I'm guessing the two are related, and the barking is her trying to get the people or other dogs to back off, would that be right? If so, if you work on her reactivity to people and dogs, the 'need' for her to bark should go and it will fix itself. If not, we might need to come up with other ideas. But I'd start with the reactivity.

She will have an invisible radius of space around him where he feels secure. It's called flight distance, anything within that space triggers his fight or flight stress response, which you may have heard of. Find out what that is and keep her far enough away from other dogs, people and things she reacts to so that she is aware of them, but relaxed. Your goal is to train that she doesn't need to react; not to stop a reaction in progress. I suspect that may be what's happening when you stand in front of her and tell her no; you are too late and too close. And 'no' means nothing to her as a sound.

Reward her for being calm with something fabulous, like frankfurter sausage or a very special toy. The aim of this is to change your dog’s emotional response to the stressful thing (the other dog) by repeatedly pairing it with something good. In time, your dog will learn that scary dogs and people mean sausages appear and this creates something called a positive conditioned emotional response (+CER).

This website explains it in more detail - Care for Reactive Dogs

Gradually, over weeks and months rather than days, you can work on reducing the distance. This may mean you have to be selective where you walk - choose places with good visibility so you can give others a wide berth, or where you can turn and walk away easily. The fact she has been doing this for some give means that it will be harder to stop, don't expect this to be a quick fix.

But - be aware that if your dog has had a stressful episode the stress hormone cortisol can stay in the body for some time. Studies in dogs are inconclusive but it may be several days. That means that if her cortisol is already high, the distance she was comfortable with on one day might be too close on another day. So the safe distance can change, watch her body language.

Alongside that you could train a 'watch me'. As your dog looks at you, mark and reward the behaviour. Ask for longer periods of watching. Then if a dog approaches, after you have worked on the distance issue, you can get your dog to focus on you and not the other dog. BUT - some dogs find this scary as they cannot see the thing they are anxious about so you need to judge your dog. And importantly, don't ask your dog to watch you if it is the other dog that is reactive. Your dog should never be in a situation where he could be at risk while he is complying with something you have asked her to do.

Trainers describe behaviour like this with reference to the three Ds. Distance, as above but also be aware of Duration - your dog might be tolerant for 10 seconds, but not 15; and Distraction - how distracting the stimulus is, a calm dog might not trigger any reaction at a given distance but a bouncy one might. A small person might be less triggering than a big man with a hat - you get the idea.

In the house, keeping her away from people in another room is a good management strategy, the idea of someone being in her space adds more layers of tension. After you have worked on the above for a while you could use baby gates, so she is safely apart but able to see.

And if you are concerned about her biting, train her to wear a muzzle. Done properly, it will be just like another piece of kit like her collar or harness.

 

Excellent training advice from Joanne above.

I do have just a couple of questions, though - How long have you had her & how long has this behavior been going on? Also, since it sounds like the human directed 'aggression' (whatever that looks like) is a newer development, have you seen your vet recently for a full senior exam, complete with bloodwork? Anytime there is an abrupt change in behavior, the first thing to do is rule out medical issues which could be causing, or contributing to, the problem. This is particularly important when the dog in question is a senior, because health can change abruptly as dogs age. Pain, in particular, is something that contributes greatly to 'reactive' behavior, and needs to be ruled out and/or managed before any training can be accomplished.

 

Wow. That all makes sense. I’ve had her since she was a puppy. Of course different behavior when she was a puppy but she has always had a type of high anxiety I would say. After she stops barking sometimes she will pace back and forth with fast respirations. I have to make her stop pacing and calm down. Last year I got very ill as nd the ambulance had to come to our home 6 times in which they took me to hospital every time. Twice I was gone for two weeks and more and some strange man was coming to the house to feed her. thats when the aggression started. she tried to bite him a few times which understandable since he was stranger in her house. She has just always bern "high strung" per se. it takes alot to calm her down. if im sitting on the couch and abruptly get up even just to go to the kitchen she immediately sits up turns to the window snd starts barking out of control. i feel bad because she seems so stressed. i dont want her to feel that way. your advice is great and completely makes sense. thank you. i will start trying it right away.

 

Perhaps consider giving her something to help with her anxiety? I have found that CBD oil (I use human grade oil which has been tested for purity and potency) has worked well for my anxious/stressed dogs, both past and present.

CBD Oil For Dogs: 6 Benefits You Didn’t Know - Dogs Naturally

CBD For Dogs Benefits - Science Backed Health Guide

 

Hi. Where can I get cbd oil?
Thank you

 

Just FYI: It isn't necessary to buy the CBD oil "for dogs" because the formula is the same for dogs and for people, and the CBD for people is generally less expensive. The only advantage to using CBD "for dogs" is that the bottle or packaging may give you a dosage guide, which is helpful, because figuring out what amount of what strength to give what size of dog can be tedious. I have done it, though, with a veterinarian's advice.

