Barking dog!

[Hollyhorse]

I have a 2 year old german shepherd who is an absolute sweetie, very affectionate and sensible. When he was a puppy we did loads of socialising so he's great with other dogs and people and I take him everywhere - to horse competitions when I'm competing, horse competitions when I'm watching, shopping, pub...you name it, and he's fab.

We have a farm and the problem is he barks when people come onto the property. This is only people we let onto our land, e.g. the plumber or a local farmer to harrow our fields, etc. He will run up to them barking and then once they've stroked him he stops! He doesn't seem to remember the person because when they come back he'll do the same thing again! A couple of people he recognises and never barks at. We have one horse livery and the wife he loves and never barks at but he barks at the husband every time he see's him! We find it quite funny now because the guy has been coming here a couple of times a day for nearly a year and he and my dog play about happily!

I'm just wondering if there's something I can do to stop him barking? It's only ever at home and not when I take him out - it's great that he runs up to a stranger as he's there to protect our land and I want him to be territorial but I wish he'd recognise people the second time and wouldn't bark at them! He never used to bark but he saw our other dog bark and copied and now he does! Any tips? I've used a shock collar with my black lab and that worked fab - she only barked once, it zapped her and every time she has the collar on she never barks - sometimes I just show her the collar and she stops! I'm wondering whether I should try it with him? But I'm not sure if it's the same thing as she was being a twit whereas he is being protective of our land...

 

[CorvusCorax]

E-collars can hype some dogs up rather than calm them down.

With a GSD I would try teaching him that barking is a command, use the word 'speak' and say it when he is barking. When he stops barking, immediately, say, 'quiet' or 'enough'.
So you are teaching him differentiation.

I don't think it is the worst problem in the world, especially on your property.

 

[CAYLA]

As a highly territorial breed he is indeed doing what he is supposed to, it;s also not always about remembering who the person is, the dog is cleaver and he will remember the scent or familiarise himself with it, but it's also got to do with the body language of said person and weather they look to pose a threat or come across as fearful, this immediately puts the dog on high alert, I would suggest, if you want him to get used to a certain person, you give him time to form a bond with said person, I would think he feels comfortable in the comapny of the lady now, because he has become familiar with her body language, scent and he is getting no vibes from her, I dare bet the men are apprehansive of him still.
Either go out the meet the people with the dog, work with some heel work to keep him close, ask them no to approach him, but instead try to relax and dont give direct eye contact and maybe take a seat somehwere so he can approach them, ask them to arm themselves with treats or give them a toy if he is interested in balls or something to retrieve, this way they can let their guard down around him and vice versa, he will become more accepting, but I would only be doing this with regualr visitors you trust, he has a job to do so let him do it for the most of the time.

 

[MurphysMinder]

Have to say mine all bark whenever anyone one comes on the property. That includes members of the family, although they do shut up when they get close enough to realise who it is. I don't think I would advise using an electric collar in this instance, it would be very hard to use it at exactly the right time, in fact not quite sure what the right time would be. As long as he isn't being aggressive I think I would be inclined to ignore the problem, the last thing you want is him standing silently if you ever have an unwelcome visitor.

 

[Kellys Heroes]

Our dogs bark for every single person who comes onto our property - even family! Once they get close enough to see who it is, they stop - however when the postie arrive with a parcel my dogs will bark until I have retrieved said parcel and come back in - they will then get "enough. good girls" to let them know they have done their job and that's that.
I wouldn't try and stop the barking altogether - this might stop the barking even when someone has come onto your property - they can be useful Like CC said try turning it into a command, or try rewarding once the barking has stopped - I wouldn't like my dogs not to bark if someone was on our property