Oh, no it's my owner!

[alessadry]

Does any body have issues with dogs that bark at owners thinking they are strangers? I have 2 rottweiler pups that are 5 months. One recognizes me right away in the dark, the other will bark and run towards me until I tell him :Hey it's me whay's wrong with you? Then he will run towards me and lick me to death. Another time in daylight he saw me with a hat and had another barking episode. Why is he having such a hard time recognizing me at times? Perhaps he is still inexperienced and doesn't give himself a minute of doubt?

[Urika]

Maybe someone more knowledgable will answer but I have never had that problem. I'm told by my children that Diesel gets excited when he hears me pulling into the driveway. I would think they should know your scent even if they are unable to see you.

[lengel]

Our rescued dog went nuts when DH came into the room with goggles and protective head gear on. DH immediately removed these things and put them on the floor so that she could sniff them. When she was satisfied, he put them back on. Hats, glasses, any unusual "gear" could trigger this kind of reaction.

[sophie's-mom]

How long have you had these dogs?

Ian is 7 this year, I have had him since he was 9 weeks old. Yesterday, I had on a t-shirt and ball cap I had never worn before and as I came through the back gate he lowered his head and barked at me. I said, "knock it off dork head" and he recognized my voice.

In the dark, your pup may have a hard time focusing and your shape isn't familiar yet.

My point is, maybe there isn't a reason. He may just not have recognized you right away.

[Shelby427]

Shelby does the same thing, but I don't think it's about her not recognizing my BF. If he wears a face mask (skiing mask), she'll know it's him, but is more like "what are you wearing! take it off!" but she does recognize him, if she didn't, she'd go way more beserk. I think it's just because she doesn't like things that are different.

[alessadry]

Originally Posted by sophie's-mom

How long have you had these dogs?

Ian is 7 this year, I have had him since he was 9 weeks old. Yesterday, I had on a t-shirt and ball cap I had never worn before and as I came through the back gate he lowered his head and barked at me. I said, "knock it off dork head" and he recognized my voice.

In the dark, your pup may have a hard time focusing and your shape isn't familiar yet.

My point is, maybe there isn't a reason. He may just not have recognized you right away.

I have had them since mid December. They seem to be learning how to guard now though. These are the first episodes where I see them actually barking at their surroundings. I surely am proud of how they guard our property which is in the middle of nowhere but he seems to need to work a little more on the "scent" rather than the figure!

[alessadry]

Originally Posted by Shelby427

Shelby does the same thing, but I don't think it's about her not recognizing my BF. If he wears a face mask (skiing mask), she'll know it's him, but is more like "what are you wearing! take it off!" but she does recognize him, if she didn't, she'd go way more beserk. I think it's just because she doesn't like things that are different.

Yeah, I guess this is the same with the episode where I was wearing the hat. I guess he was trying to tell me :'Stop wearing odd stuff, it makes it hard for me to recognize you!"

[damp]

Originally Posted by alessadry

I have had them since mid December. They seem to be learning how to guard now though. These are the first episodes where I see them actually barking at their surroundings. I surely am proud of how they guard our property which is in the middle of nowhere but he seems to need to work a little more on the "scent" rather than the figure!

5 months old pups are way to young to guard or protect!

The reaction tells me, that the pup/dog feels uncomfortable, insecure and even scared and therefore it barks.

I suggest you work them separately… take them out of “nowhere” and bring them to busy streets, stores with crowds of people etc. and work with confidence.

[alessadry]

Originally Posted by damp

5 months old pups are way to young to guard or protect!

The reaction tells me, that the pup/dog feels uncomfortable, insecure and even scared and therefore it barks.

I suggest you work them separately… take them out of “nowhere” and bring them to busy streets, stores with crowds of people etc. and work with confidence.

That's odd, because I have read that dogs that are fearful will bark and back up or bark only, while he barks and runs towards the noise or person and seems to show no fear! He does this mainly at night when there are weird noises around. Last night when he did, I found a deer in our land. I thought this was normal, since all dogs around are barking at all sorts of things. When I take him on the closest busy street he doesn't bark at all, even at trucks strangers, cars etc.

[damp]

Originally Posted by alessadry

Hey it's me whay's wrong with you? Then he will run towards me and lick me to death. Another time in daylight he saw me with a hat and had another barking episode. Why is he having such a hard time recognizing me at times?

Perhaps I misunderstood you... but the above episodes as posted... are signs of insecurness and you are wrong, if you think a 5 months old pup who barks, is showing signs of guarding/protection your property!

Originally Posted by alessadry

Yeah, I guess this is the same with the episode where I was wearing the hat. I guess he was trying to tell me :'Stop wearing odd stuff, it makes it hard for me to recognize you!"

