Stranger Danger!!

tk123

Gah!!! Does anyone elses dog do embarassing stranger danger barking or is it just my eejit!? My dog and his friend were off lead having a sniff around earlier in the church grounds when a man came along with his dog (also off lead) straight away the two boys did a double take and took a few steps back towards their mammies like they were unsure/afraid then my guy who moments before was afraid of the bells ringing :rolleyes: did 'stranger danger' and started barking at the man and puffing himself out. I called him back straight away and he reluctantly came back but it was one step to me and he'd stop and look to see where the man was and bark then continue back to me. The man was not impressed and I was mortified!!! Can they sense things/get vibes off people? He does it to the odd person every once in a while - with the exception of one of the neighbors who he always barks at!:rolleyes:

Gremlin

As long as hes just barking I wouldn't sweat it. If someone takes offence because your dog barks from a distance thats their problem. Now if the dog ran up to the man agressively and started barking that might be different.

I'd just suggest that if they are scared of something, the bells, strange man or whatever, you put them back on lead until they are calm again.

doctor evil

Is this church grounds as in a grave yard?

tk123

doctor evil wrote: »

Is this church grounds as in a grave yard?

Are graveyard!? Are you mad lol - I'd be the one afraid or worried that he'd poo on a grave!!! :pac: No its just a big church and the grounds are enclosed by railings so some people in the area let the dogs have a mooch around as its quiet. He kept his distance from the man but basically positioned himself between the man and us and barked at him. The shame of it!!! Now the man had a hat and huge umbrella so he may have just been barking at the umbrella :rolleyes:

joyce2009

My one can take an unstant disliking to the odd person ,,generally she loves everyone but if i'm walking her by myself she can sometimes give a little quiet growl if a guy (generally in a hoodie ) walks toward me,,she just dosent seem to like hoodies..:rolleyes:

piperh

The dog was just warning the man that he's going to protect you. Personally i'd have had a little smile and called the dog back to me proud in the knowledge that he loves me enough to protect me from the big scary umbrella

MissHappiness

If he would usually bark at people with a stick, he may have barked because of the umbrella.
Or, could he have associated the man with the bells? As in, did the man come from the direction of the bells ringing, and your fella thought he might have been making the racket that scared him?!!
Something similar happened years ago with my Granny's dog. She got knocked down by a car and my cousin's friends who knew the dog found her in the ditch and carried her back to Granny's. She had a broken leg, made a full recovery, but when the girls that saved her called to check on her she would growl and snarl at them. She must have associated them with the accident.

doctor evil

Thats cool tk123, I find it disrespectful to walk a dog in a graveyard. Older churches will have full grave yards attached.

lrushe

If it was a once off I would neither reward nor correct the behaviour just redirect him and go on with your walk.
However if it was a frequent occurance I would correct it, a dog shouldn't feel like it's their 'job' to protect you unless properly trained to do so. I know alot of people love the idea that their dog loves them so much that it protects them against other people but in reality leaving it up to the dog to decide who it should or shouldn't protect you against is playing with fire imo.

tk123

We'll see what happens today on our walk if the same man arrives again! I hope he does so I can apologize! Looking back I think it may have just been the giant golf umbrella! He'd normally be a bit shy and a scaredy dog - eg the bells ringing scared him a bit lol but once he saw his buddy he was running around playing and having a great time.

cocokay

yep my pal does it too! shes gas, will completely ignore some ppl, keep sniffing away but theres a guy we meet almost every morning on our walk and she goes mad at him, it IS emabarrassing but luckily he just laughs and tries to call her over. she wags then but still keeps barking. shes done this to a couple of older men in the time we've had her but only once to a woman, the woman gave her a filthy look and said to me "is he always like that?" i said no and smiled. in other words, u smell funny lady, thats why "she" is barking at u haha. but i think it was cause she came in between 2 cars into the area we were walking n my dog got startled & barked instinctively

tk123

He used to bark at this one man everyday but I've gotten him out of the habit of it thank god!! I distracted him with look commands and gave him a treat until they passed. Now we can walk buy them and he doesn't care - as long as he gets a treat at then end of the road!!

Blogger50

doctor evil wrote: »

Thats cool tk123, I find it disrespectful to walk a dog in a graveyard. Older churches will have full grave yards attached.

Very often the graveyard where my mother is buried has people walking dogs, jogging etc. In fact there is a park adjacent and the local brass band often practice there:eek:

I find it oddly comforting in that I feel she has company so to speak and I like to see signs of life there going on around her.

In fact I have often brought my dog with me to visit her because they never actually met! I dont let her walk on actual graves though!

Discodog

lrushe wrote: »

I know alot of people love the idea that their dog loves them so much that it protects them against other people but in reality leaving it up to the dog to decide who it should or shouldn't protect you against is playing with fire imo.

Absolutely agree. I heard an idiot on Liveline telling people to get a dog for "protection". It always the poor dog who, whilst defending, bites someone & ends up being out down.

tk123

Well no sign of the man today thou I was a bit later than normal the other day so probably won't see him again. Hopefully I didn't come across as an owner who lets their dog run amok! My regret is not going and getting my guy when he barked the first time and putting him on his lead. He stopped barking and came back to us but then took a few steps back to the man and barked a few times, again back when he was called the same thing again then he left the man to it and stayed with us...when the man was passing on the way back I was ready - back on the lead the first time he barked and told to stop.

I'm out on my own all the time walking him - sometimes in enclosed/secluded areas so it's nice to think that he's gotten a little older and is watching out for me like I watch out for him but at the same time I'm the one who decides who gets barked at not him! *

** disclaimer - i don't get my dog to bark at people! He usually only barks outside the house/garden when he's performing his speak command for a treat!