[Florida Keys Girl]

Thanks for all the good advice on this forum... Our dog, Babka - a terrier mix (apparently not wheaten, as originally thought...) is wonderful. We have had her for about 7 weeks now and she is really great. I take her with me to restaurants, to the tennis courts near us, dog parks, other people's homes (who have dogs, too, typically) and she is great. She is typically calm but loves to play.

Here's the issue: sometimes she randomly barks, usually at men, and often for no reason. For example, we were in a restaurant and she had water and treats. Our waiter (who is also a friend) came over, bent down and played with her. She was fine. He stood up and she immediately started barking and lunging. I get that she probably felt threatened, but for the remainder of the meal she barked at him. I would hope it was obvious to her that he was a friend and she shouldn't worry about him.

Just yesterday she started barking at a guy in the dog park. He was sitting (I think) when she started, and she was barking for no reason. He wasn't staring at her or even paying any attention to her. She kept going up to him and barking.

I have some ideas about what causes it and have tried to get her out of those situations, but I have no idea what to do about the random barking at men - friends, too. Suggestions, please!

[mythreedawgs]

I have a suggestion, it worked for me. Use a couple sheets of rolled up newspaper. When she barks for no reason, swat her heiny lightly. Just the crackling of the paper will get her attention so there's no need to swat hard. Use only one word to her... NO. After a few times, they get the message. Hope this helps.

[lange]

Originally Posted by Florida Keys Girl

I have some ideas about what causes it and have tried to get her out of those situations, but I have no idea what to do about the random barking at men - friends, too. Suggestions, please!

What is it that you think is causing it?

Barking can mean many different things. Some barks are inviting, some a warning, fear, playful, challenging, saying hello, ect. Which bark is it? What is her body language? Trigger?

BTW I don't think barking is bad and neither do dogs...so pleaase remember dogs don't have human tools to communicate with like we do. Barking should really only be targeted/corrected when it becomes a nuisance. Otherwise, it is the trigger that needs to be worked on not the bark.

[dogs rule]

Lange is right, look for body language.
You stated that she is barking "for no reason". Maybe to us humans there is no reason, but to the dog there is.
When my guys starting barking long and loud, I say "enough" and when they stopped I say "good boy" in a light friendly voice. This didn't happen overnight, but they will get it. Now they just let out 1 or 2 warning barks, and stop on their own.

As for "swatting" with the rolled up newspaper no matter how lightly this is done, I would disagree. This may just make your dog fearful of any long object in your hand.

[bigpawsup]

lange is right - you really need to figure out why your dog is barking and then work on that. She could be scared or she could just want attention - or anything in between.

In the above situation, the dog was fine until the attention stopped. Then she started making a "scene". Without seeing her body language first guess is "LOOK AT ME". Training a "quiet" would be beneficial and don't give her the attention she's seeking while she is barking (that includes repeating her name and talking to her).

and I firm agree with dogs rule - scaring the dog with a newspaper will just make her frightened. and if she is barking out of insecurity in the first place, you could make it worse or even cause it to escalate.