What goes on in a dog's head? My fourteen-year-old dog, Ladybug, has developed an obsession. Whenever the man who lives in the kennel starts to come toward the house she starts barking. I don't think she sees or hears him. I think she "senses" him.
The barking continues until he has left the house and returned to the kennel. I have wondered if she feels he is some sort of threat and has to protect me. That theory got nixed yesterday when she was barking in a completely different part of the house from where I was. She may feel threatened for her own safety, though.
It feels like she is terrified and scared by the look in her eyes. I try to comfort her by getting her to come to me and then I pet her and hold her close. This only briefly calms her down and then she starts barking again.
The best thing I have found that helps is to put her outside when I see him coming this way. Of course, this only works if I see him first. Otherwise, she is off and barking.
My roommate, who has trained dogs for years, has tried and suggested many techniques to get the barking to stop to no avail. I had to put my foot down when she started yelling, "shut up" and tried to hit her with a magazine. I also said "no" to loud unexpected noises. No point in scaring her more than she already is.
Last night the man came in where Ladybug and I were. She started barking and he loudly, violently slammed a door and said, "I'm getting really sick of that dog!".
Obviously, he hates her and she is responding to that. He is personally miserable and negative about everything in his life and it feels like a dark hole when he is in the house. I'm sure Ladybug feels that.
What is going on in her brain? I say she is just responding to his ugly, hateful attitude about his life in general and his anger at her in particular. Ladybug doesn't deserve to be punished or picked on. I don't deserve to be told I don't have my dog under control. We are doing everything we can. The man is equally an annoyance to us as we are to him. In fact, the truth is, if I was being honest I would bark too!
The barking continues until he has left the house and returned to the kennel. I have wondered if she feels he is some sort of threat and has to protect me. That theory got nixed yesterday when she was barking in a completely different part of the house from where I was. She may feel threatened for her own safety, though.
It feels like she is terrified and scared by the look in her eyes. I try to comfort her by getting her to come to me and then I pet her and hold her close. This only briefly calms her down and then she starts barking again.
The best thing I have found that helps is to put her outside when I see him coming this way. Of course, this only works if I see him first. Otherwise, she is off and barking.
My roommate, who has trained dogs for years, has tried and suggested many techniques to get the barking to stop to no avail. I had to put my foot down when she started yelling, "shut up" and tried to hit her with a magazine. I also said "no" to loud unexpected noises. No point in scaring her more than she already is.
Last night the man came in where Ladybug and I were. She started barking and he loudly, violently slammed a door and said, "I'm getting really sick of that dog!".
Obviously, he hates her and she is responding to that. He is personally miserable and negative about everything in his life and it feels like a dark hole when he is in the house. I'm sure Ladybug feels that.
What is going on in her brain? I say she is just responding to his ugly, hateful attitude about his life in general and his anger at her in particular. Ladybug doesn't deserve to be punished or picked on. I don't deserve to be told I don't have my dog under control. We are doing everything we can. The man is equally an annoyance to us as we are to him. In fact, the truth is, if I was being honest I would bark too!
