Behaviour
At home he is the gentlest dog, on the pavement he lunges at anyone in a hood. The barking has a reason, and the plan starts from the distance at which he stays calm.
Worth knowing. If the reactivity appeared suddenly in an adult dog or got worse quickly, see your dog's vet first: pain, thyroid problems and failing sight or hearing all make a dog easier to frighten.
You are walking along the pavement and a man in a hood is coming the other way. Your dog, the one who sleeps at home with his head on your foot, rears up on his back legs, barks and throws himself to the end of the lead. The man steps aside and glares, someone behind you says "control your dog", and you go red and speed up. Another dog only barks at people who stop to stroke him, another only at runners, another only after dark. This page is about the dog who barks and lunges at people in the street: why he does it, what makes it worse, and how to work on it step by step until a walk feels like a walk again.
Trainers call it reactivity: the dog reacts far more strongly than the situation calls for to one particular thing, in this case people. From the outside it all looks the same, barking, leaping on the lead, growling. Underneath, the reasons differ, and the plan depends on the reason.
Fear. By far the most common. He did not meet enough different people as a puppy, during the window when he got used to the world easily (up to about 3 to 4 months), or something bad happened to him. He barks to make the person go away, the person does go away, and so next time he barks again. You can tell by the body leaning back, weight on the hind legs, tail low, ears pinned, a high-pitched bark. Sometimes he hides behind you straight afterwards.
Particular people. Plenty of dogs do not react to "people" as such. They react to tall men, to anyone in a hat, hood or with an umbrella, to walking sticks and pushchairs, to children running, to people who stare at them or lean over them. Write down for a week who he barks at and more often than not a pattern appears.
Frustration. This dog wants to get to the person and say hello, and the lead stops him. The tension comes out of his mouth. Tail up and wagging broadly, body tipped forward, barking broken up by whining. Let him off and he would jump up and lick the person's face.
Guarding. He barks mostly near home, on the stairs, at the gate or in the car. Or when you are sitting on a bench and someone comes towards you.
Pain. When his back, hips or ears hurt, a dog has less patience for everything and reacts faster. If reactivity has appeared suddenly in an adult dog who never had it, pain is the first thing to check.
Genes and breed. Some breeds, bred to guard or to keep an eye on strangers, get there more easily. You work with them the same way, just with more patience.
In real life it is nearly always a mix: an unsure dog who has learnt, walk after walk, that barking keeps people at a distance.
Jerking the lead and shouting "no!". He stops for a second because you gave him a fright. What he learns, though, is that when a person turns up, something unpleasant comes from you as well. Next time he is even more on edge.
Prong, shock or choke collars. For a dog barking out of fear, they add pain at the very moment he sees what scares him. Some dogs go quiet, and that is the most dangerous outcome of all: they have learnt not to warn, the fear is still there, and the next step can be a bite with no bark before it. We do not use them and we do not recommend them.
"Let him sniff you so he sees you're friendly." A person walking up to a frightened dog, however kind, puts him right in the situation he fears most. A lot of bites happen exactly then. The dog has no way of knowing the stranger means well.
Taking him into crowds "to get him used to it". The market on a Saturday, the bus stop at rush hour. Vet behaviourists call this flooding. The dog is overwhelmed, and the fear grows instead of shrinking.
Telling him off afterwards. The episode is over and the person has gone. To the dog, the telling-off is connected to nothing.
Not going out at all. He needs exercise and things to sniff, and a bored, wound-up dog reacts faster. What needs to change is the kind of walk.
Every bark at a person is practice for the next one. For the first few weeks, the aim is to put him in that situation as rarely as you can:
Sit on a park bench with a bag of really good treats (cooked chicken, cheese) and watch people go by from a long way off. You are looking for the distance at which he notices a person, looks at them, and can still eat and still turn back to you. It might be 15 metres, it might be 60. That is your working distance. If he stiffens, stops taking food or barks, you are too close, so you back off, no telling-off.
From the working distance, every time a person appears, he gets something really good from you. Person appears, treats arrive. Person leaves, treats stop. Specialists call it desensitisation and counter-conditioning: you get him used to the scary thing gradually and link it with something he enjoys.
