# barking/growling at strange objects



## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

I did a quick search but couldn't find much good information.

Is it normal for dogs to bark and/or growl at strange items? (seems like it would be fairly common) Does it provide insight into their temperament?

As an example, this morning Katie and I went out for a potty break. There was a deflated balloon (the crinkly kind that come with flower arrangements) in the yard. As soon as Katie saw it, she looked very alert and growled. Once she got close enough to investigate, she stopped growling and was fine. The second time we went out, she passed it without a second glance. 

She's done the same thing a few other times - super alert about something new, then ignore it.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

My dogs do the same thing if there is something "strange" within their territory. They also do this if an item such as one of the boats or a lawn chair or other article has been moved from it's original spot in the yard. I think it is just a warning to the "stranger" in the yard. Territorial thing.

I don't really know about temperament though ... because all my dogs do the same thing and each has a different temperament?


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

Thanks. I was curious about it and (unfortunately for everyone here) this is the only place I can ask my silly questions.


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## Doglover65 (Aug 10, 2013)

Its normal. If a dog is unsure about something they will growl at it. Its perfectly normal, honestly its sort of cute hehe 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## TobyJohn (Jan 21, 2013)

Oh yes, our pup does this too. If anything in the house is out of place, or if there is something new, he will bark and growl. It's hilarious.


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

You can train this out of a dog. Sometimes it's very hard to go for walks if your dog is barking/growling at objects that they're going to face in every day life, such as cars, trash cans, and trash on the ground. 

If the dog moves closer to the object and stops growling/barking then click and treat. If they look in the direction of the object without growling/barking then click and treat (or mark if you don't click). 

Good luck.


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

Good to know she's normal.  I wasn't sure if it was an indication that she lacked confidence, was fearful, or something like that.



Nuclear_Glitter said:


> You can train this out of a dog. Sometimes it's very hard to go for walks if your dog is barking/growling at objects that they're going to face in every day life, such as cars, trash cans, and trash on the ground.
> 
> If the dog moves closer to the object and stops growling/barking then click and treat. If they look in the direction of the object without growling/barking then click and treat (or mark if you don't click).
> 
> Good luck.


Thanks for the tips. So far, she's only done this with a few things - a holiday decoration our neighbors put on the their mailbox, a real estate sign with floating balloons, a giant stuffed husky, and the deflated balloon in the yard this morning (and that one startled me until I realized what it was). Ordinary stuff like cars, trash cans, regular real estate signs she's fine with, although she will bark at critters (and sometimes other dogs) if I don't distract her soon enough.


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

cookieface said:


> Good to know she's normal.  I wasn't sure if it was an indication that she lacked confidence, was fearful, or something like that.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the tips. So far, she's only done this with a few things - a holiday decoration our neighbors put on the their mailbox, a real estate sign with floating balloons, a giant stuffed husky, and the deflated balloon in the yard this morning (and that one startled me until I realized what it was). Ordinary stuff like cars, trash cans, regular real estate signs she's fine with, although she will bark at critters (and sometimes other dogs) if I don't distract her soon enough.


Oh that's good to hear. My dog does the same thing sometimes. The worst is when he has an odd day and barks at something rather normal though lol.


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## surlys_mom (Jul 5, 2013)

LOL - Yes, my dog completely does this too - only, once she decides something needs to be barked at she never changes her mind, regardless of investigating it thoroughly. Things that she barks/growls at include:

-Yoga mats
-Balloons
-An over-sized prop apple
-A tiny wooden alligator
-Anything with wheels (I can kind of understand this one).

Dogs are silly.


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

Lars....never. 

Ocean...all the time. I moved my training bag over about 18" from where it had been sitting earlier today. About an hour ago...O is growling at it. He barks at houseplants out of place, car doors being shut outside, Coats draped over chairs. Anything weird...he lets you know about it. But, Ocean is what I would consider a "sharp" dog and he comes from accomplished Schutzhund lines.


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

Yeah, Snowball is on this boat. Things he has growled at include:

Snowmen
Kids dragging backpacks
Backpacks
A mop (being moved by a guy, but we could only see the mop)
His shadow (not often, but hilarious)


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## TheTimeLady (May 31, 2013)

Ha, I was wondering this myself too and glad you asked it! Our puppy does the same thing and it's so funny! She found the door stopper in the laundry room and was barking/growling at it a good while. I thought it was so funny but odd, glad to know she is normal as well! Other things she has barked/growling at include: 

Soda can outside (then she started playing with it)
Plants in the backyard
Giant stuffed dog (haha this was so funny, maybe she thought it was real!)


