I have a 4 year old ShiTzu that barks at people when they come up the driveway or knock at the door. when they enter the house he jumps at them and sometimes he looks like he will bite them when they lean down to pet him. I read about clicker training or even using the pennies in a can. He is very protective of his house dog. He just started running after people when he would be outside doing his business they are walking on the road or riding there bike.. His tail is wagging and it looks like he is just curious but it's getting worse. Please help!
re: barking at people
Hi Juanita, it's difficult to make a suggestion when faced with this sort of question. Most of the time "looks like he will bite them" doesn't mean that a bite is likely to occur, but we certainly run a risk if, in reality, it is the case that the dog looks like he wants to bite because he does actually want to bite!
In any case, pennies in a can (or any other form of punishment) is a bad idea because it frightens the dog. Dogs usually bite because they are frightened. Adding more stress means the dog is more likely to bite. Another problem is that you might punish the barking. If a dog can't bark, he is left with fewer options if frightened. Those 'fewer options' often include biting.
If the barking is just excitement or arousal, then you will learn a lot by teaching the lessons in this article:
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1208
In the meantime, have him on-lead outdoors. You can solve a lot of behavior problems by simply managing them. Not only do you avoid the problem, you often avoid reinforcing the problem in doing so.
I would strongly recommend finding a clicker trainer in your area to assess the problem and see if there is a heightened risk of someone being bitten. Once the problem is better understood, it's much easier to plot a course and proceed with confidence towards your goals.
While we're on the topic of goals - what EXACTLY would you like your dog to do INSTEAD OF barking at people in each of the situations you have described? By that I mean "what would you like him to do?", and not "what would you like him to stop doing?" There is a big difference.
Once you can answer that question, it's a lot easier to figure out how to get there.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.PositivePetzine.com
Thanks!
Thanks for the suggestions.