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Puppies can develop bad habits for any number of reasons. It could be a behavior that was inherited from the mother, or it could be due to a bad experience that happened at any point before your puppy came home with you. No matter the reason, even young puppies can show fear or aggression towards the unfamiliar. This can include both other animals as well as strange people, and this fear can manifest in a number of ways.
One of the more obvious ways that a puppy can respond to a strange person is to start barking. Barking is loud and noisy and has the capacity to scare some people away or prevent the puppy from being touched or handled by someone he is scared of. Barking is annoying at the best of times and intimidating at the worst and a puppy will quickly learn that it can be an effective tool. The only problem is, barking is not polite! On top of that, you certainly don’t want your puppy starting off with such a prominent fear. It’s important to nip this problem in the bud before it escalates.
Most puppies are fully capable of dropping bad habits and developing healthier ones, though it will heavily depend on the history, personality, and resilience of the individual. Some older dogs are largely incapable of escaping fear reactivity and therefore should rely on management of the fear, rather than a cure. This is where prevention comes in, which can be used for any puppy who may be too entrenched in his ways to be able to face the fear head-on.
The other methods rely on an eventual adaptation to strangers or a redirect to a more productive activity to remove stress and fear. Whichever method you choose, you should begin your training as early as possible to catch the problem before it can grow out of control and you should begin to see progress or a complete change in two to four weeks with consistency and repetition of your training techniques.
The best tools for training your puppy to stop barking at strangers are toys to act as distractions and treats to reinforce a more appropriate behavior. These treats should be especially tasty or interesting for your puppy. Try foods that he’s never had before or would not get on a typical day and save these treats for these special occasions.
If you’re working on management, you may want to find a crate to keep your puppy in when guests are over. Otherwise, arm yourself with patience. Your puppy is learning and will require plenty of guidance along the way.
The Management Method
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Avoid unplanned meetings
Try to know ahead of time when a guest may be coming over. Don’t surprise your puppy with a guest who may not understand his tendency to bark at strangers.
Change directions on walks
If another person is coming your way, don’t hesitate to turn around and walk in another direction. Control your puppy’s line of sight if possible to keep him from stressing while he should be out exercising.
Provide space away from guests
If you have to have guests or strangers over, provide a room away from the hustle and bustle where your puppy can relax and sleep it off. Provide white noise or a television playing to prevent him from hearing noise from outside the room.
Use a crate
Work on crate training your puppy so he has a space to go when he is feeling overwhelmed and wants to bark. A crate can provide a little safe area for him to relax.
Supervise outdoors
Keep an eye on your puppy whenever he is outside in the yard. Block the view of the street in front of or behind your house if possible to keep your puppy from seeing and barking at strangers.
The Redirection Method
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Catch the behavior
Watch for signs that your puppy is about to start barking. This can be preceded by growling or an unusual amount of focus.
Use puzzle toys
Provide puzzle toys with treats inside to use as a distraction. Keep your puppy busy mentally and physically.
Offer food or treats
Use small bits of food or treats as a distraction by themselves in order to prevent your puppy from barking. She will have a hard time making noise when her mouth is occupied.
Ask for another behavior
Instead of barking, ask your puppy for a ‘sit’ or a ‘down’ and offer a reward. This can help her associate strangers with the more appropriate behavior.
Start play time
Be a distraction yourself by offering to throw a ball or other toy for your puppy to fetch. Her focus can be placed on the act of playing rather than barking.
The Association Method
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Use a high value treat
Use treats that are rare and tasty. These treats should only be used when training your puppy around strangers to keep them novel and exciting.
Offer the treat when a stranger is near
When a stranger is in your puppy’s line of sight, offer the treat. Strangers will mean good things.
Have the stranger assist from afar
When possible ask the stranger or guest to help by handing them some treats to toss at your puppy from a safe distance. He may begin to understand that the stranger is a food dispenser.
Treats go away when the stranger leaves
Put the treats away when the stranger or guest leaves. This will help your puppy associate the tastiest treats with the presence of strangers. There’s no reason to bark because strangers will always give treats!
Decrease distance over time
As your puppy becomes more comfortable and less prone to barking, ask the guests or strangers to toss treats from closer each time you have an encounter until your puppy can take a treat from the palm of a stranger’s hand without barking.
Written by TJ Trevino
Veterinary reviewed by:
Published: 03/13/2018, edited: 01/08/2021
Training Questions and Answers
Waffles barks when he sees people or dogs he doesn’t know when he is outside.
June 5, 2023
Waffles's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello, First, I recommend teaching the Quiet command. Check out the Quiet method from the article I have linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Check out this barking series, and especially the video on barking at strangers. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAA4pob0Wl0W2agO7frSjia1hG85IyA6a I would also spend a lot of time socializing him and enroll in a puppy class to help him get used to more people while young to avoid future issues. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
June 6, 2023
Hi, My boy Miko is 7 Months old, we got him at 5 months old from the RSPCA. he was at first very timid in interactions and took to me as the female straight away and would come to me for comfort when a stranger came in the house. He still does submissive wees in the morning when saying hello. The issue I am having is that He barks and growls at other dogs and people when we go for a walk. He hasnt tried biting but more so barks and growls until he wags his tail and says hello, and then barks and growls as soon as the interaction stops. he barks from a long distance from even down the raod.
