Hello all :) - I am a little worried about my 19 month old Springer bitch and would like some advice as to the best thing to do.
She is usually calm around other dogs and knows how to behave around them but is at the moment going through a mild phantom pregnancy and she seems to be oddly stressed when we pass other dogs on the lead, which is leading to her barking at some of them. As we live in a small place I know most of the local dogs and the ones she is barking at are the ones which aren't very friendly and generally bark and snarl at any dog in the vicinity - it's just that she is getting her barking in first and seeming very wound up when she used to either ignore them or bark back eventually. She seems scared which is not her usual self at all. :(
I can see why her hormones would change her behaviour but I'm not sure how best to handle this. Should I try and keep her away from other dogs on the lead for a while/ distract her with treats/ click and treat for not barking (or would this be asking too much of her) ???
Is this new behaviour likely to last beyond the phantom?
Any help gratefully received!

Anyone???
Shall I take it I am worrying unnecessarily??? :D
(I am a bit of an old worrywort ... :))

I would think it's probably best to take her for walks in different places when she's hormonal and stressed, so that the behaviour doesn't become a habit on your usual walks. It's always worth getting the vet to check her out to make sure she's not got any infection or something else making her feel a bit off-colour and tetchy. Good luck - hope she's back to her norrmal self soon! :)

Thankyou Jeangenie :)
Will do as you suggest. Yesterday I found myself trying to encourage her not to bark and then thought afterwards: well is this really a good idea or am I just stressing her out even more? So you have echoed my gut feeling which is not to ask too much of her, poor thing. I hope she's back to normal soon as well. :)