[x0emiroxy0x]

I just got out of class and took Rocky out to potty. He sat at the back door and I opened it all the way without him moving (Yeah!) and when I said lt's go, we walked out. Well ask we are going round the corner some short, very overweight repairman barrels into me and Rocky goes crazy!

I had his collar and he didn't pull at all but he barked (in his first deep bark I have ever heard) nonstop because the man wouldn't keep walking. He just stood there and stared at Rocky and then told me "I'll be talking to maagement about this crazy dog. You shouldn't keep that around other people"

The second he walked away Rocky completely forgot out him!

The man ran into me, then wouldn't get out of my space, then continuously lookd Rocky in the eyes.

Is that enough cause for Rocky to freak out?

-------------
Just now my roommate walked in and Rocky started growling at the door...I opened it and he barked at my roommate over and over and then hid from him in my room...then ten seconds later came out and ran upto him with his tail wagging to play...


What the heck I am so confused.

 

[x0emiroxy0x]

Sorry my keyboard is skitzing....

Background---> Rocky has NEVER been aggressive towards anyone and only barks twice at most (in a puppy voice)if he sees african american or indian people (he is weird about that). On our walk this morning there were several big men who ran by and he just turned to look at the a few times then kept walking.

Maybe it is because they guy ran into me? And 2 minutes later my roomate walked in and he was still upset about the other guy?

 

[JakodaCD OA]

the guy probably startled both you and rocky, and staring a dog in the eye, can be viewed as a threat, so I wouldn't say what rocky did was out of the norm for a young dog

 

[Shadow's mum]

Sounds to me like Rocky and yourself got caught off guard, the man sounds like he may have been also caught off guard and perhaps emitting some nervous energy which Rocky would have picked up on, all that combined with starring a dog down= nervous, growly self protective dog. This is all just my humble opinion.

 

[trish07]

Phenix sometime barks at strangers for "no reasons". Generaly, he don't care or even look at strangers when we walk, but sometime, I don't know why, he growls at them....but he never growled at anybody in my house. Also, when strangers look at him in the eyes, 80% he will growl at them. If we look at him in the eyes, or family or friends, he do nothing.

 

[Jax08]

Isn't Rocky about 5 months old? He's still a puppy! I would find the repairman, explain the situation and apologize for scaring him. He probably didn't realize he scared you and Rocky as well. A little honey might go a long way in this to not cause any problems with the apartment management. And I really doubt the guy's weight or height had anything to do with Rocky's reaction.

 

[King&Skylar]

I would think that would be enough to scare a dog, making it bark. I know Skylar is extremely sensitive to people "threatening" her, so i have to be careful, but she is in no way out of control. Also, If it startled you, your pup would probably pick up on that, and react to the 'out of the ordinary' thing that scared you.

 

[Larien]

Sounds like the guy doesn't like dogs, and dogs know who doesn't like them, which could be part of the reason why he barked at him. Plus, that guy was doing everything wrong on top of it. I think the whole situation upset him in part because YOU were upset, hence the barking at the guy who came over afterward. Just try and be calm and act normal, don't let that jerk guy bother you, and I think everything will be fine.

 

[x0emiroxy0x]

He did it again when he saw a man walk his dog by...

I had 3 male friends agree to come over and help tomorrow...only thing is I am not sure what to do...

Should I have them walk by as we walk out of the apartment and if he ignores them, treat him, and if he barks, turn around and go back into the house and repeat until he doesn't do it and then treat him.

ONe friend said to distract him with treats if he starts barking...but that seems like treating him for barking...

 

[Larien]

The trick is to distract him, and when he goes a couple of seconds without barking and is focused on you, THEN treat him. Do you use a clicker? I think it would work well for you in this instance, because you can click after he's looked at you and stopped barking and treat, he'll associate the sound with doing something good and getting treats.

I think he should learn "focus" or "watch me" if he hasn't already. This is simple, click and treat every time he looks you in the face no matter what he's doing when you say "focus," "watch me," or something similar.

So after he's learned that, have the guys practice walking by him, coming in and out of the apartment, and have him on a leash, preferably sitting. When they approach and pass and he barks, tell him focus, and when he does AND stops barking for let's say a second or 2, click and treat. If he's really fixated on them, you could even add a little leash jerk to snap him out of it, but not too hard, though. Don't overly praise because we don't want him too excited during this exercise. And then just keep practicing. If he's too worked up, maybe start smaller by having the guys walk father away from him and gradually get closer the next few times you practice.

Has he been socialized at all? He needs to get out into the world and meet lots of people, especially men, so he's not always anxious like this around them. You'll need to be calm and cool, too, to let him know that all is well.

 

[x0emiroxy0x]

He has been very socialized, atleast in my eyes. We walk at the track twice a day, where he meets very big men that run by him and women that stop and try to pet him. I always have treats and a clicker so that when we walk by someone and he ignores them or just glances and keeps walking he gets a reward.

We go to petsmart 3-4x a week and we are in a puppy training class. We have friends over probably 4-5 times a week and Rocky rides in the car everywhere...the people at chick-fil-a LOVE him (and I love chickfila!!) We go into tractor supply and home depot and the hastings by us because they allow dogs!

He has been on 8 or 9 four hour car trips and visited my boyfriends family, his aunt (a pain in the butt due to her physco dashunds), my moms for the day, and we lived at my dads for a week over xmas break.

Ever since we started with the clicker he has been awesome!

It seems to me that he is just VERY defensive of anyone coming near the apartment. If we are walking on the other side of the apartment he ignores people.

Thanks for the advice!