Lil Dog Barks at the Big Guys

[JeffCilione]

Hi there.

My dog Rico - 11 lbs, 5.5 year old Chihuahua mix - is always barking at the big dogs we come across on our walks.

 

Allow me to set the scene. We’re walking and a large dog and owner approaches. Rico gets a bit riled up when he sees the dog - fur up and on high alert - but no barking. It’s when I stop to say hello and either pet the other dog, or lord forbid, give said dog a treat. Then it’s a non stop bark fest until we walk away. Is it fear? Jealousy? Just being a pain? And how to stop this? I really don’t have access to larger dogs for us to practice with, so that’s out. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello Jeff,

Welcome to the forum!

 

Rico's behavior is not at all unusual. So much so, that dog trainers have affectionally given this behavior a name "Napoleon Syndrome." Despite its name though, there's often likely a fear component at play (just don't let these "tough" doggies know);). The fact that Rico's fur goes up (piloerection) is his way of manifesting not feeling comfortable around the big guys. With his fur up, he looks a bit more puffy, which is an adaptive function seen in several other animals as well (cats, porcupines) to make them look a bit bigger and intimidating. We also see piloerection when a dog is caught by suprise and is startled (eg. a dog popping out from nowhere like behind a corner) and in that case it's sort of the canine equivalent of goosebumps.

 

Since Rico doesn't bark right away at the sight of a dog, this denotes that he may be taking a "wait and see" approach. Yes, he is on alert mode, but he's still under threshold and his emotions are still somewhat under control. From your description, the barking fest starts when you stop to say hello and either pet the dog or give the dog a treat.

 

If this behavior starts when you stop to say hello, that may be likely because of increased proximity. Proximity is a big trigger for many dogs and that's when behaviors start to fall apart. Same goes with humans too. If somebody is umcomfortable being around people, being in a crowd in close proximity to people would be at the top of his/her fear-evoking hierarchy. Petting the dog or giving the dog the treat may be just an added trigger as the dog you are petting likely gets excited to be pet or excited to eat the treat so your Chi may be sensing that increase in arousal.

 

Dogs have been found in studies to feel jealousy, but a more primordial form compared to us. They don't actively think "I better be careful, there's a risk that my owner will start thinking that Scruffy is much better than me. I must take action to prevent this from happening." This sort of reasoning requires superior congnitive functions not seen in dogs. Instead, dogs may attempt to break up the connection between the owner and a seeming rival by simply engaging in behaviors such as wriggling their way in between or do things to revert the attention from the other dog back to them by pawing, rolling over or grabbing a ball and running over to the owner with it. Barking can sure be a way to gain back the attention. It would be interesting to know whether the barking is directed towards you (hey, pay attention to me!) or towards the other dog (don't get too close for comfort). However, there may be other issues at play.

 

It would be also interesting to know if the barking still occurs when you stop to just talk to another person without a dog. I have seen some dogs bark just because they do not like their walk interrupted and get bored and want to resume walking. Wondering as well whether the barking still occurs if you don't pet the other dog or give the treat (that would help rule out possibly jealousy or protectiveness towards you). Without seeing the behavior or really knowing what goes in the dog's mind, we can only make assumptions as to what is really going on.

 

From your description though (the hackles up and getting a bit riled up at the sight of the dog aproaching), I am more inclined to think there may be a fear/uncomfortable feeling/anxiety component at play that is triggered by proximity since approach causes the escalation in emotional behaviors while leaving appears to resolve it.

 

So here is a plan: since you do not have access to dog owners with larger dogs willing to practic for set-ups, you would then use the raw, real-life scenarios that are presented to you on your walks. This would be less than ideal and may pose a few more challenges, but if that's all we have right now, it's better than nothing.

 

The moment you spot a large dog, right before Rico gets riled up, you can start feeding him a few small high-value tasty treats in a row in hopes of changing a bit his emotional response. You want him to go from "eek a dog is coming my way" to "yay, a dog! where's my treat?, where's my treat." After several trials you should see a reduction in the piloerection as the focus turns more on you. To further help make the point that the arrival of a dog means good things, start with lower value treats (kibble? if he takes it) and increase the value of treats as the other dog gets closer ( eg freeze-dried liver, fish skin dog treats).

 

If you must stop to talk, it would be ideal to not give the other dog attention or treats for now. That's a stimulus gradient (increased challenge of a triggering stimulus) you want to leave for later on as your dog is better under control and calmer since it seems like it increases the barking. You don't want him to rehearse the barking behavior in presence of other dogs, also because other dogs may get annoyed by a dog barking at them and may even trigger reactivity in some.

 

We can add this stimulus gradient a bit later if it's something you really enjoy doing and maybe only with dogs proven to ge frendly over time (there are risks for scuffles/fights though when two dogs are nearby and only one is fed treats/given attention). Explain to the owner that you are not being suddenly stingy, but that you are just trying to fix the barking issue since your dog seems upset by this.

 

It would be preferable to initially try to talk a bit from a farther distance so that proximity is less. See if you can find a distance where your dog is not barking. From there, feed your dog some tasty treats (if he'll eat them) to change a bit his emotional state (also a dog who is eating can't bark at the same time). If your dog knows "sit" ask him to sit when you feed him. If at any time he barks, stop, move a bit farther (or make an abrupt turn) and try again until your pet is under better control and try again the same exercise. After several trials, day after day, you may be able to get closer.

 

Another option is to pick up your dog. Many small dogs feel more safe once picked up and may bark less. This is also a good precaution when getting close to larger dogs as you never know if the other dog is aggressive and things can get out of and quickly. However, consider that picking up your dog can be a trigger for the other dog even if he is friendly. So it might be a good idea to pick your dog up from a distance, before actually getting closer and it's wise to always stay out of lunging distance from the other dogs met on walks.

 

Hope this helps,

Best regards,

Adrienne

Edited June 7, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli