Aggressive barking/nipping...HELP!

Wally has recently begun aggressive barking towards people. He's good on walks because we have him on the pinch collar, but at the dog park, recently something seems to set him off. Its either the smell, the colors white and black, hooded sweaters/beanies, or something about the person, but he'd run up to them and start barking, and as I call him or tell him "no bark," he runs circles around the person, and recently began nipping/biting. I know its the natural herder in him, but its become more aggressive. Does anyone else experience this? Any suggestions?? I can't have a biter on my hands...

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Permalink Reply by Haley Merlot on June 3, 2010 at 7:45pm

I'd really recommend obedience training. You'd be surprised what wonders a few classes can do-- learning leave it and stay can actually help unrelated topics like barking, because the dog learns to be calm, attentive, and respectful.

Also, try having a dog party-- I did this with my puppy. Bring over a whole group of strangers (to him, not you!), hand out treats, and have each person reward him when he doesn't bark. You can sit in a circle with Wally in the middle, or have people come into the room or through the front door one by one to entice him to bark. When is willing to sit and be polite and quiet, he is rewarded. If you do this at home, in an environment he knows, he will eventually be well socialized and on good behavior elsewhere.

And lastly, have you considered that he is protecting you? Not enough human socialization may make the dog think that he has to keep his "pack" safe.

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Permalink Reply by Mike, Susan, Wally,Oliver & Eva! on August 16, 2010 at 9:45pm

Thanks for the suggestions! We completed obedience already and I agree that it does make a huge difference. I've definitely considered that he may be protecting me, and I know that there have been situations where he was certainly doing so [can't blame him with some of the characters out here] but it seems like as though he's trying to herd everything. He's gotten a lot better at the barking at strangers and does more of a warning grumble instead. It really helps when I say "Hello" to the person walking by first, then Wally'll be more likely to just keep walking and relax his ears. He gets a lot of contact with other dogs and humans, so he's pretty well socialized....just a little nervous about skateboarders and the garbage men. We joined the Hollywood Dog Obedience Club and every week, we grab coffee with our dogs in tow and I've found that being in that social pack has definitely helped as well. Everything is still a work in progress, but we've definitely seen a huge improvement! He even completed his CGC exam! Thanks again for the suggestions!

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Permalink Reply by Biscuit, Bentley & Anni on June 3, 2010 at 8:30pm

Haley has some wonderful advice!

Biscuit was quite nippy and barky, we intended to take her to puppy obedience training anyway, and it went some way towards calming her down. She's still barky (we can't expect overnight miracles!) but her nipping is much more under control. Also, as she's now learnt to sit and drop, we use these to calm her when she gets overexcited.

We also slowly built up to a large group of people coming over - started with a couple and over a few weeks/months had larger groups come over. We still have to put her outside for a little while when she gets too carried away (all these new friends!!) but she quickly calms down now.