 

Excessive barking is one of the more difficult habits or reactions to deal with. Ours, too is an excessive barker, and over the past year and a half plus, she has certainly toned down her barking, still more that I would like, but life is all about compromise. Desensitization is a process that takes time and patience, based on limited and controlled exposure to her triggers. In our case it was people and other dogs on our walks, so I used a public park where I had control of the distance between us and others, then gradually closed the distance in small increments over time. Now we can meet and greet other people and dogs, occasionally another dog will set her off, but not often. Its a long slow process, and frankly it really never ends.

 

I'd walk her in the evening when it's more quiet. If you cannot walk fast enough for her to get tired, get on a adult tricycle or sit down scooter but be careful not to go too fast since she's 10. Just enough that she gets a bit tired.

Also give her drops of Rescue Remedy to take the edge off. You can buy a bottle on Amazon.
There's also calming tablets made with calming herbs like valerian, passion flower.
I've heard that CBD oil calm dogs but I haven't tried it.

Once you have her tired and calm after exercise and herbal remedies, if/when she barks, use a rolled up magazine and discipline her by tapping it hard next to her or in your hand and at the same time say a firm NO!
Make sure you are firm enough that she really knows that you are not happy with her behavior. Repeat NO! and tell her SIT! And if she obeys even for just a few seconds make sure to praise her.

Be patient and good luck.

 

I'd walk her in the evening when it's more quiet. If you cannot walk fast enough for her to get tired, get on a adult tricycle or sit down scooter but be careful not to go too fast since she's 10. Just enough that she gets a bit tired.

Also give her drops of Rescue Remedy to take the edge off. You can buy a bottle on Amazon.
There's also calming tablets made with calming herbs like valerian, passion flower.
I've heard that CBD oil calm dogs but I haven't tried it.

Once you have her tired and calm after exercise and herbal remedies, if/when she barks, use a rolled up magazine and discipline her by tapping it hard next to her or in your hand and at the same time say a firm NO!
Make sure you are firm enough that she really knows that you are not happy with her behavior. Repeat NO! and tell her SIT! And if she obeys even for just a few seconds make sure to praise her.

Be patient and good luck.

I'm sorry to say, but most of this is very bad advice (and some is against forum rules).

First off, a senior dog should never be placed on a vigorous exercise routine (such as making her run with a scooter until she is tired) without first getting full clearance from a veterinary professional. Walking during quieter times, like evening, is reasonable advice, though. As is looking into some anti anxiety supplements (although again, something like this should be discussed with the dog's vet first)

Second, and most importantly, as a non-aversive forum, telling someone to discipline a dog via smacking a rolled up magazine nearby and yelling "NO" is not allowed here. Using techniques such as this which rely on scaring the dog are not productive in the long run.

OP - Please do not do anything to cause additional fear or distress in your dog, who seems to already be a bit anxious to begin with.

 

Unfortunately, there is likely nothing you can do to changer her behavior. The problem is with the breed mix. Keep her separate from strangers as you are now doing to avoid possible injury to others.

 

I disagree with this. There is nothing in the breed mix that means the dog cannot be trained. And even in a breed which is notoriously barky, such as Shelties, an individual dog can be trained not to bark if it is done with patience, positive reinforcement, and persistence. I have seen this myself, and know it can be done.

 

Why do you say that? Breed traits are important, but labs are friendly, gregarious dogs and pitties, from what I've read, can have lovely temperaments. Also, while breed traits do of course influence behaviour, every dog is an individual.

 

I do not think it is the mix of breed either. She has more pitbull in her than lab. She has the body and head of a pitbull, but she has a longer snout like a labrador. She is a dark brindle. I think a lot of her behavior is my fault.Because I am kind of a loner, and I live alone, I do not have visitors, and it has been like that for most of her life, I tend to treat her and talk to her like I would a person. I think that is because of the lack of social activity I have. I think that has allowed her to believe she is the alpha instead of me.

 

How do you know how much CBD oil to give?

 

I buy my CBD oil at the local dispensary.

The dosage I give to my border collie (he is about 60 lbs) is 5 mg. per 10 lbs of body weight with his meals - twice a day.

As per my vet I started him on 3 mg. cbd/10 lbs. twice a day for several days, to give it a chance to work and then gradually increased the dosage to 5 mg./10 lbs. where it seemed to work best for him.

Keep in mind that every dog is different, some do fine on a lower dosage, others may need a little more, it can take a bit of 'tweaking' to find the right dosage.

 

I looked on Amazon for CBD oil and all the organic hemp oil comes up. I did read into it as far as the positive effects it has for dogs. I was looking at CBD oil for humans but looking at the bottles it doesn’t say a dosage unless it comes With instructions that Amazon is not showing. I want to make sure that I know how much to give to her. She is about 65 pounds and I am completely willing to try the CBD oil. I read the comment and reply that said CBD oil for dogs is the same as Human CBD oil.

 

A lot has changed since I wrote that post a few yrs ago. Now most states allow vets to at least discuss CBD with their clients, so get proper advice from your vet.

The saying "less is more" definitely is the way to go IMO.