Hi! I have a question regarding my puppy Max, his is 3 1/2 months old, a German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois mix. Max is a great puppy, super smart, loves my other 4 dogs and my roommate. I just started taking Max on walks around my neighborhood. He hasn’t met many dogs yet because he hasn’t had all his shots but I’ve been taking him on short walks to get use to the sights and sounds, people walking, Dogs, etc... He does really good but when he sees people or other dogs more often then not he will bark and growl a little. It seems to me he is either being protective or is just nervous since it’s all still pretty new to him. I keep treats in my pockets to encourage good behaviors and to give to strangers who want to greet him making them have him sit before giving the treat. But is the barking and growling normal? There are a couple calm dogs I know in the area and I have asked the owners if we can approach while Max is barking and they say yes so I walk him up and once he sniffs them and we just stand there with the person and the dog he stops and seems ok. I’m not able to do this with every person and dog since he is still to young to meet dogs I don’t know.I’m hoping it’s just because everything is so new still and with daily walks and exposure he will get better. And another observation I had was I usually walk him solo with non of my other dogs but when I walked him with one of my other dogs the other day his barking at people was even worse and I’m wondering if my other adult dog being with us was a factor. My adult dog wasn’t and never does react to people so Max wasn’t feeding of of him. I would appreciate any advice or tips. Thanks so much!
It's not unusual for Gsd’s to go through a stage of barking at people and strange dogs when they first see them, but once we approach them they usually settle down, personally I never let random strangers give my dogs tit-bits. I found when someone was approaching, standing to the side, and putting them in the sit, and getting them to ‘watch me’ and let them pass by, worked best.
I have a barking guard dog. She does not bark all the time but does bark when she sees people going past that she does not like. And she has different barks to tell me things if people come down, like friend or foe. Yesterday there were two guys working on the roof on the macolet diagonally across the road, and she barked because she did not think they should be there. Difficult to stop her for that, as the last time she barked because there were men on the roof there and they had somehow switched off the alarm.
Sorry I should have said that the last time Tikva barked because there were men on the roof at the macolet, they had not only switched off the alarm but had stripped the place of all money, cigarettes, alcohol, and I do not know what else. I called the police that time and they said that as the alarm had not gone off it was not their problem.
Ok great good to know, thanks! I typically do make him do a sit stay if he starts barking at other dogs and make him stay in a sit till they pass. I only approach this lady and her dog the other day cause I knew them from the neighborhood. And Max did settle down once we approached. I’ll keep taking him out on this little walks and continue with the training. I believe he gets his last shots on Monday so then I can really start to socialize. On a side note, the longest walk we have been on was 40 min, this included a lot of stopping to sniff or doing sit stays so not constant walking. How long can I walk him for? He seemed like he could keep going that day but I don’t wanna push him. He’s growing so fast! Thanks!
At that age I didn’t do a lot of walking, I used to find different places to sit and let them get used to different surroundings Ect: Watch for signs if he starts to sit down for no apparent reason during the walk, or if he starts dragging behind you and/or stops being interested in the environment instead of sniffing around, it's probably time to stop the walk or take a break Best to avoid a lot of running/brisk walking on pavements/ hard surfaces. Making them use their brain is much more effective at making them tired than long walks.
Get a chair and sit with him in front of a busy store or sidewalk. A firm no, when he acts up. A treat if he behaves.
My 7 1/2 month only cattle dog cross pig dog pup has been barking and growling at dogs he sees sometimes since he saw a dog come in the yard and fight with my grown up female. about a week later it started. That trauma started it, he’s been well socialized with dogs since , and I am correcting it , however it has set this trajectory up. so he is friendly when he gets close to them however .
