My dog scares people by barking and jumping. How can I stop it?

Poor Marley! This is a fairly common problem for many dogs - you're correct that the barking is generally caused by fear. Treatment for this issue normally involves teaching the dog to associate good things (like treats!) with seeing large dogs and men so that over time, she begins be happy about seeing them rather than getting scared and barking. To do this successfully, you need to start at a distance away from the dogs (or men) where she is comfortable and able to notice them without barking - for some dogs, this may mean that you need a lot of distance at first! As soon as she sees another dog or a man, praise her and reward with a treat. Once she understands the game, you can gradually move closer as long as she's doing well. This can be difficult to do on your own at first, so I would strongly recommend getting in touch with a good reward-based trainer who can help you in person - he/she can help to set up controlled training sessions with a helper dog or some strange men until you get the hang of things and are ready for "real life" situations. You can search for a qualified trainer in your area here: www.ccpdt.org

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! You should start with one on one training and NO walks until he is trained. Hire a trainer. Use positive reinforcement and train him to "sit, "heal" on a leash, "look," and "leave it." Also get him used to the gentle leader harness that goes on the muzzle, this allows for amazing head control. Once he is used to the harness and is able to listen to you at home, practice outside on a leash. When people approach ask him to "look" at you and sit. When he does this and ignores the person passing by he gets a treat and verbal praise. You can do this with people you know first. This will take A LOT of time and effort on your part but it should help. https://www.petco.com/shop/SearchDisplay?categoryId=&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&searchSource=Q&pageView=&beginIndex=0&pageSize=24&fromPageValue=search&searchTerm=gentle+leader&omnitureEnabled=false&cm_sp=SearchSuggest-_-gentle+leader-_-Location&searchsuggestion_keyword=gentle+leader I wish you and Bruno the best!

Jumping on people to greet them is a very common and normal dog behavior - but since most humans don't appreciate it, it's definitely a good idea to teach him not to do this :) I would recommend keeping Scooby on-leash when he meets people, so that you can prevent him from continuing to practice this behavior. Stand at a distance from the person, and ask him to sit - reward with a treat when he does. Then move a bit closer, and ask him to sit again. If he gets too excited, just back up to where he can be calm again and focus, then try again. Eventually, with practice, you should be able to walk him right up to a person and ask him to sit before they pet him. If you have trouble doing this, you may want to find a good reward-based trainer in your area who can work with you in person. You can search for a qualified trainer in your area here: www.ccpdt.org

Punishment is not recommended as a training method for dogs - because as you've seen, it's not very effective at changing behavior and only confuses and frightens your dog. There is never any reason to physically strike a dog during training, so please don't do this anymore. Instead, effective training is based on teaching your dog what you want him to do, then rewarding him when he gets it right. If you have no previous experience with dog training and are becoming frustrated with your dog, believe me when I say that it would be well worth the money to work with a good trainer in person for a few lessons to get you on the right track. You can search for a qualified trainer in your area here: www.ccpdt.org In the meantime, I would highly recommend the book "How To Behave So Your Dog Behaves" by Dr. Sophia Yin. It's great for beginners, and explains a lot about how fog training works including practical suggestions for dealing with common issues like jumping up.

It sounds like Toby was frightened and overwhelmed by the dog park - some dogs don't enjoy crowded places like this with lots of other dogs. I would suggest walking him in quieter places where he's comfortable, if he has problems with barking and growling at dogs in other situations, it would be best to make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can evaluate him in person and help you put together a training plan to help him learn to be more comfortable around strange dogs and people. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org or a qualified trainer here: www.ccpdt.org

Poor Bongo! I bet the amount of people being around was overwhelming to him. Heck- it overwhelms me. If he has a good food drive, I would recommend using that to train him. It is best to use one person st a time. Make sure they have a yummy treat- something he only gets during training. Have the person walk by & gently toss the food to him & keep walking. No telling or staring at him. He will start to associate yummy treat with people. Have the person move closer if Bongo isn’t responding. The person holding Bongo’s leash needs to remain calm and praise positive behavior & ignore unwanted behavior. When he has that down- have him sit & allow the person to hand him the treat (make sure you trust that person). I would not place him in situations with large numbers of strangers for a while. I would also recommend a good basic obedience class-it will help him learn in a group setting. Thanks for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Poor pup! Lots of dogs have this problem, and it's definitely something that can be improved. The basic treatment plan for this issue involves teaching your dog to associate good things (usually treats!) with seeing people and other dogs. You need to start at a distance where he is able to notice them without immediately reacting - so depending on how severe his problem is, you may need a lot of distance at first! Every time he looks at a person or another dog, praise and reward with a treat. If he's barking or not interested in the treats, this means you're too close - back up a bit to where he's comfortable, and try again. It can be hard to do this on your own at first, so I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer to work with you in person. He/she can help you set up controlled training situations at first to practice, until you and your dog are both comfortable with how things are going. Punishment of any kind is not recommended for this behavior, as it only makes the dog more anxious and worsens the problem over time - steer clear of any trainer who recommends corrections for this behavior. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here (www.dacvb.org) or a qualified trainer here (www.ccpdt.org).