Why is my quiet dog barking and growling at a dog outside the patio?

Bella is adorable. I would recommend taking Bella to the veterinarian to make sure there is nothing medical going on with her. If that comes back as just behavioral I would recommend getting a trainer to work with you and her. They will be able to see what is the trigger and work with her and you to stop the behavior. If the trainer evaluates her and determines medication is needed then your veterinarian can provide medication to help. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Belle is a young dog who, like a human toddler, has more energy than she (or your other dog) care for at the moment. If you want to stop any behavior you need to find a healthy alternative. If they ate their other toys you could try a few new safe "indestructible" toys (that you monitor them with at first to make sure they can't destroy them), chew toys that are designed to be eaten (like pet safe bones), puppy training classes, walks, hikes, dog parks, agility lessons. You need to tire Bella out. Right now it sounds like she doesn't have any toys or anything else to do so she's desperately barking at your other dog who she probably is hoping will play with her. Pets need appropriate things to do or they get bored and find inappropriate things to do. I hope this helps!

For the barking you can use a Sonic Egg which is a portable anti bark device. I would discipline him with a deep no when growling so you don't encourage this behavior. He's at a protective stage in his development so I recommend obedience training in a group setting to improve his confidence and his bonding and listening to you. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Teddy.

Hello, and thanks for your question. Most “aggression” issues in dogs are ultimately based on fear to some degree, so I would suspect this is at least partially fear based. Maggie knows that your family is her “pack”, and she’s nervous of outsiders. Every time she barks/growls at others and they end up walking away, she may be reinforcing to herself that “hey - this works! I should keep scaring strangers away!” If this is a behavior you want to work on (and I would recommend it, before it escalates to biting a visitor or stranger on the street) I highly recommend recruiting the expertise of a professional. Ideally a veterinary behaviorist, but your primary vet may be able to direct you to trainers they recommend. Behavior concerns require a lot of time, effort, patience, and consistency, and it’s important to give Maggie the right response at the right moment, before she’s too worked up to be receptive to you. A professional can help you learn how to read these subtle signs before Maggie is completely overstimulated. Here’s a link on aggression that may be helpful to you. https://www.petcoach.co/article/aggression-due-to-dominance/ Hope this helps!

What you're describing sounds like a reaction to the general excitement level and maybe the volume in the room. Some dogs will actually become aggressive that type of situation (for example, they will bite ONLY when there's a touchdown -- not so fun for the visitors). As far as stopping it, keeping her a quiet separate area during big gatherings is one way, as long as she doesn't bark to be reunited with the group. You can also try feeding her a continuous steam of small treats to help change her emotional reaction to these events. One thing to avoid is any yelling or punishment, since that may push her over the edge from barking to aggression

I think they are trying to establish dominance over each other. Both may want to be the Alpha dog. They could also be having a special game or a that time they both want your attention. I suggest they both get neutered. Neutering can decrease dog on dog aggression. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It sounds like she is having some anxiety and/or dominance issues with Bella. Try to take note if she is always doing this or if there is a specific cause or causes like food nesrby, treats, bones, you nearby (they can be protective over their "humans"), etc. If so, try to find a way to keep them separate when one of those things are involved. I would start with trying a calming collar on her like adaptil. If this doesn't work, talk to your vet about a low dose of an anti-anxiety medicine like fluoxetine. Also make sure guera is getting plenty of alone time with you as they can get jealous and protective over you. I hope this helps!