running up to men and barking at them?

[Louise Perry]

I wonder if anyone has experienced this?

In the last few months Reuben (aged 2yrs) has been running up to young men passers by in the fields and barking at them. Not aggressively but more for attention and I have noticed this behaviour has become more apparent. He doesnt touch them and his tail is wagging and he kind of just circles them and barks and then leaves them alone. Obviously this is not ideal as other people dont know he is not being aggressive and it can be alarming for them. I havent made a big fuss over it or told him off etc but wondered what the best approach i could take to stop this happening? It happened twice this morning and is definitely more noticeable. Do I start by calling reuben to me when I see a man nearby and get his attention with treats etc or will he become desensitised to men if I borrow a load of males for a day and ask them to ignore reuben when he does it and flood it out of his sytem!!!!???? I cant think of any bad experiences he has had with men and thought maybe it is something to do with sensing testosterone levels.

 

Any unput/suggetsions would be greatly received please.

 

P.s i start my Animal behaviour and welfare degree september, so I find it very interesting as well as wanting to nip a potential behaviour probelm in the bud!

[Ilona & Gina]

We have the same experience with our dog Anton. He runs up to children and barks at them, which is a worry, because most children start screaming hysterically and run away, which makes Anton's behaviour worse. It can't be about testosteron, in this case.

 

We consulted a behaviourist who suggested to slowly desensitize Anton by having him on the lead, staying in safe distance from kids and giving him food as soon as he redirects his attention from the kids to us/the food. She said flooding (borrowing lots of men or renting a bunch of kids :)) can make it worse.

 

The slow desensitization training works well on the lead. On the lead he feels secure. The point is to re-direct his attention to what I/we do and away from the kids. It takes time, consistency and alertness at all times. It is hard work.. It's a constant "look at me" and feeding treats. "Look at me" is a very helpful command, a bit of an emergency brake, no matter what he's up to. We've been doing this for two months, and there is yet a long way to go. (You'll can actually google the "look at me" command)

 

I found that telling him off makes it worse, as he then associates kids/men with something negative. However, when Anton runs up to screaming kids, I freak out as well - I can't stay cool! So it's lot of training for me, too.

 

Good luck, also with your Animal behaviour degree - I'd love to know how you go with it. And I'd love to know how you go with Reuben's running up at men.

 

 

 

[Howard Glansfield]

Arthur runs up to everyone but he doesn't bark.I get him to meet as many people as possible when he is on the lead and he is still greeting people when he is off lead but not with so much passion.The people I meet don't seem to mind so I guess I am lucky . Arthur also copies Fred ,who has a feigned indifference to anyone unless they are close by,and that seems to be rubbing off on him.Mind you there is a young man who comes in the park with a very elderly setter who,when he sees Arthur and the other two calls them then throws himself on the floor wrapping his arms around whichever dog he can! the dogs love him and he loves the dogs.His old lady dog just carries on wandering around!

I was walking the dogs on Sunday and was in a street going home when I saw a woman coming down a side road walking a huge Pyrenean Mountain dog.He was pulling like mad .I carried on, suddenly I heard frantic shouts and this great huge puppy was upon us,he was 12 months old and very playful.The woman rushed up and grabbed his lead ,somehow the leads of all the dogs got intertwined and wrapped around us.I couldn't let go of Art and we were dragged together.I said 'it's one way of getting to know you!' we laughed and a van stopped with the driver offering to help which I thought was nice,he looked at me and said you are enjoying this!I was! We got untangled and stood and chatted for a minute or two.Fun having dogs!

Good Luck with Reuban and your degree.

[Sherry Miller]

.Sue I agree 100% with you..........lead walking until problem is resolved and calling to heel when you see situation developing ...goal is for everyone including yourself and your dogs to enjoy a safe, fun walk.  Your rules are so like ours here....Molly only allowed in small areas off lead but even then I am looking ahead for issues I might need to call her to heel for  her safety.  I figure if people wish to meet Molly they will ask....and then we will stop while she greets them as she was taught........proper sit with a paw shake .  I wish my Molly to never be a problem for others but also like you wish other dogowners followed the same rules.  I do find that Molly seems to know when she needs to come heel and a lot of times is there before I even call her.....we wondered if she thinks she has to keep us from misbehaving? :)

[Sherry Miller]

shouldn't do this but perhaps you need to wag your tail faster?  Sorry!

[Sherry Miller]

:)

[Louise Perry]

 

Thank you everyone for your replies and I totally agree that I need to redirect Reuben's attention to me when I think he is gonna do his thing at the men. We are now working on that and hopefully stop this behaviour. Gosh they dont stop testing us do they - us stupid humans, lol...

 

I cant wait to start my studies and really looking forward to learning about animal behaviour, as it intrigues me.

[Howard Glansfield]

I agree,today my sedate and quiet Ellie,found and killed a young wren.I suspected the wren's nest was hidden in one of my bushes,Even the cats haven't found it but Ellie did aided and abetted by the other two.I know there is at least one other bird in the nest and I have tried to protect it .The parents are very alarmed.What can I do?

[Howard Glansfield]

Sorry this is in the wrong place!