# 6 month old Aussie is growling and barking at strangers



## TheStumps (Jan 26, 2010)

Jaxon, our 6 month old Aussie, was an absolute gem with strangers until about a month ago. 

Before this behavior started, he was excellent around strangers: he would wag his little stub of a tail, put his ears back, and enjoy a nice head scratch from anybody.

About a month ago, however, his behavior changed. When we take him out for walks, and a stranger approaches, he will pull incessantly on his leash, growling all the way, to get to them. Once he gets close he will go into what looks like a play bow (but isn't) and bark at them. If they approach him he will back off while still barking.

Given enough time (2-3 minutes) he will relax a bit, but the real issue is passing walkers/joggers/bicyclists. He will lunge at them and growl when they are close, and will continue to pull at the leash until the person is out of sight. 

He will alert on people across the road and stare until they are far enough away to warrant his ignoring them. 

We've tried the "stop people and have them give him food" approach, but we live in such a rural area that we may run into one or two people a day on our daily walks, if anybody, and they are usually joggers. There is no "main street" here, either. We've tried putting him into a sit and body blocking him but he is so persistent that he will try to run through my wife's and my legs to get to them. Yesterday he even slipped his harness to get to a woman and her chocolate lab. 

This is beyond frustrating, as he is normally very well behaved and obedient. He is otherwise extremely easy to train.

Any suggestions?


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

when he starts pulling, start walking in the other direction. dragging him if you have to (not reallly, he'll get the idea that he has to follow) just act like nothing's happening. then when he's calm by your side, turn back around, and if he keeps doing it, you keep walking away.


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## TheStumps (Jan 26, 2010)

DJEtzel said:


> when he starts pulling, start walking in the other direction. dragging him if you have to (not reallly, he'll get the idea that he has to follow) just act like nothing's happening. then when he's calm by your side, turn back around, and if he keeps doing it, you keep walking away.


That's an interesting suggestion, as that's how I leash trained him in the first place. 

Is this an issue that runs deeper, though? Some socialization problems, or fear? He's been exposed to a lot so this is puzzling to us.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

i couldn't tell you. i've never had many problems with stuff like this, i just know of common ways to correct it. i'm sure someone else will have some better ideas about it.


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

The problem is he doesn't know how or what to do on the meet and greets....he makes up the rules of engagement as he goes along. That's where the training comes in...what do you want him to do? Sit quietly (or stand) at your side for the greetings? Once he understands what he is supposed to do when he meets new people or dogs I think you'll find he will be much calmer but, you have to show him what to do.

You take the lead....not him. Have him sit and pay attention to you. Treat and praise for calmness. This takes practice but, pays huge dividends in the end once he knows that you'll handle the situations.


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## TheStumps (Jan 26, 2010)

TooneyDogs said:


> The problem is he doesn't know how or what to do on the meet and greets....he makes up the rules of engagement as he goes along. That's where the training comes in...what do you want him to do? Sit quietly (or stand) at your side for the greetings? Once he understands what he is supposed to do when he meets new people or dogs I think you'll find he will be much calmer but, you have to show him what to do.
> 
> You take the lead....not him. Have him sit and pay attention to you. Treat and praise for calmness. This takes practice but, pays huge dividends in the end once he knows that you'll handle the situations.


I guess that's sort of the crux of my question: we have not been able to get him to exhibit the correct behavior. We would like for him to ignore strangers when we walk past them and sit quietly when we stop to say hi to them. Instead, he growls and lunges at them in both situations.

He is extremely alert on our walks (we do 3 miles a day!). He alerts on every human or dog in his presence.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

have you tried carrying cheese or hot dog chunks with you to constantly give him when he's paying attention to you and not everything else?


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## Hiaja (Aug 15, 2008)

Okay my rescue Aussie would do this too. Teach him a leave it command. Whenever someone is approaching have a delicious treat (maybe don't feed him before the walk). It seems easiest at least with my guy to put him in a sit,(if he get's up from the sit put him right back in it) if he looks away from them for a second, treat and reinforce "leave it" by saying it. You can also try "watch me" Whenever he looks at you he gets a treat. You want to get this to longer durations of time.

Train this with more minor distractrions at home first so he knows what's expected. He'll be preprogrammed that, "leave it" or "watch me" delivers wonderful treats when the desired reaction is given. And those 'bad' people are the cause of the treats making them not so bad.

Other things I would try if your not getting through to him but you NEED to because that behavior is not acceptable. Force him into a down, there is no option he's going down and staying there till you let him up. You should get through to him with that. "Okay clearly mom and dad aren't happy with me going at people and strangers and I _need to listen _to them." I'm a bit of an ultimatum trainer, if a behavior is not acceptable it's just not acceptable and your going to understand that one way or another. I figure it's better to get it through before something a lot worse than a body slam to the ground happens to you or your dog. I know this sounds mean but I only have to do it once and he get's it and it's only when it's very important he understands it. 

Another thing I might try because your dog would just not be expecting it. Wrap the end of the leash around his muzzle, carry him over to the people and have them rub and coo over him. If your aussie doesn't like this he'll quickly learn that going at dogs get's just that, he doesn't have a choice but to be loved on. (I wouldn't really recommend this strategy unless you sort of know the people)

My Aussie was terrible with this, focusing obsessively on other people/animals when I first got him, now he really could care less.
You do need to take into consideration the natural herding, aloofness and guarding instincts of an Aussie. They need alot of socilization and training. Good luck give it time and be consistent.


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## TheStumps (Jan 26, 2010)

Hiaja said:


> Okay my rescue Aussie would do this too. Teach him a leave it command. Whenever someone is approaching have a delicious treat (maybe don't feed him before the walk). It seems easiest at least with my guy to put him in a sit,(if he get's up from the sit put him right back in it) if he looks away from them for a second, treat and reinforce "leave it" by saying it. You can also try "watch me" Whenever he looks at you he gets a treat. You want to get this to longer durations of time.
> 
> Train this with more minor distractrions at home first so he knows what's expected. He'll be preprogrammed that, "leave it" or "watch me" delivers wonderful treats when the desired reaction is given. And those 'bad' people are the cause of the treats making them not so bad.
> 
> ...


You know, we've got him doing "leave it" with fairly good consistency at home, but it seems like a lot of his "self control" commands (leave it, stay, etc.) go out the window when we go on our walk. Maybe we should try higher value treats (like the person above suggested) combined with this command? Hot dogs, cheese, and cooked chicken seem to pique his interest at home. 

I'll give these suggestions a shot.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

good idea. try working on his basic commands in a lot of different settings with different distractions. dogs don't generalize so they don't always get that sit means sit when they're in a store or at a park and not in their living room, you know?


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## TheStumps (Jan 26, 2010)

Update:

My wife cut up some hot dogs and put them in a baggie for our walk today.

When we got out of the car we did a few minutes of obedience - sit, leave it, down, etc. It was difficult for him to leave the hot dog, but he did pretty well after a few tries.

During the walk I had him "listen" to me a few times - this is his command for when I want him to look at me. When we got near something he would alert upon I would do the "listen" command and give him some hot dog when he looked.

We came across a woman getting out of her car. He alerted and growled for a split second before I gave "listen" and he looked at me. The woman commented on how nice he looked and we approached her. He sat very nicely and even high-fived her when asked! I couldn't believe it.

So I think doing a little work before we actually embark while we're outside, plus the higher-value treats, will help curb this.

Thanks, all, for the suggestions!


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

No problem, sounds like it's getting a lot better! Congrats and good luck!


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