Is your dog barking at other dogs or people (either from aggression/fear/anxiety or from playfulness?)
There are two major ways to help with a dog who barks at other dogs or at people.
1. Management
2. Behavior modification
Helping a dog who doesn’t get along with other dogs (or people) usually takes both management and training.
First, figure out at what distance the dog starts barking at other dogs (or people). Is it 90 feet? 30 feet? Then you can start creating a plan of management and training.
1. Management
- Medication
- Stay away from other dogs/people (distance, duration, time)
- U-turn (even hiding)
- Harness or gentle leader
- Muzzle
- Rent a Sniff-Spot
The above management techniques don’t permanently solve the problem, but they are a “quick fix” and give you some breathing room, which makes training much easier.
2. Training (Behavior modification)
- Look at That
- Hand target
- Find It (distraction and decompression)
- Spin (good for U-turn)
- Leave It
- Down
- Pattern (1, 2, 3)
Training takes a long time (it is not the “quick fix” that management is), but once trained, give you more options on the long run.