Nov. 15, 2022
Miko's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello, If pup is reacting due to arousal from excitement or anxiety, I recommend the following. If pup is aggressive, I recommend hiring a professional trainer who specializes in behavior issues to help you in person, and the following training will have to be adjusted and changed with more safety measures and different methods in mind for the aggression. If pup is completely fine during up close interactions, and his body language is relaxed and the wag loose - opposed to a very rigid tail and tense body that could be either one, then its likely anxiety, excitement and a need for more socialization and desensitization causing the reactivity. Excitement: I recommend working on calmness and more socialization. For the calmness, I suggest working on the structure of your walk first. You want pup to be working during the walk - having to stay behind you, focus on you, perform commands periodically, and not have his mind on scanning the area in search of other dogs. The walk should start with him having to exit your home very calmly, performing obedience commands at the door if he isn't calm. He should wait for permission ("Okay" or "Free" or "Let's Go") before going through the door instead of bolting through if that's an issue. When you walk he should be in the heel position - with his head behind your leg. That position decreases his arousal, reduces stress because he isn't the one in charge and the one encountering things first. It prevents him from scanning for other dogs, staring dogs down or being stared down, and ignoring you behind him. It also requires him to be in a more submissive, structured, focused, calmer mindset - which has a direct effect on how aroused, stressed, and reactive he is. Additionally, when you do pass other dogs, as soon as he starts staring them down before he even barks, interrupt him. Remind him with a gentle correction that you are leading the walk and he is not allowed to break his heel or stare another dog down. It is far easier to deal with reactivity when you interrupt a dog early in the process - before they are highly aroused and full of adrenaline and cortisol, and to keep the dog in a less aroused/calmer state to begin with. Staying in a calmer mindset also makes the walk more pleasant for him in the long-run. Once pup can walk past other dogs more calmly, you can carry small, soft treats hidden in a treat pouch or plastic bag in your pocket. When pup's body language stays calm, they remain focused on you, or are very obedient when other dogs are within sight, reward pup with a treat and very calm - almost monotone praise (too much excitement can make the situation harder for pup). Thresholds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-w28C2g68M Heel article - The turns method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel I suggest also teaching the Quiet command from the Quiet method in the article I have linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Once pup is calmer in general after the initial training, practice exposing him a lot to the things that trigger the barking normally, starting from a distance far enough away to where he can still engage with you, and decreasing distance as he improves. Whenever he DOESN'T pull/bark/get tense/react to something that he normally would have, calmly praise and reward him to continue the desensitization process. Finally, if pup is friendly with other dogs up close and isn't aggressive, work on calm socialization, and don't skip rewarding pup for calmness around other dogs once he is doing better on walk and is calm enough to reward it! That can help ultimately. For socialization, do things like joining obedience classes, trainings clubs, group dog hikes and walks, canine sports, ect...Your goal right now should be interactions with other dogs that have structure and encourage focus on you, calmness around the other dogs, and a pleasant activity with other dogs around - opposed to roughhousing or tense environments with tons of unpredictable dogs loose which increases adrenaline. Recruit some friends with well mannered dogs to go on walks with you and your dog, following the Passing Approach method and Walking Together method to help the dogs learn how to be calm around each other, while also continuing socialization. Passing Approach and Walking Together methods: https://wagwalking.com/training/greet-other-dogs Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Nov. 15, 2022
My puppy barks at any new person they see. Inside or out. She is not aggressive, but more anxious and scared. Shes never bitten anyone, but its very difficult to take her out in public as she scares most people since she is a bigger dog.
Jan. 6, 2022
Ivey's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello Philip, I would start by desensitizing her to walking past strangers using the concepts of the passing approach method from the article linked below - this method is related to dogs, but the concepts of passing someone over and over again while working on obedience and rewarding good responses of calmness, tolerance, and focus on you, rather than fear responses. Gradually decreasing the distance between her and the people who are helping you as she improves - the important part is to look for not only a lack of fear aggressive response but specifically for times when pup is actually in a calmer mindset and reward that. Passing Approach method: https://wagwalking.com/training/greet-other-dogs As pup improves and can handle being close to people, then people can practice being in closer quarters (with safety measures as needed to avoid a fear bite), and tossing treats to pup when she is responding calmly around them. Have the people toss treats while acknowledging her very little when she does well. When pup can handle being around people in general in a variety of situations, then have people give her commands and let her work for the treat rewards to further build trust. Finally, have them go on walks with you, where you can hand off the leash to the other person and pup will follow them also, so that pup is working with and following more people in a calm, respect and trust, based relationship. Check out this playlist and especially the videos on things like Barking on a Walk or Barking at Strangers. This channel generally has a lot of examples of desensitization and counter conditioning, which are important if dealing with fearfulness. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAA4pob0Wl0W2agO7frSjia1hG85IyA6a I can be hard to do all of this at the pace need, with the right body language and speed pup needs to keep everyone safe and improve, so this is often much easier when working with a great training group who has a staff of trainers for pup to get used to lots of people, not just the one trainer. Always take safety measures like back-ties, going at a safe training pace, reading body language, and using a basket muzzle if needed, to keep everyone involved in training and interactions safe. Muzzle training - I recommend basket muzzles when muzzles are needed because they are more comfortable and pup can still open their mouth to receive treats you pass through the muzzle to them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJTucFnmAbw Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Jan. 7, 2022