A version a lot of people like is "look at that". When he looks at the person, you say a word ("look!") and hand him the treat. After a while he sees a person and turns to you on his own, as if to say "seen them, where's my treat?". When that happens, you know the change has started.
Over a few weeks the distance shrinks by itself. You do not push it. Move a few metres closer only after he has been relaxed at the current distance for several days in a row.
If he has ever tried to bite, or you are not sure, get him used to a basket muzzle he can pant, drink and eat in. Introduce it slowly over a few days, with treats dropped inside, until he pushes his nose in by himself. The muzzle does nothing for the fear. What it gives you is the calm you need to work, and dogs pick up on your calm.
"Please don't stroke him, we're working on something." One short sentence, no long apologies. Some people put a yellow harness or lead on the dog, or a patch saying "I need space". In many countries yellow is known as the "please keep your distance" signal, but do not count on everyone knowing it.
| Day | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Diary: who he barks at, from how far, at what time. Walks moved to quiet hours. |
| 1–7 | The happy U-turn, 5 times a day at home, then on an empty street. |
| 3 | First bench session, 10 minutes, to find the distance at which he stays calm. |
| 4–7 | One short session a day at the working distance: person appears, tasty treat. Sniffing walks on a long line in places with no people. |
| 7 | Read the diary. How many episodes? From how far? If nothing has changed, or he has bitten, call a specialist. |
If the reactivity came on suddenly or got worse quickly, see your dog's vet first. Pain (arthritis, back, teeth, ears), thyroid problems and failing sight or hearing all make a dog easier to frighten and quicker to react. A dog who sees poorly only notices a person when they are right next to him, and the surprise scares him. For very anxious dogs, the vet may suggest treatment to bring the fear down so the dog can learn. That is decided at the consultation, not at home.
Sniffing settles a dog. A dog nosing slowly through the grass has a lower heart rate than one scanning the street. Long sniffing walks in quiet places and search games at home drain off some of the tension that builds up. At our mantrailing sessions we see something more interesting too. A dog who reacts to people learns to search for a person, find them at the end of the trail and get his favourite treat from them. For many dogs, the person at the end of the trail is the first stranger who brings something good. It is not a treatment in its own right and it does not replace the steps above. It does help, though, and you can see it.
An assessment with a trainer or a vet behaviourist starts from your dog and your diary. Afterwards you know exactly what sets him off and how to carry on.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer.
Because he usually reacts to particular things: tall men, hoods, hats, umbrellas, walking sticks, running children, people who stare at him or lean over him. Keep a diary for a week of who, where and from what distance. The pattern tells you where to start and what to steer clear of at first.
Most often it is fear, or frustration at being held back by the lead. Either he wants the person to go away, or he wants to reach them and cannot. It is still serious: a frightened dog can bite if someone gets too close. If he has bitten or tried to, work with a specialist and get him used to a muzzle.
No. A stranger walking up to a frightened dog puts him in exactly the situation he fears most, and plenty of bites happen right then. Say politely "please don't stroke him, we're working on something" and move away. He gets used to people from a distance, at his own pace, with no forced contact.
Usually a few weeks before you notice a change and a few months before relaxed walks on ordinary pavements. The first good sign is when he sees a person and then turns to you on his own. How long it takes depends on how strong the fear is, how many episodes he still has each week and how often you work at the right distance.
We do not recommend them. They may stop the barking for the moment, through pain, but they add fear at exactly the moment he sees the person. Some dogs learn to stop warning and go straight to biting. A good harness, a 2 to 3 metre lead, the happy U-turn and work from a distance bring changes that last.
A behaviour that appears suddenly or changes for no apparent reason can have a medical cause. For full details, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
He sees a dog 50 metres away and explodes: barking, lunging, deaf to you. Off lead in the park he's a different dog. Reactivity is worked on from a distance, over weeks.
He vanishes under the bed when visitors arrive, or flattens himself at the sight of a man in a hood. Fear of people is worked on from a distance, at his pace.
A growl by the bed, a hand grabbed "out of nowhere". The dog tells you something every time before he bites, and the cause can nearly always be found if you know where to look.
At the window, at the doorbell, at the neighbours, when he's left alone. A dog always barks for a reason, and the plan starts with finding it.
An assessment session tells you where you stand and which plan makes sense for your dog. The behaviour programme then works step by step, reward-based only.