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Lab behaviour

20 9:47:25

Question
Hello Labman,

I have a 15 month old black lab and have noticed his behaviour change a bit. I know he is getting older and maturing and that is part of it. We were at the park yesterday and he for some reason bolted to a passerby and started barking. The person got scared and ran and my dog chased her until we grabbed him. He is very friendly but has this habit of wanting to get to people to say hi but he does it with the loudest bark. Today we went to the lake that we visit everyday and he did the same thing. He was off leash playing and chewing a log and saw 2 people approaching and bolted at them and was barking. they did not run and ignored him and he just stood there barking until i got to him and told him to be quiet. i have read about behavioural changes may be related to another problem. Also we leave him on the patio tied up sometimes (we are always home) and he will bark at people walking by. We go out there and say quiet and he usually is. Sometimes he will continue barking and then we bring him in and sometimes he will growl under his breath until i say quiet again. Again i just want to say that this is the only aggrssive behaviour he has shown. He is an awesome dog in every aspect except this. Oh he also barks when he knows someone is at the door. I have begun taking him away from the door and making him lie down and quiet before i open the door and he can only greet the person once i say it is okay. I have decided not to let him out on the patio for the time being as we are not there to correct him right away if he starts barking. he gets plenty of excercise maybe too much. about 2 hours a day on average. any suggestions are appreciated.

Answer
Neuter him if not already.  Is he obedience trained?  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts.  Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  

Here are some other ways of exerting your position as top dog, http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm  As top dog, it is your place to handle strangers.  Of course, it he is barking for attention, it may be less effective.  Still, he should pay more attention to your corrections if you are top dog.