Barking At Parents/Kids

[Falcon]

I took Diocese (my almost 16 week old BC) to Petsmart this morning to get some dog food. We've been there a million times before, as it was/is one of my prime socialization spots, but today we had a problem.

 

This little girl came running over and took him (and me) totally by surprise. I was actually pretty proud of my boy, as he seemed to recover fairly quickly once I was able to engage the little girl in talk about the puppy (rather than letting her immediately continue petting him). He sat well for a calmer petting, and then the little girl turned and ran off (to her dad). As soon as she took off, he went nuts & started barking his head off. Not his normal playful bark either, it was deeper, almost a little desperate, maybe scared. Her father (apparently a dog person, thank God) walked over and squatted down to greet Diocese, which the pup handled well (I thought). He called his daughter back over and told her to kneel down and let the dog come to her, and pet him slowly, etc. Diocese seemed to be doing well, until the two of them turned around and walked away. When they walked away, he started barking again (at which point I just picked him up & took him out of the store, I didn't want to make a scene).

 

The only other time that he has barked at someone like this was (again at Petsmart) when he was getting petted by another little girl, and she walked away. When her dad picked her up (the girl), my pup went nuts barking.

 

I know he's giving me some sign or I've missed some important thing in these interactions, but I just don't know what it is. He's well socialized, even with unpredictable kids he is usally pretty darn good (we used to pick my brother up from elementary school just so I could go stand where all the kids were coming out, all of whom wanted to see the pup, of course).

 

I'm not sure if it could have any effect on this, but before we went to Petsmart, I took him to see the horses again & he reacted differently to them too. Normally he is a little nervous around them, but intensely curious (thank goodness for horses that don't give a hoot about dogs). This time, every time my mare blew hard to get rid of flies, or sighed, or nickered, or made any kind of sound (or 'strange' movement), he barked at her. Same bark as with the kid, about half an hour later. Could he have still been riled up from the horses, or is that irrelevent?

 

I'm honestly clueless here, if y'all have any ideas, I'd love to hear 'em.

[Shetlander]

I would wonder if he wasn't barking out of fear to shoo the parent/kid away ("and don't come back!"). Especially if the bark sounded the same as his bark when the horse startled him. Maybe the PetSmart environment has him unsettled and he is more nervous/fearful about strangers there. It could be when he sees them walk away, he then feels bold enough to want to chase them off.

 

Many years ago, my neighbors had a shy-aggressive dog who even as a puppy would follow us around our yard barking continuously. If we turned to face her, even crouching and being very friendly, the puppy took off running. Until we turned our backs and then she again started following us and barking.

 

Not to say your pup is shy-aggressive, but if he was mine, I'd wonder if he was having some fear issues. I know puppies have a few different "fear periods" where they become alarmed more easily but I can never remember what ages those occur. I bet there is a thread on these boards about it or if you googled, you'd find info.

 

You may already do this, but I find having the strangers give treats to my puppies to be helpful in building good associations with meeting new

[Falcon]

That's what threw me off, as he (outside of the two incidents) never acts like that around others. He is a huge people-lover, one of the those dogs who would do just about anything to get someone to pet him. As it is, when we meet strangers, I have him sit (or I ask the other person to tell him to sit), and have them treat him. I try to keep it all low-key, and usually we have no problems.

[Allie+Tess&Kipp]

He might be in a fear period, too.

 

Allie + Tess & Kipp

http://weebordercollie.com

[Jack & Co.]

Maybe the PetSmart environment has him unsettled and he is more nervous/fearful about strangers there.

Liz has a good point here. I have Petsmart and Petco near me and there is something about those stores that make Jack uneasy. I don't know if it's all the food smells, the other pets for sale, etc., but he does not enjoy going in either store. It never fails that someone is in there with a wild dog on a retractable leash or children who are a little too forward. He enjoys lots of other places, vet, park, ball games, but not the big pet superstores.

 

Just a thought.....

[Sorienew]

I put my girls in the buggy when I take them to Petsmart. I carry I small rug with me in the truck and put it in the buggy so their feet or butts don't hurt. They love it and I don't have to worry about them if someone comes up to them. One Border and one Corgi.

They will sit when someone comes up to pet them. I don't like having them on leash in the store.

[Kat's Dogs]

Big pet store are a great place to socialize a pup but can be really scary - so much fear and confusion smells, also lots of un-fixed dogs go through there. So that can be a lot of stress, plus having to behave in there! Not easy.

 

Could it have been a frustrated kind of bark? Like a "don't stop! come back here!" kind of thing? Being a people lover that might be an option.

 

I also agree that it could be a fear period for the pup. Could it be just little girls wearing a dress or big tall guys, something like that?

 

Although what I think is that it might just be a bit to much stress to be in a pet store, getting petted, trying to behave and do what you are told, and so on to the point that Diocese just got frustrated/frantic and didn't know quite what to do. At any rate, I would correct the behavior and fix the problem (inside the petsmart) as soon as you can so it doesn't get worse.

[Shetlander]

Originally posted by Jack & Co.:

[QB]I have Petsmart and Petco near me and there is something about those stores that make Jack uneasy. I don't know if it's all the food smells, the other pets for sale, etc., but he does not enjoy going in either store. It never fails that someone is in there with a wild dog on a retractable leash or children who are a little too forward. /QB]

The last time I was in Petsmart, I scolded a kid who kept hitting his husky mix. Though the dog probably outweighed the kid, his parents were letting him hold the leash so the dog was dragging the kid all over to other dogs. The kid would yell and hit the dog repeatedly while the adults seemed oblivious. I tried to get away from them but we kept running into each other. The third time his dog lunged towards mine and the kid started hitting him, I couldn't take it any more and told him very sternly "Stop hitting your dog!!!!" just as his dad walked up to us. Finally the dad took the leash.

 

I never do that sort of thing but sheesh. It's not that he was really hurting the dog who honestly didn't appear to notice, but it was just so stupid. That kid is going to wind up with a face full of stitches if he thinks that's how to handle a dog and he tries it with one who isn't so good tempered. I couldn't wait to get out of there.

[Jack & Co.]

Liz, those are the kind of experiences I've had also. One time a peculiar lady wanted to tell me all about her darling Katrina rescue dog as the dog bares its teeth and growls.

 

But I also thought of another reason Jack may be uneasy in those stores.....because I alarm him when I yelp in HORROR at the prices!!

[Shetlander]

Originally posted by Jack & Co.:

But I also thought of another reason Jack may be uneasy in those stores.....because I alarm him when I yelp in HORROR at the prices!!

LOL! I'm always looking for toys that might maybe hold up to Quinn's chewing or would be something I could use in training, so I usually walk out of there with stuff. Quinn doesn't like those stores either. My other dogs --Shelties and Lhasas -- have all loved them.

[Malvie]

Originally posted by Falcon:

the little girl turned and ran off (to her dad). As soon as she took off, he went nuts & started barking his head off. Not his normal playful bark either, it was deeper, almost a little desperate, maybe scared.

 

THe two of them turned around and walked away. When they walked away, he started barking again

 

The only other time that he has barked at someone like this was (again at Petsmart) when he was getting petted by another little girl, and she walked away. When her dad picked her up (the girl), my pup went nuts barking.

I wonder if this is protective behavior on the part of the dog. In each instance, it's a little girl who is "taken away" or "walks away" WITH her father.

 

Wonder if the dog is saying, "Hey, you! Come back with that child!!!"

 

Just my .02

[Tammy525]

That's what I was wondering. Scout barks if you walk away from him and he can't follow. His bark sounds desparate, but I am interpreting it as "Please PLEEEAASSEEE come back!"