We’ve been working with our ACD mix on being less reactive but this happened today and I was okay with it. During our morning walk there was a guy sitting close to the bus stop on a ledge so I thought he was waiting on he bus. He seemed anxious. Then he stood up and paced around then walked across the street. It’s hard to explain but he seemed like he was lurking or thinking about doing something sketchy. Well my dog picked up on the weird energy too and started barking at him. I quietly told him to hush but I was thinking “I’m glad he picks up on this stuff.” I felt safe having him with me.
Has your dog ever barked at a stranger who was acting weird but you thought “fair enough. I’d bark too.” 🤔
- Thread starter msjosie
- Start date
-
- Tags
- discussion dog training
danielmullangi
New member
@msjosie My dog never barks at anyone, honestly she’s a big coward (half gsd half border collie)
If she sees a stranger come toward her she hides behind my leg unless it’s clear that I know them then she sits in front of them wanting cuddles.
However me and her were on a walk somewhere new, and an older man in a winter hat and summer shorts was walking towards us and the hackles rose and she started growling and barking at him- never seen her do that before or since other than to a fox that got too close to us. Wonder what was up with that guy.
If she sees a stranger come toward her she hides behind my leg unless it’s clear that I know them then she sits in front of them wanting cuddles.
However me and her were on a walk somewhere new, and an older man in a winter hat and summer shorts was walking towards us and the hackles rose and she started growling and barking at him- never seen her do that before or since other than to a fox that got too close to us. Wonder what was up with that guy.
@msjosie I was having a picnic at night to watch some fireworks on the bank of a river. For context, i have PTSD from being roofied and sexually assaulted. I don't drink and drunk people put me on edge. My partner and I were facing the water, not paying attention to what was behind us. An old man came staggering up to us with a bottle of vodka, smelling like piss and alcohol. My normally well behaved dog barked at him. I'm pretty sure she associates my anxiety with alcohol. Can't really blame her for reacting to the fear I'm sending down the leash.
@msjosie My Akita would do things like that. There was some construction going on near my home and a lot of construction workers. There was one in particular that he just…zoned in on. He stared at him and refused to turn his back to this man (my boy was Deaf. If you gave him weird energy he wouldn’t turn his back on you.) this man tried to approach me (24F) and he growled at him. The man backed off and we went another way. He’d only done that one other time when a man was walking behind us, at night, hoodie up and hands in pockets. The construction worker had no hat or nothing like that and looked like tons of men he’d seen before but something about him he did not trust.
bdawson101
New member
@msjosie Every dog I’ve owned has a moment where they just instinctually know how I want them to respond and they do. I could leave my door open a thousand times for food/package delivery but the one time I realized some scammers were scoping out my house my girl lunged to the front door barking like a maniac but also acting like I was holding her back and I went along with it yelling to to get off my property because my dog will attack. My other dogs and friends have similar stories. I think it means your dog loves and trusts you and has your back which means it’s a well raised dog.
imagebeastmarkbeast
New member
@msjosie Yup. My oldest has only met one person he didn’t love immediately. We were at a park that was fenced off next to a lake so he could swim(it used to be where the kids could swim but kids haven’t been able to swim there in over 20 years, sign says cause of underwater hazards so it’s become a dog area) and this older lady parks and walks up to the fence to talk to me and my friend. She’s asking where the nature park is, it’s technically connected to this park and she was sort of in it but I gave her directions. My dog sees us talking to her and runs up all wiggle butt for love but about 20 feet from the fence he stops wiggling his but and out his fur up. His run also change for him to run faster and more “angry”. He lunged at the fence, barking and growing and keeping his body between us and the lady. I tried to lure him away but the farthest he’d come was where ever me/my friend were standing. The lady looked at us all disgusted and the few other people there with their dogs looked confused cause he had been playing great with everyone. The lady is walking back to her car and a little girl gets out and starts running up to her. When she gets near the lady BACK HANDS her across her face and says something like get back in the car(only the word car was loud enough to hear) and the little girl goes running back holding her face. My dog didn’t stop barking still the lady was back in her car, so everyone there saw her do that. Once she was gone my dog was back to his normal self of greeting and playing with everyone. I told my friend that this is why I’ll always trust my dog’s judgment.
@msjosie My dog (Aussie) doesn’t bark at people on walks. Ever. Excitement barking when he knows he’s about to get off leash to play with his dog friend but not even that much.
Many, many people feel the need to comment on him or ask to pet him. I see people approaching from 30 yard away to come say hi. He’s crazy friendly so it’s been lovely.
Then I was walking him once and a man across the street called out to me about my dog, normal. Saying nice comments and started to cross asking more questions, somewhat normal. My dog lost it. he went rabid. Made the man pause, I said sorry, walked the other way and got outta there. No idea what he picked up on but I wasn’t waiting to find out.
Many, many people feel the need to comment on him or ask to pet him. I see people approaching from 30 yard away to come say hi. He’s crazy friendly so it’s been lovely.
Then I was walking him once and a man across the street called out to me about my dog, normal. Saying nice comments and started to cross asking more questions, somewhat normal. My dog lost it. he went rabid. Made the man pause, I said sorry, walked the other way and got outta there. No idea what he picked up on but I wasn’t waiting to find out.