He TRIED the BEST he could to TELL you: I am uncomfortable/insecure/scared of that odd hat..... I am uncomfortable/insecure/scared of new things... I need to learn and you have to teach me how to handle this, how to react reasonable to new things and how to recover from stress!

[Zumie05]

Gary does the same thing. His first episode was when he was 4 months old and my mother in law (to be) was coming in from the dark while Gary was out front pottying. He knows and loves this woman to death, yet he didn't recognize her in the dark.

Gary barked at her and then ran away, barked, ran away. All I did was tell him "silly pup, look who it is!" and I walked over to her and he followed me. Once he got the scent, he was all silly and happy.

Just because your puppy is barking and moving forward instead of backing off doesn't necessarily mean that he is guarding. He is letting you know that something out there isn't right, and it is your job to teach him if it is something he should be afraid of or not. Your dogs will never know the difference between something to bark about or not to bark about if you don't work on this with them. I would like my dog to bark if someone came into the house wrong (breaking in through a window) but by all means I would hate to have him bark every time someone knocks on the door.

[alessadry]

Originally Posted by damp

Perhaps I misunderstood you... but the above episodes as posted... are signs of insecurness and you are wrong, if you think a 5 months old pup who barks, is showing signs of guarding/protection your property!


He TRIED the BEST he could to TELL you: I am uncomfortable/insecure/scared of that odd hat..... I am uncomfortable/insecure/scared of new things... I need to learn and you have to teach me how to handle this, how to react reasonable to new things and how to recover from stress!

So since you have the diagnosis then how do I deal with this? He does fine in many other instances that would make any other dog faint -trucks, fighter jets (I am near a military training area), strangers, kids running, people jogging, etc. I have worn that hat many other times and he has cared less. I just wore it minutes ago to test him and he didn't care. Can't it have been just a one moment of "oh my God, who the heck is that?" just as any other owner above has experienced? I am sure their dogs are well trained and socialized. I can try to wear the hat again tomorrow early am like last time and see how he reacts. If he barks I will say "enough" and once he quiets down give a treat so he associates the hat with something positive.

About the barking at night ....I do not want to discourage him from alerting me of strangers approaching my property when I am by myself at night. My hubby got the dogs primarily because he loves them but also because with his job I am often by myself. The other night for instance, I heard footsteps so I sent him out (my fenced property) he barked and whoever it was left. I then called the police but there was no trace. If he hadn't barked who knows what could have happened! Should I tell him to stop barking if he barks at noises at night? All I need to do is say "enough " and he will listen, however, one day maybe the enough could mean for a thief "all clear". however, I am always open to suggestions and advice and I will do what it takes to fix this if in your belief it is a major problem.

[Weltterr]

Dogs recognize us by our shape - the outline of our shape. When you wear a hat, you have changed your shape, and the dog may not recognize you. I don't know if this is the same in the dark - perhaps the shape is not recognized in the dark?

This is one of the reasons we need to socialize, socialize, socialize - giving puppies the opportunity to see many different people, dressed differently, and in many different situations.

[webangel2b]

Dixie is 4yo and has gotten every "protective" of me. If I'm home alone and DBF pulls up, even if she does know him, she makes sure that I know someone is out there.

Until he's out of the car and she can smell him - she's going to hold him off.

I think Dixie is getting that "guard up" age already?

[jlhnokc]

"About the barking at night ....I do not want to discourage him from alerting me of strangers approaching my property when I am by myself at night. My hubby got the dogs primarily because he loves them but also because with his job I am often by myself. The other night for instance, I heard footsteps so I sent him out (my fenced property) he barked and whoever it was left. I then called the police but there was no trace. If he hadn't barked who knows what could have happened! Should I tell him to stop barking if he barks at noises at night? All I need to do is say "enough " and he will listen, however, one day maybe the enough could mean for a thief "all clear". however, I am always open to suggestions and advice and I will do what it takes to fix this if in your belief it is a major problem.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm sorry but at 5 months old they are WAY TO YOUNG to be "sent out" to investigate something. Me personally, I wouldn't ever send my dog out to investigate anyway. But again, 5 months is way to young. Your dog needs much more training and time to mature, not to mention needs temperment tested before any of that type of training needs to occur. Your dogs need to be looking to you on how to react, if you are sending them out, they are up to their own vices and choices and you are looking at a lawsuit on your hands. Wether it was a thief or not in your back yard, had one of your dogs bitten them, guess what? They could sue you, you could loose your dogs and be fined a hefty sum. Doesn't sound worth it does it? If you know someones out there, call the cops, please though, don't send your 5 month old pups out to an unknownor send them out at any age by themselves for that matter.