Help My Irish setter barks and charges anyone without a dog

[susan clemence]

My 22 month setter has always been wary of young men since we got her as a puppy.  Then it escalated to men and now she has started charging and barking at anyone without a dog with them.  She lives with a family and has been I thought she had been well socialised (I show her without any problem when a male judge goes over her).  I walk her on public footpaths off lead but we have had several very unpleasant incidents, the lastest one in which I though the man involved was actually going to punch me.  She is always alert for people on walks and only relaxes when she sees they have got a dog.  Recall is only a problem when she sees non doggy people.  It is ruining our walks and I am so on edge and I know this behaviour in unacceptable when we see other people.  I only got my first dog 4 years ago so I don't have alot of experience.  My other setter is fine with everyone except cyclist.

[Sherry Miller]

I agree with what Sue says ....inbetween seeking help to get her over this hump I would go back to only walking her onlead....start back with the six foot lead....when you see a man or boy approaching I would have her sit in heel position and if she sits nicely reward her with praise and training treats.  A stern no if she starts to react negatively with appropiate correction to return her to the sitting postion.  Is she like this with male friends of the family?  Sounds like she loves her off lead walks but until situation is corrected I would stop them completely...off lead only in a fenced area where you know who is there.  Good luck! 

[Howard Glansfield]

I agree with Susan and Sherry ,you have to walk her on lead at all times because you will never know whan a man might appear. If you know any men who are strangers  to your dog ,maybe a neighbour she doesn't know,perhaps they would agree to approach your dog armed with treats.It may help but the risk factor is too great for you to try and deal with this alone.

I hope you can sort the problem easily.

[susan clemence]

Thanks for your reply, I started to look for local trainers last week because I thought I need help as much as my girl.  I took her down to the local park this morning (on a short lead) where there were 3 football matches taking place just to expose her to male energy.  No barking or lunging but she was unsure especially when a chap was trying to get her to go over to him.  I did explain what I was trying to do and gave him a treat to give her and eventually she went over to him.  Maybe a small step in the right direction but we will keep working on it as I would miss seeing the joy of watching a setter running free over the fields.

[Ossian]

Sue You might like to tackle the handler's reaction to the situation, "Self perpetuating" could be what's coming down the lead!

[Howard Glansfield]

That is so true.Maggie didn't like other dogs when she was on her lead but off lead she was fine.I realised that I was 'conditioned' by her and when I saw an approaching dog I would tense and pull her lead tight.She,of course knew the signs and I think I made her worse.When I learnt to relax she was a lot better.

[Ilona & Gina]

I know what you are going through. We have the same problem with Anton. He runs up to children and barks at them. Some stupid young boys frightend him when he was a pup. Until now Anton was alright with girls. Recently a little girl frightened him by running up to him, waving her arms and screaming like a ghost. Now he barks at girls, too, Then a young boy on a bike almost hit Anton. 

We actually called a dog behaviourist and will have our first session next week. Meanwhile, the behaviourist said, we should keep Anton away from children and on the lead.

 

But even after the behaviourist session we know that Anton will never like kids. All we can hope for is that he will be able to simply ignore them.

 

I've just scrolled down to see that you are looking for professional help, too. Good luck! I'd like to read your update, in turn, I will keep you posted.

 

[susan clemence]

Thanks for your reply, it is comforting to know I am not the only one with this problem.  It is a great site for sharing ideas and solutions. I would be interested to know how you get on.  Thinking back to when Lexi was a puppy, there was one occassion when a lad on a bike frightened her, so I wonder if it all started then.  Good Luck and happy walking.

[Sherry Miller]

I have found that when I react to something our Molly will also....but when walking she will look at other dogs walking and children but is so intent on getting around the next corner to see what is there that unless I stop to talk (then she sits) she ignores everyone around us.  The one situation that I am very alert to is joggers or bikes coming up behind us as our Brittany, Pebbles would react to that due to being run into by a bike as a young dog.  I learned to always be aware of what was coming down the path and to this day I still do it!  Wish people would realize when they run up or ride up behind a dog quickly it can easily startle the dog...just announce you are coming or ring the bell on the bike, please!

   I hope soon that you are finding you can walk safely again and soon get back to doing your off lead. Will keep watching this topic to see how things go for you.

[Lesley Gilks]

I really do sympathise with you as I'm having the same issues with my 17 month old dog Rigsby.  He lunges at anyone who come too close so he hasn't been off lead for some time.  I normally exercise him on a long 10m lead but I'm still concerned that he will nip someone if they get too close.  He also has lots of quirks, doesn't like going through doorways, frightened of shadows, won't eat.  

I think dogs such as these are born with these issues and it's very difficult to train it out of them.  he is a nervous dog by nature and from the very start, it was as though he mistrusted people.  Dogs are not normally wired this way.  They crave human company and want to please, not cower away.  There must be something else going on inside the heads of these dogs that we are not aware of.

I've also taken him to parks, busy town centres, I even took him to wait outside a primary school so that I could expose him to kids, but to no avail.  I 'm also going to be taking him to a specialist dog trainer so that I can learn some techniques to deal with the problem while we are out and about.