Dog Owners Provide Actionable Advice On Stopping Dogs From Excessively Barking At Strangers During Walks
A dog that turns into a barking alarm the second a stranger walks by is funny for exactly zero seconds. One minute your leash is loose and everyone is minding their business, the next your pup is losing their mind, and you are stuck trying to look calm while also desperately trying to stop the noise.
This gets especially messy on walks, because it is not just “a stranger,” it is the whole parade of triggers: the person who says hi, the jogger who passes too close, the delivery person who appears out of nowhere. And the suggestions people toss around do not help the situation either, like keeping a muzzle on, swapping to treats, or just following the vibe of that famous Dog Whisperer show.
Here’s the full story of how one family tried to turn barking into something they could actually manage, one stranger encounter at a time.
Not the best solution, but a muzzle could work.
The dogs will hate this, but you could try a muzzle. Rather than 'keeping' them muzzled on a walk, try taking the muzzle on and off—putting it back on immediately if they begin to bark (it’s tough for the dog; this is their excitement coming out in dog language).
Bring treats for stretches of time they go WITHOUT barking (while on the walks). There are some really good canine sites and blogs, and I’m sure other dog owners have suggestions.
Canines are smart—they should catch on to the “Don’t Bark, or I’m going to get muzzled.” Canines can learn that association, but use positive reinforcement.
A muzzle seems cruel, but you would be using it as a ‘training’ tool, and let them be reassured that they aren’t being ‘BAD’… Good luck!
Maybe watching The Dog Whisperer series by Cesar Millan could help.
Maybe you could see if there’s a Cesar Millan video available to watch online or rent. I’ve used some of his training techniques, and they really do work.
It’s a lot about the energy you present to your dog. It’s important not to get angry at your dog.
An idea is to be tuned in to your dog and be ready to redirect his/her attention towards you. Carry a treat bag with you.
When you feel your dog is ready to react towards another dog, immediately have the dog sit and put the treat in front of the dog, having the dog focus on the treat while looking at you. I hope what I’ve written makes sense.
Cesar Millan has had these types of issues on his show, so you may be able to find some online videos.
Determine where the aggression is coming from, according to a professional trainer.
The reason your dog acts aggressively is that you let him. Your attempts to stop the behavior were not the correct thing to do.
As a professional dog trainer, I come across this problem all the time. The first thing is to find out what is driving the aggression.
This is done by observing the dog. Most dogs do this because of anxiety and are not truly aggressive.
Then I relieve the anxiety in a variety of different ways. There are lots of videos on the internet showing trainers successfully dealing with aggression.
You can watch those and try to pick up the training methods.
Anticipated response could trigger this behavior in dogs.
A lot of it comes down to your response or your anticipated response. When you’re walking your dogs and you see other dogs approaching, you probably automatically tense up in anticipation of how your dogs will react.
This goes straight down the lead to your dogs, who now know you’re worried and figure the approaching dogs/people are things they need to protect you from. So they bark to warn the other dogs/people to stay away from you.
If the other dogs keep coming or you keep walking towards them, your dogs will bark even more. I worked this out mostly because my own dog barked a lot at other dogs when he’s on a leash, yet when he’s off-leash and meets other dogs (at the dog park, groomers, etc.), he doesn’t bark at all.
I started to consciously calm myself when we saw other dogs by stopping, moving my dog out of the direct path of the approaching animals, and making him sit. Then I pat him, praise him, and offer him a small treat for as long as he doesn’t bark while the other animals go by.
I have found now that if he’s allowed to approach the other dogs on his lead (I always ask the other owner first), he will stop barking anyway, and they will get acquainted in the usual doggy way. If your dogs are small, they are more likely to bark at first because that is their first line of defense, but it can be kept to a simple alert bark.
YouTube and gradual training will help owners whose dogs bark excessively.
That sort of thing is covered in a multitude of dog training videos on YouTube. It has to be done slowly, with lots of rewards for your dog if he looks at you when there’s another dog in the vicinity.
Gradually, you decrease the distance between your dog and the other until he can walk past another dog and keep looking at you.
When the owners are tense, the dogs can sense it. That's why they bark.
It sounds like you're anticipating this to happen? You see, animals feel our energy.
If you are tense, they will sense your energy and feed on it. So I think the problem seems to be with you.
I'm not trying to embarrass you, just help you. If you are calm and relaxed when you go for a walk, your pets will be too.
Take some deep breaths or meditate before you go out for a walk. Also, put a ‘leader leash’ on your dogs.
A harness leash does the opposite; it constricts and adds to tension. Trust me, this will work!
You have to get in the right frame of mind. If you're thinking negatively, then your body tenses, blood pressure rises, and heart rate increases.
The dog senses these changes in you and feels you need protection/threatening? Pay attention to relaxing your arms while walking.
Loosen the leash. If you're pulling your dog close and tight to you, how do you think your dog will interpret your body language? Danger/a threat nearing.
This is the main reason why your dog is barking. Your body language as you walk is putting him in a defensive state of mind.
Please try! You and your dogs will be much happier on walks!!!
That’s when the muzzle idea shows up, with one person insisting it should go on and off during the walk, right when the barking starts.
Then the treat bag plan takes over, because the whole point is rewarding the exact moment the dog chooses silence instead of launching into dog-language excitement.
After that, the energy talk kicks in, with the household trying to stay unbothered, redirect attention fast, and get the dog to sit the second a stranger approaches.
Finally, the barking turns into a “find the real cause” mystery, with people arguing that the behavior is usually anxiety, not some cartoon villain aggression.</p>
Dog training will surely help the Quora user address this behavior in their dog. Some of the best takeaways are to address their anticipated response and incorporate training techniques by watching professionals such as Cesar Millan and those on YouTube.
Did your dog have the same problem? How were you able to address their excessive barking at strangers during walks?
Nobody wants every walk to sound like a protest, so the real question is what finally clicks for the dog.
Want more than muzzles? See how dog owners tackled the biting and aggression problem in their canines.
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