Hi, I have a 7 month male GSD. Overall he is well behaved e.g. we can take him out anywhere and he is under control, doesn't bark at other dogs or people. We have taken him to some crowded situations and he has behaved well. We also have been going to training weekly and generally have tried to ensure that we expose him to other dogs and people. In the last two weeks he has suddenly started barking randomly at some men (not all) who have come over to want to pet him or come close to him. He is fine with women, small children and dogs. Any thoughts on why this behaviour may have started?
At first I thought he was maybe being protective/defensive - since the first time it happened I was alone and a tall man at the pet store approached. However, we have repeated the scenario with my husband and the dog still reacts to the same man. We worked on the situation a little to the point where the dog no longer barks but if the man tries to pet him, he starts barking again. He will take a treat from the man's hand though and our GSD is not super food driven.
Is this part of the second fear stage that I have read about? It'd be great to hear from any other GSD owners who may have gone through or are going through something similar.
Thanks!
At first I thought he was maybe being protective/defensive - since the first time it happened I was alone and a tall man at the pet store approached. However, we have repeated the scenario with my husband and the dog still reacts to the same man. We worked on the situation a little to the point where the dog no longer barks but if the man tries to pet him, he starts barking again. He will take a treat from the man's hand though and our GSD is not super food driven.
Is this part of the second fear stage that I have read about? It'd be great to hear from any other GSD owners who may have gone through or are going through something similar.
Thanks!