Kroki

Question · Dog

How do I stop my dog barking at other dogs?

The short answer

Barking at other dogs comes from frustration (I want to get there) or fear (go away), and on a lead the two often look alike. Keep enough distance that your dog can still eat, let every dog that appears predict food, and turn away before the barking starts. Never use pain or fright to stop it. If your dog lunges, snaps or has bitten, involve a behaviour professional early. Kroki, a reward-based training app for puppies and dogs, has a step for meeting other dogs at a distance.

How to do it, step by step

  1. Check health and get the right help early

    Pain makes many dogs more touchy, so book a vet check if the barking started suddenly or your dog is older or stiff. If your dog lunges, snaps or has ever bitten, ask a vet with behaviour training or a qualified behaviour professional for a plan before you go further.

  2. Cut down the bad encounters

    Every explosion at the end of the lead is practice. For now, walk at quiet times, choose wide paths where you can see far ahead, avoid blind corners and narrow alleys, and drive to a calm field if your street is busy with dogs.

  3. Use a harness and a slightly longer lead

    A well-fitting harness with a two- to three-metre lead takes pressure off the neck when your dog surges forward, and lets you keep the lead loose. A tight lead often adds to the tension your dog already feels.

  4. Every dog in sight turns on the treats

    At a distance where your dog notices another dog but stays able to eat, feed a stream of tasty treats while the dog is visible. When it disappears, the treats stop. Over many walks, the sight of a dog starts to mean something good.

  5. Practise a happy U-turn at home

    In the house and garden, say “This way!” in a bright voice, turn round and scatter treats on the floor as your dog follows. Once it turns with you without thinking, use it outside the moment a dog appears too close.

  6. Give your dog calm walks too

    Some walks should be about sniffing, not training. A long line in an empty field or quiet woods lets your dog move, sniff and come down from stress, which makes the training walks easier.

Is your puppy the one barking at dogs?

A puppy usually has no long history of barking at dogs, and it is still forming its view of them. Calm, well-chosen meetings, short greetings and lots of rewards for looking from a distance can help a lot. The page for puppies explains how to read its signals.

Why pressure backfires with dogs that bark at dogs

Many dogs that bark at other dogs on the lead are already stressed in that moment, whether from frustration or from fear. Adding something unpleasant tends to add more stress. In a study of 92 companion dogs from seven training schools, dogs from schools that mostly used aversive methods panted more, spent more time tense during training and had a bigger rise in the stress hormone cortisol afterwards than dogs from reward-based schools. In a later test away from training they also behaved more pessimistically (Vieira de Castro and colleagues 2020).

A wider review of the research came to a similar view: aversive methods such as jerking the lead, shock collars or spray collars can harm a dog’s physical and mental health, and there is no evidence that they work better than reward-based training (Ziv 2017). A dog that learns that other dogs predict pain has more reason to bark, not less.

Equipment matters for health as well. In 26 dogs, pressure on the neck from a collar raised the pressure inside the eyes noticeably, while the same pull through a harness did not (Pauli and colleagues 2006). The authors recommend a harness for dogs with eye conditions such as glaucoma. For a dog that surges forward at every dog it sees, a harness is the safer choice.

Frustration or fear in a grown dog

  • Frustration: your dog plays happily off lead or with dog friends, but barks, whines and pulls towards dogs it can’t reach. It settles once the other dog has gone.
  • Fear: your dog avoids dogs off lead too, barks most at dogs that come straight at it, and stays tense for a while afterwards.
  • Rescue dogs: you may not know what happened before. Assume fear until you know better, and give it more distance.
  • Teenage dogs between about six months and two years often get louder for a while. Go back to more distance and keep rewarding calm looks.

Common mistakes with grown dogs

  • Walking straight past at close range to “get it used to” other dogs. Too close is too much, and the barking gets practised again.
  • Waiting until your dog is already barking to start feeding. Start the treats as soon as it notices the other dog.
  • Letting strangers’ dogs run up “because they are friendly”. Step in front of your dog, call out to the owner and leave.
  • Using prong, choke or shock collars. They add pain or fear to a moment that is already hard, and they don’t teach your dog what to do instead.

When to see a professional

Talk to a professional before you carry on alone if:

  • your dog lunges, snaps, has bitten another dog or person, or has redirected onto you or the lead in the heat of the moment

    Get support from professionals

  • the barking started suddenly, or your dog also seems stiff, sore, slower or more irritable

    Have a vet take a look

  • you are worried about getting hurt or losing hold of the lead with a big, strong dog

    More time and distance

The help pages list services in Germany, Austria and Switzerland only. Elsewhere, ask your vet practice who they recommend near you.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my dog fine off lead but barks at dogs on lead?

On a lead your dog can’t move away or greet the way it would like, so frustration or worry builds up. A longer, loose lead, a harness and enough distance help it feel less trapped.

Can a dog that barks at other dogs learn to walk past calmly?

Many dogs improve a lot with distance, rewards and patience, though some will always need more space than others. Progress is often uneven, so judge it over weeks rather than single walks.

Should my dog wear a muzzle if it lunges at other dogs?

If your dog has bitten or might bite, a well-fitting basket muzzle is a sensible safety tool. Teach it with treats over several days so your dog is happy to wear it, and work with a behaviour professional.

Will neutering stop my dog barking at other dogs?

Neutering is not a training fix, and its effect on behaviour varies from dog to dog. Talk it through with your vet and a behaviour professional before deciding.

How do I stop my dog barking at dogs through the fence or window?

Block the view with film, screens or a barrier a little way from the fence, and supervise garden time for now. Reward your dog for looking at a passing dog and then turning back to you.

Are prong or choke collars OK for a dog that barks at dogs?

No, they work through pain and can make your dog link other dogs with discomfort. A harness, distance and rewards are safer and work just as well or better.

Why does my dog bark at other dogs from the car?

In the car your dog sees dogs pass quickly and can’t get away or reach them. A covered crate or a seat where the view is blocked usually helps quickly, together with a chew for the journey.

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