Hello, I have a 16 month x breed dog. He is very obedient, loving, and gentle in our house, but when we take him out for a walk he will bark at people passing us.  He does not growl or go to bite, he just barks,  I know this is because he is timid and is scared of them, but how can I stop him doing this.  Have tried distracting him when we pass people, which works sometimes.  He has been well socialised and is brilliant with other dogs, if they are not friendly he keeps away from them.  He seems to have more of a problem when he is on his lead, as he will also bark at other dogs then, but does not bark when he is off his lead in the park.  He is not the sort of dog who will let  any body stroke him,  he only bothers with people he knows it is very rare that he will go to people he doesnt know, unlike my friends dog, who is best friends with mine, who is so friendly with everyone.  Any advice would be very much appreciated.  Would ignoring this behaviour work or should l tell him he is a bad boy, or just praise him when he does not bark at people.  Please help, getting desparate. 

Hi
I have exactly the same problem with my 3 year old dog.  Like yours he is lovely in the house but changes completely when he goes for walks.  He used to bark at nearly everyone he saw but, as time's gone on, he now just barks at the first few people he sees, unless they are children - strangely they don't seem to bother him.
I agree with you that its probably a fear thing but, as to the solution, I'm not sure what to recommend.  I have tried everything - telling him off, ignoring him, distracting him, jollying him along but nothing's really worked.  So now I do the one thing you shouldn't do - I pick him up and talk quietly to him :)   This seems to make him feel more secure and, more often than not, he stays quiet.
Not sure if this will work for you though - especially if yours is a great dane/wolfhound cross ! :)

Hi Guest,

This behaviour could be caused by a number of things but perhaps you could join and give more info and you will be  hopefully be offered more advice.  How long you have had him, what training and specific socialising has been done, even his diet could all have a bearing on his behaviour PLUS he's at an age where lots of dogs are going through what's commonly called "the Kevin stage" (always feel so sorry in case offending anyone called that )

Many times if a pup or young dog has a fearful, but *non-agressive* reaction, to a situation a process called "habituation" works well.  You could try using the "search" facility on the guest and behaviour boards for further info.  That said, it is impossible for anyone reading this query to determine how your dog would react fully in a fearful situation - if there's any risk he would bite, as you could imagine there would be serious repercussions for both him and you :(

Good luck,  Teri :)