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Both of mine used to do this. I remember Casper barking at road construction pylons while on a walk, and Crystal getting upset the first time she saw all of the compost bins lined up along our street for pickup. I'd always let them investigate the item at their own pace. After a while, they stopped finding unfamiliar things scary, and now the most they'll do is look a little hesitant if it's nighttime and something is out of place. 

Oh, except for this thing, an inflatable, moving Santa who would open the door, poke his body out, and then close the door again. Crystal HATED that thing and growled and barked furiously at it.


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

My parents have a cement polar bear the size on a medium sized dog on their front lawn. Every dog that walks by wants to have a go at it. lol
That's normal right?


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

Good to have more reassurance. 



MrsBoats said:


> Lars....never.
> 
> Ocean...all the time. I moved my training bag over about 18" from where it had been sitting earlier today. About an hour ago...O is growling at it. He barks at houseplants out of place, car doors being shut outside, Coats draped over chairs. Anything weird...he lets you know about it. But, Ocean is what I would consider a "sharp" dog and he comes from accomplished Schutzhund lines.


Oh my! I don't think I could deal with a dog who barked at anything out of place, unless I got divorced. My husband is constantly leaving stuff all over the place. Right now he has 2 new shirts on a kitchen chair, an amazon box on the floor, 2 or 3 pairs of shoes by the door, and that' doesn't include the papers, gadgets, and miscellaneous items on the counter and table. 

One more reason I don't want a "sharp" dog. 



Crantastic said:


> Oh, except for this thing, an inflatable, moving Santa who would open the door, poke his body out, and then close the door again. Crystal HATED that thing and growled and barked furiously at it.


Yeah, I'd bark and growl at that, too.


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## deege39 (Dec 29, 2008)

Most of the dogs I've known, lived w/, lived around have all done that... Miggy growled, hackles up, played Billy-Badass w/ a Sunflower, turned his butt and pooped on it.........


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## LadyB (Mar 7, 2013)

> I moved my training bag over about 18" from where it had been sitting earlier today. About an hour ago...O is growling at it.


Similar thing here. If I put my bag anywhere high-ish up (desk, table, bed), Ladybug *eventually* finds this disturbing. She will see me leave it where I'm leaving it, ignore it for HOURS, and then all of a sudden she'll start growling and barking at it. Like, run into the bedroom to bark at it. Outside she freaks out on large trash bags if they are full and sitting on the sidewalk, snowmen of any size, pylons, boulders she hasn't met before, and people getting stuff out of the trunks of their cars. Sometimes a child if s/he is doing something particularly exciting (running around with a large branch, dragging something, walking funny, squealing). She has a problem with people in the park if they're lying down and reading or in some similar, somewhat supine position. She used to find kids on scooters unacceptable, but she seems to have gotten over that (phew). She would lose it completely on that Santa.


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## Kayla_Nicole (Dec 19, 2012)

Alannah barks at things when they are out of place, or electronic/battery powered things like our battery powered wine opener or the power drill. I was painting our front door yesterday, and she barked like crazy when i got out a step stool and set it up in the entryway.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

What's funny is that Crystal HATED that Santa, but she didn't blink an eye at this huge Halloween cat, which had bright glowing eyes and nose and moved its head back and forth. Maybe it's just because we saw the Santa at night and the cat during the day, but I don't know. Dogs are weird.

Casper hated this:










Right after I took that photo, he lunged and bit its neck.


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

cookieface said:


> Oh my! I don't think I could deal with a dog who barked at anything out of place, unless I got divorced. My husband is constantly leaving stuff all over the place. Right now he has 2 new shirts on a kitchen chair, an amazon box on the floor, 2 or 3 pairs of shoes by the door, and that' doesn't include the papers, gadgets, and miscellaneous items on the counter and table.
> 
> One more reason I don't want a "sharp" dog.


Trust me...it can get wicked annoying. 

Both of us are working from home today and I just heard O fire off at something outside the front door...and Mr. Boats - "OCEAN! ENOUGH! Knock it off!" LOL I think we say "OCEAN! ENOUGH!" more than anything else to him. LOL 

Yeah...'sharp' is a quality I wouldn't go out of my way for in a dog after having one.


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

Yeah, Bus does it. A tree branch down in our yard after an ice storm, a backpack left on the neighbors back steps, neighbor kid leaving a skateboard on the sidewalk, a chunk of the curb busted and up in the grass...the neighbors telescope. Since Buster alerts only to outside objects that are out of place, I praise the behavior. I like that he alerts to things that dont belong. He walks just fine since alerts happen with things that dont belong...trashcans and such do belong so they're ignored.


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