#192 Decoding Your Dog's Selective Barking

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Have you ever found yourself puzzled by your dog's seemingly random barking at certain dogs while completely ignoring others? This apparent mystery actually follows clear patterns that, once understood, can transform your daily walks from unpredictable ordeals into manageable, even enjoyable experiences.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
So your dog doesn't bark at every dog that you pass,
but he does bark at some ofthem and it just feels
completely random.
Right, one moment you'rewalking, just fine, and the next
he's losing it over a dogacross the street.
But here's the thing it'sprobably not random.

(00:25):
Dogs, especially anxious orsensitive ones, don't like
unpredictability.
If that other dog that'swalking towards you is barking
or lunging or spinning on theleash, maybe even excitedly
jumping, or even if the peoplethat are walking the dog are

(00:45):
just loud and bolsterous, yourdog can read both those
situations as chaotic and thatcan make him feel unsafe.
And barking is how they say hey, you better leave me alone.
So the fix If you see chaoscoming down the road, try moving

(01:05):
to the side to add a littlemore distance.
Or the moment your dog looks inthat direction, click and start
tossing treats right in frontof his face.
Then he picks up the firsttreat and then sees the second
treat, and so on.
You know it's a great way tokeep your dog busy and moving,

(01:26):
because the sooner you get pastall of that chaos the better.
And then there's the stare.
If the other dog locks eyeswith yours and holds that stare,
that's a big deal in doglanguage and it can feel
threatening and some dogs willbark to try to break the tension

(01:47):
.
The fix Again the moment yourdog notices the other dog making
hard eye contact, click andtoss some treats in the opposite
direction, preferably in thegrass.
The longer we can keep yourdog's nose in the grass
searching for treats, the lesshe'll notice the hard stare from

(02:08):
the other dog and the lesslikely he'll bark.
And let's not forget about space.
Every dog has a personal bubble, a threshold.
If another dog gets too closebefore your dog is ready, that
can easily trigger a bark.
The fix Determine how far awayfrom other dogs that your dog

(02:32):
needs to be to feel safe andthen try to maintain that space
on all your walks.
And beware those dogs onflexi-leads.
Their owners will most likelylet their dog use all of that
leash to move toward your dog.
So if you see a flexi coming,cut up a driveway or do a U-turn

(02:55):
or walk through the grass inthe opposite direction,
especially if your dog has aspace bubble that you need to
maintain.
So see, it might appear to berandom, but it's usually not.
If your dog barks at some dogsand not others, he's most likely
barking at the behavior of theother dog.

(03:17):
So be sure to watch the otherdog, not just yours.
Look for staring for chaos, forcloseness, anything that might
be triggering, and actappropriately before your dog
reacts.
And keep in mind your dog isn'tbeing unpredictable, they're

(03:38):
just being honest.