sniffing and being sniffed is ok, over shyness and avoidance following next (she would not charge but also would not interact at all), to being without muzzle, to slowly finding out that other dogs can be fun to play with. She is now becoming the girl at class I know from home, outgoing, playfull and showing off. It has been a long process, but we are succeeding.

Try to find someone who is doing controlled interactions so you can adress the problem instead of hoping things get better. I congratulate you for acknowledging that this is a problem tho. I think that it is only partial fear agression, but more that this was imprinted in some way accidentally, a learnt behavior. In my case I believe it was at 9 weeks old, I took her out to potty late evening. Took the front door as this was closest. The grown lab-mix of our neighbors was running loose and charged at her out of nowhere. My little puppy charged back, which made the big one jump back, and then I chased her off. We are talking about a couple seconds. I guess my girl learnt right there that charging first makes things go away, and mama did the same....

Good luck!

my female started at about 8 months, out of no where, she became agressive to all dogs not in her pack. On her own she she whittled it down to adult dogs.

i tied her to a fence, and let other (neurtal) dogs parade in front of her (out of reach). As the other dogs walk by, i keep her focus on me and give her treats every time she looked me inthe eye, if she barks i yank on her leash and say no.

after about 3-  5 minute sessions on 3 seperate saturdays, she only barks after one particular dog.

she has learned that if there's a dog that worries her, all she has to do is look to me and everything will be OK.

It sounds like defensive aggression. Some dogs display this behavior after being attacked by another dog or even just frightened by another dog. Some dogs are extremely pack oriented and want to run off "trespassers".  You should address this now while the pup's young. Keep her leashed. Correct her when she displays unwarranted aggression toward other dogs. With a mild case, distraction with obedience commands and treats may work.  Elkoor's controlled socialization exercise is likely to work with a pup.

What Sitasmom describes may work if you know the other dogs are truly neutral and will not come up to your dog. If one does come up to your dog, you could have a fight on your hands. A muzzle on your dog would be a must in addition to the leash. A better way to do this requires another person and a neutral dog. The neutral dog is held in one place on a leash by the second person while you walk your leashed dog past at a distance (30 to 40  yards). When your dog reacts, say "No!" and give a leash correction within a second after saying no. Keep doing this until your dog is ok at that distance. Then move a little closer to the neutral leashed dog and repeat. The idea is to work your dog until she doesn't react to the other dog at all when walking close by. It may take several sessions to accomplish this.

Do not use an electronic collar unless you have used them before for this and know exactly what you are doing. If you give a dog in defensive aggression a jolt, he's likely to think the other dog did it to him and get worse. There's a way to use an e collar to deter dog aggression and it's basically the way I described in the paragraph above, with the e collar providing the correction.  A muzzle on the aggressive dog is a good idea until the dog shows no aggression.

Address this now while your pup is still young and before you have a nasty dog fight on your hands. It doesn't go away by itself, no matter what the cause is.

I'd also just like to add that hackles, barking and lunging don't always mean aggression. My young male pup was socialised with adults and puppies in puppy class, plus he was allowed to play with my friend's Great Danes. He was probably allowed to play TOO much as he then began to think that other dogs were such good fun that they were far more exciting than me! Whenever we approached other dogs on our walks he became very excited, jumping up and down, and barking in frustration if not allowed to go and say hello. His hackles were also raised as a result of increased levels of adrenaline, produced of course in response to excitement as well as aggression. If he were allowed to say hello he just wanted to play. Interestingly, he has always stayed calm in dog club and in shows, as he obviously associated them with being good and working, rather than playing.
I am overcoming this by teaching him to focus on me and a toy when meeting other dogs on our walks. If a dog acts aggressively towards him when we are out then he is not interested in that dog at all - but if it is a young bouncy dog that obviously wants to come over and play then he gets really excited.
This experience has taught me that it is possible to over-socialise (with dogs anyway) and that there can be too much of a good thing!

Thanks evryone for your advice.I had better results to day we went to the dog park,started of on the leash only barked a couple of times, each time she barked i checked her and said nothing.i think she is just a bit worried,so i let her of the leash with 5 other dogs heckles went up to start with then she started to relax and play.I was so thrilled may be if i can do this evry day she might relise there is nothing to be frightend of. stacey

the best you can do is be firm , show her you are the boss, and she must listern to you.
she sounds to me like she wants to be the dominate one, be very firm with her never let her get away with anything.
she also sounds like she very territytoral which is very normal for alot of females.
i have one too and she never got away with anything so to this day she is really good never had any trouble with her. 
hope this helps.

Furrycoat, I know dog parks are an attractive place to let your dog off the leash to run and play. The problem with them is that some owners don't watch their dogs and allow them to attack and possibly injure other dogs in the name of "just playing."  Some dogs with high prey drive get carried away and chase smaller or younger dogs, frightening and possibly hurting them. Some owners actually drop their dogs off at the park and leave - allowing the dog to either be a bully or get bullied with no supervision. Also, most dog parks are simply not big enough for the number of dogs that are there - IMO, such a place should be about the size of a football (U.S. type) field and of course, none of them are.

It's your choice whether to take your dog to a dog park or not. I won't do it because I am aware of the problems that could occur. I don't want my dogs hurt either physically or mentally. I want them to focus on ME, not on other dogs.

furry,
Your pup is young and unshure about the world still.   Give it time and socialize under controlled conditions, not at a dog park.
They do behave differently when on their own, less pressure, room to run.  They don't have that trapped feeling off the leash.
Train the dog to focus on you regardless of any distractions.  Set a good example yourself.