Lunging and barking at children

[cathiwaalkes]

Hi! I just joined and excited to work on my dogs issues. He doesn't have many but the one he has is frustrating. He is 10 months old and a purebred Aussie. I got him at 8 weeks and I know the parents and the home so no issue from that start. Jackman is well behaved in our home, gets lots of walks and ball throwing, he can sit, down, come and a few other things. He walks well on a leash except sometimes he lunges and barks at people and bikes passing and sometimes he doesn't. I always try to anticipate and will have him sit and look at me when someone passes. He will always bark and lunge at children though and forget about having him on a crowded street as the barking and lunging are out of control. It is hard to calm him enough to distract. I can ask for eyes on me and he does that but still keeps barking. I took him to a friends house and she has a 10 year old child who was willing to work with us. Jackman would calm sometimes but more times than not he would lunge and bark at the child. It doesn't seem like he will bite but I can't take that chance. When I take him to the dog beach and we need to walk past a child it is a lot of work to hold on to him and stop him from lunging and barking. Where do I start? Thanks!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

Great to hear that Jackman is well behaved and has learned a lot of things! When your dog barks and lunges at people and bikes, he's over threshold, so it's important to be extra careful in not exposing him to stimuli and situations in such intense forms that he reacts in that way. The number one thing to do is therefore to work under threshold and screen his environment carefully until he has learned how to better cope in these situations. Here is a read on how to assess your dog's threshold levels and stay under it:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

 

Preventing rehearsal of the barking and lunging behavior is therefore top priority so your starting point is keeping him under threshold and controlling his environment as best as you can. Often this means working with distance and exposure to stimuli that aren't overwhelming to the point of evoking the barking/lunging.

 

Now, this can sometimes be easier said than done because we can never 100 percent control the environment. People or bikes may pop out of nowhere, leaving us sometimes unprepared with stimuli getting too close for comfort. In the initial stages of behavior modification, it's OK to practice avoidance as that means preventing rehearsal of the problematic behavior until we are better equipped to deal with the triggers at such intensity. This is where teaching an emergency exit can come handy:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/

 

A tool that can come handy if you are struggling with his pulling is a front-attachment harness. This is a harness where the leash attaches to a ring in the front of the dog's chest allowing better control. While our goal is to keep him under threshold and teach polite leash walking, it may still happen at times that a setback unexpectedly takes place, and in that case, a front-attachment harness can help you feel more confident on walks as it allows better control. Examples of front-attachment harnesses include the Easy Walk Harness, Sensible Harness and the Walk Your Dog with Love Harness.

 

When you have distance and you find that "sweet spot" where Jackman appears under threshold, then you can work on behavior modification using desensitization and counterconditioning, such as the "look at that" method explained here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ or the open bar/closed bar method: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/

 

Make sure to use super-high value treats so to create positive associations. If Jackman struggles with sitting and looking at you (some dogs are too over threshold to sit or may get fidgety/feel trapped upon sitting) then initially, it's OK to skip asking for a sit and just practice feeding him treats as he looks at his triggers or walks past them. If we can get him to eventually look at us while walking by his triggers, that's a big plus, but this may come only with practice and once more confidence builds up. You can read how to eventually train attention heeling here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/

 

If children are triggering barking/lunging then we really need to be extra careful and tread with caution. Children often move erratically and their acute voices and sudden movements can make dogs nervous and react sometimes in unpredictable ways, especially when they feel cornered or in unfamiliar or small places with no escape routes. Management and keeping Jackman under threshold again is top priority. So if practicing needs to be done, it is best done behind a baby gate, secure fence or a window for safety and also for preventing Jackman from getting too overwhelmed. Having a behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification provide in-person guidance would be important for safety and the correct implementation of modification modification.

 

Since you own a herding breed, there may be chances that his barking and lunging may stem from an instinctive drive to herd, you can find some tips in these threads helpful as they address how to tackle and provide outlets for these strong instincts in herding breeds:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?195-Rescue-Border-Collie-fear-issues

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?184-Barking-fiercely-at-inanimate-objects

 

Hope this helps!

Let me know if you need any further assistance.

Best,

Adrienne

Edited June 20, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli

[cathiwaalkes]

Thank you so much for the guidance. I do understand threshold and try to keep him under it but we are in Michigan for the summer and the beach is where we go! The sunny days are limited so I don't want to stay away as Jackman loves to swim and chase the ball. I taught him target today and he learned it so quickly. I will look and read all that you have suggested and start this journey. I did walk him this morning and there were lawn mowers and people and he didn't bark once. That was a huge improvement. He did not seem to get over threshold. No children on our walk but I was encouraged by his behavior. Thanks!!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

You are very welcome! Keep us posted on how things go.

Targeting is also a very helpful behavior, and if trained to a strongly reliable level, in spite of distractions, it can come handy to get your dog to re-focus on you.

Practicing a lot in quiet areas first, then in areas with more distractions prior to being introduced in areas with strong distractions may help, however, expect him to be less able to focus when exposed to areas with heavy distractions. Make sure to have super tasty treats to reinforce desired behaviors and create positive associations!

Happy training!