[Riverorange]

I have a 12 month old working line German Shepherd that I acquired from breeder at 5 months of age. From the beginning she has barked(like many dogs) when we drive up to the house and at arrival of visitors. But she also continues to bark aggressively at family members, even my husband who I live with and my daughter who visits on an almost daily basis. She will be resting calmly by my side and my husband will enter the house and she will leap up barking and rush towards him. Or my daughter will arrive and she may not have heard the car arrive and she will leap up barking aggressively when she hears the car door slam. Both my husband and daughter just quietly say, "it's me stupid" and ignore her. I try to distract her and by scattering treats or playing a game such as sitting in front of me and catching treats to help her associate unexpected arrivals with something good. Unexpected bangs around the house or unexpectedly catching sight of one of us walking out in the paddock can illicit the same over the top barking. I feel like after 7 months this barking response should be lessening but it really doesn't seem to be improving. The fact that she continues to bark at people she is familiar with makes me very hesitant of having visitors and having a dogsitter should we need to be away over night is totally out of the question while she is so reactive. My husband and I are retired and we live in the country so she is not in a very busy environment but she gets lots of exercise and attends Obedience Dog Club weekly where she gets to interact with a lot of people and dogs. I would appreciate and suggestions of how we can help River's responses to be calmer so she is aware of the people around her and not being triggered from 0 to 100.

 

[BigBlackDog]

Welcome to the forum! In reading your post, I'd say you've got a lot going on there. How is your husband's and your daughter's relationship with the dog generally?

Alert barking is a breed trait for GSDs, so getting them to stop that entirely would be akin to teaching a bunny to not hop. Highly unlikely!

My previous dog, as well as my current dog, are(were) WLGSD. My previous dog barked at family and friends alike when they arrived always...my current dog is less vocal in that regard. So there is some variation for sure.

But most people get a GSD because they want that behavior, just not over the top, which is what it sounds like you are seeing now.

So, some questions. What have you done/been doing when your dog acts this way? How is her obedience training in general? Again, what kind of relationship does your dog have with these family members outside of their arriving home? And finally, who all participates in her training (both at home and at club)?

 

[JoanneF]

Rather than distract her with treats, I'd use that as an opportunity to train her an 'end' cue. Like, thanks for the alert but I've got it from here, so stop.

You might find the yoghurt pot technique useful.

Get a yoghurt pot, and smear the inside with wet dog food, squeezy cheese, yoghurt or anything else your dog likes. When she starts to bark, you can offer the pot to lick - she can't bark and lick at the same time.

As she is doing that, repeat the word that will become your ”quiet” cue.

After some repetitions and you think she has got it, give the cue and if she stops barking, give the pot as a reward (if she doesn't stop barking, stay at step 1 for longer).

When she is stopping on cue, gradually increase the delay between the cue and reward.

Once it is reliable, you can start fading the reward to something more convenient.

 

[Riverorange]

Welcome to the forum! In reading your post, I'd say you've got a lot going on there. How is your husband's and your daughter's relationship with the dog generally?

Alert barking is a breed trait for GSDs, so getting them to stop that entirely would be akin to teaching a bunny to not hop. Highly unlikely!

My previous dog, as well as my current dog, are(were) WLGSD. My previous dog barked at family and friends alike when they arrived always...my current dog is less vocal in that regard. So there is some variation for sure.

But most people get a GSD because they want that behavior, just not over the top, which is what it sounds like you are seeing now.

So, some questions. What have you done/been doing when your dog acts this way? How is her obedience training in general? Again, what kind of relationship does your dog have with these family members outside of their arriving home? And finally, who all participates in her training (both at home and at club)?

River is my 7th German Shepherd over 50 years and I have trained all of them to trialling standard. I do not have a GSD for security just because I love the breed and have always had few problems along the way. River happily plays basketball against my husband and generally gets on well with him. Although we have always had GSD he has never been particularly involved with their training and he is really not the best at reading dog body language. Her barking however seems more to be an extreme response where her reactions overtake her ability to recognise who she is barking at. She also plays happily with my daughter and her whippet and is not nervous of her. After she rushes at her barking and it she realises that it is my daughter she is fine
Although sometimes she seems to forget my daughter is at home and will bark again if she sees her coming in from the paddock after riding her horse. I have got on top of dealing with visitors by not allowing her to greet them until they have entered the house and arr settled. Instructing them not to instigate interact with her. I also have my husband and daughter ignore her rushing and barking. I acknowledge her barking with a simple "Thanks River." And ensure her that everything is OK and give her a puzzle or scatter kibble for her to sniff out. When she has finished she just goes and lies on her mat. But I don't know why she reacts so intensely to people she knows well, and is around all the time. I am her main trainer and she is not handled by anyone else at obedience. She happily responds to simple sit, drop wait commands from husband and daughter. I must also say she is the most incredibly gentle dog with my 12 month old granddaughter. Thank you for your interest and taking the time to respond.

Welcome to the forum! In reading your post, I'd say you've got a lot going on there. How is your husband's and your daughter's relationship with the dog generally?

Alert barking is a breed trait for GSDs, so getting them to stop that entirely would be akin to teaching a bunny to not hop. Highly unlikely!

My previous dog, as well as my current dog, are(were) WLGSD. My previous dog barked at family and friends alike when they arrived always...my current dog is less vocal in that regard. So there is some variation for sure.

But most people get a GSD because they want that behavior, just not over the top, which is what it sounds like you are seeing now.

So, some questions. What have you done/been doing when your dog acts this way? How is her obedience training in general? Again, what kind of relationship does your dog have with these family members outside of their arriving home? And finally, who all participates in her training (both at home and at club)?

 

[Riverorange]

Rather than distract her with treats, I'd use that as an opportunity to train her an 'end' cue. Like, thanks for the alert but I've got it from here, so stop.

You might find the yoghurt pot technique useful.

Get a yoghurt pot, and smear the inside with wet dog food, squeezy cheese, yoghurt or anything else your dog likes. When she starts to bark, you can offer the pot to lick - she can't bark and lick at the same time.

As she is doing that, repeat the word that will become your ”quiet” cue.

After some repetitions and you think she has got it, give the cue and if she stops barking, give the pot as a reward (if she doesn't stop barking, stay at step 1 for longer).

When she is stopping on cue, gradually increase the delay between the cue and reward.

Once it is reliable, you can start fading the reward to something more convenient.

Thank you, I haven't tried a lick pot.

 

[emeraldecho]

It sounds like you're doing all the right things, so I can't help but wonder (given the lack of improvement) if she might not be misinterpreting the kibble as a reward for her reaction, rather than as a distraction like you intend. If that's the case, it may help to recall her and have her sit before the 'reward' so it's absolutely clear that she's being rewarded for calm attention, not alert barking.