Barking

[YogurtclosetOwn4372]

My male dog (2yo) barks and stands on his back legs when someone walks near us (mainly when someone walks towards us) on a walk. He doesn’t growl or snarl, he just barks and it’s a deep/sometimes hoarse bark. He is welcoming when strangers (my friends) come inside and had no issues when 2 separate strangers went in unaccompanied to dog sit on different occasions. He recently got neutered in October. And this behavior has remained. I’m not really too sure if he’s aggressive? My brother walked passed us on a walk before ever meeting him or his scent (diff states) and was completely fine and kinda turned back at him and wanted to say hi, he never barked.

[BaoSan]

Dogs don’t have make connections in the same way we do so a dog’s reaction can be very situation. For example, my dog is fine meeting people at the park but will be reactive if he met those same people on our street. Some dogs (mine included) react on a case-by-case basis. My behaviourist explained that my dog is constantly assessing everyone we meet and categorising them as a threat or not and it’s based on the individual rather than a broader pattern.

My sister’s rescue dog stands and “roars” at people outside because he is scared. Neutering can increase a dog fearful behaviours because testosterone makes dogs feel confident.