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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
My 4 month old puppy shows signs of being excited to see strangers (full wagging tail, ears perked up not pinned back, etc) but he barks his head off and is hesitant to let strangers pet him. He will kind of approach them slowly but if the person offers their hand for him to sniff he backs away slightly never quite letting them get close enough. He eventually keeps the barking to a minimal where a majority of the time he is mostly ignoring the stranger, but will often throw in random barks especially if the stranger suddenly gives them attention again. I'm just confused by the behavior because it seems like he really wants the to play but then doesn't show any affection or want them to touch him. Any training tips for showing him the correct behavior around strangers?
March 31, 2021
WRX ("Rex")'s Owner
Alisha Smith - Alisha S., Dog Trainer
253 Dog owners recommended
Hello. Barking and excitability can be a challenging behavior to turn around. Because it is so complex, I am sending you an article full of great information that can help you. https://www.petplace.com/article/dogs/pet-behavior-training/excessive-barking-in-dogs/
March 31, 2021
When she was very little we did a good job socializing her and taking her to as many new places as possible. We moved houses in November and Within the last month or two she has started to bark at every single person we meet. And along with barking she exhibits some skiddish behavior. She will tuck her tail between her legs and be very shy. When we are home she almost never barks except when we go outside and the neighbors come out, she wont even go up to the fence, instead she will just bark continuously until she is removed from the situation. We are still training and have made some progress but I would like to be able to take my dog places with us as she gets older.
March 12, 2021
Poppy's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello Aaron, Has she exhibited any aggression while barking? Or is she simply overly sensitive to other people or nervous? If aggressive, I would seek the help of a professional trainer who specializes in behavior issues like aggression, who comes well recommended by their previous clients who had similar training needs, and who works with a staff or team of trainers so that their are numerous people who can practice the training methods with pup, who know how to interact with her. If pup is simply more nervous or overly sensitive to new people, possibility due to some insecurity related to the move, I would work on desensitizing pup and helping her associate new people with good things. Check out the Youtube videos I have linked below, and the article on shy dogs and section of shy dogs and humans. If pup is aggressive, additional safety measures will needed though and the supervision of a qualified trainer - not all trainers work with aggression, so you will need to ask about experience in that area and look for one who advertises they do and gets good referrals for that type of training. Barking on a walk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY7JrteQBOQ Barking at strangers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXCELHDT2fs Shy dogs - if any aggression may be present a basket muzzle should be used any time pup is around those they are reactive towards, for everyone's safety. You can introduce ons ahead of time gradually using treats, so the muzzle becomes normal and not stressful or associated with new people only. Shy dogs and humans section: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-socialize-a-shy-dog/ Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
March 15, 2021
Leelah will bark/growl/howl at any noise happening outside of our apartment, occasionally at my roommate inside of the apartment, & at any people she sees when we're out walking/playing. However, she apparently never did this when she was boarding for a few weeks after I had an operation - everyone said she was super sweet and liked all strangers. Why does she do this with me? How do I fix the behaviour? Loud noises like that instigate panic attacks for me, so it's 100% necessary that this behaviour stops as soon as possible.
Jan. 29, 2021
Leelah's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello Cauis, If she was boarding somewhere other than your home, it's very possible that the behavior is related to her being territorial of your home, and she wasn't territorial of a home she was only staying in temporarily. She may also feel extra protective of you and things that she thinks will bother you. Either way, I recommend teaching a Quiet command, desensitizing her to the things she tends to bark at, and giving her something to entertain herself instead of watching out the window. Quiet method for teaching Quiet command. You could also have someone else teach her this command, then you simply use the command and enforce it after she knows it. The same article also contains the Desensitize method - which I recommend following also. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Barking at Guests/the door: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpzvqN9JNUA Noises - this same training can be done when pup sees something that they tend to bark at, opposed to when they hear it, rewarding the dog whenever they don't bark while they are looking at something they would normally bark at. Practicing over and over again until the barking trigger becomes boring to your dog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp_l9C1yT1g Finally, you can give something other than staring out the window barking to do by giving them dog-food stuffed hollow chew toys like kongs, kong wobbles, treat puzzles, or an automatic treat dispensing device, like AutoTrainer or Pet Tutor, many of which can be programmed to periodically release a treat when it detects pup is being quiet. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Feb. 1, 2021