"Play" oriented barking in public

I wholeheartedly agree with you!

Honestly, I think that guy was over the top and occasionally you are going to find people like that. More than likely, you wont find too many people that will yell and scream at you when it was obvious that your dog was play-bowing.

Take it with a grain of salt....some people are what I call stooopid!

 Boxermom is right;the guy's a jerk. If a play bow is threatening just imagine what he thinks if a dog jumps up on you:it must be a vicious attack! Don't let this stop you from taking your dog anywhere;just ignore idiots you encounter.

I don't blame you for being upset and reacting with anger.  I might have done the same in your shoes. 

 Looking at it from a different perspective, the man may not understand anything about dog body language and didn't recognize your dog's play bow and bark as a friendly overture even though you explained it to him.  I don't think he's completely out of bounds in not wanting his child frightened by a dog he doesn't know.  Maybe his child is frightened of dogs, maybe the man is frightened of dogs.  It's hard for us dog people to understand people who don't like dogs and I do think he overreacted but I've learned to let some things go and chalk it up to experience. 

I would try and control the barking because even though it might be in play, many people don't enjoy a barking dog.  If you mean she barks once, that's not something I'd worry about but if she's non stop barking when she wants to play.....

I agree with you that the gentleman over-reacted; screaming and raging is not the swoofest move on his part in front of an excited dog. Don't let one not so bright bulb in the box ruin all your socializing outings with your dog.

On the other hand, what we know is a play-bow can be easily misconstrued by people completely unaware of dogs' body language into a crouch before lunge move, especially if there is barking going on. While we also know a playful bark from a warning one or an aggressive one, lots of people do not and any barking is viewed as aggressive.

You are doing the right thing taking your young dog to places dogs are allowed, especially if she is, as you described, mostly well-behaved and since you have good control on her. Perhaps try to train an alternative behavior from the playbow/bark for when she is in public using your nieces as props to practice at home.

Don't worry too much about that one encouter, my Monstresses still manage to embarass me on occasions and they are not young spring chicks. You are well ahead of the game with your sixteen months old.

It's not once but not non-stop either.  I see need to stop her barking in public altogether because people are so quick to assume any sound means "aggressive".  I have been unable to do this when she gets into her hyped up mode.  That's why I tried to tell the man before even being asked what she was doing, but it led him to rage at me (which I think would be more damaging for a small child to witness than a barking dog, just my opinion). I'm afraid she may have become a bit bored when my Mom and I had to stand in line waiting on the crepe breakfast my husband wanted us to bring home, when she has time to get bored she seems more likely to get a bit hyper after that.

If I take her back, I think I will tell DH no take home breakfast unless he wants to risk Layla getting bored.  She had not barked until we had to spend that time in line, and after the man with the nice Aussie in front of us got his food, she had nothing to keep her interest.  She did exactly the same thing in the pet supply store last night.  I spent too long looking through the half-price toy bin and when a mother and child came in she bowed and barked several times.  I told them she was playing, and since they were shopping for their pets, they asked if they could pet her and when I let her to them she loved all over both of them, especially the young boy.

Layla is ball-obsessed, I am wondering if I take her ball and give it to her at the first sign of boredom, if that might keep her interested and quiet?

organictroll

Layla is ball-obsessed, I am wondering if I take her ball and give it to her at the first sign of boredom, if that might keep her interested and quiet?

That's a great idea.  The last thing you want to do is correct her for wanting to interact in a friendly way with children. The best time to redirect is before she gets into that hyped up mode of wanting to play. 

I agree that the man raging at you wasn't good for his child but we can't control other people's actions.  You reacting in anger probably wasn't a very positive experience for your dog either.   Dogs and young children don't always understand the reason for human anger.  They can make a negative association that was unintentional. 

I'm not really siding with the man or condoning random rage at people in public, but I personally hold my dogs to a very high standard in public, probably because we live in a very dog UNfriendly place and I have German Shepherds, people don't eve like German shepherds *looking* at them much less barking and bowing.  Dogs are banned from most public places here, so anywhere I *can* take my dog I view as a privilege and not a right.  Like Jackie said, you never know people's experience level or lack thereof, you never know if they've been mauled by a dog in the past.  Even though *I* am a dog lover and do a very high level of obedience with my dogs, I go out in public assuming that everyone else hates dogs and is terrified of them and expect my dogs to behave in ways that do not cause anyone discomfort if they really do hate or are terrified of dogs.  I can't change how they feel about dogs by getting in a confrontation, but maybe if my dogs are calm, silent, and obedient they might start to change their mind.

I like the ball idea.  I do this with some of my dogs.  I keep their favorite ball in my pocket and if I feel they might get vocal about something, I pop it in their mouth like a doggy pacifier.

I'd also point out that I have personally seen a dog play bow, wag, bark and lunge at another dog with every intention of mauling it when it comes over. You cannot always assume even when you ARE familiar with dog behavior and body language...that a dog is going to do what you expect. Best to be cautious.

If that were my dog I would definitely try the toy thing and possibly even put th dog in a down stay whenever I stopped to look at something so it would be focused on holding the command versus looking around for something to bark at.

Thanks, I will try taking the ball and see how she does.  It might be a breakthrough.

While I don't like to frighten my dog, it came down to either me taking up for myself with this bully or her having to be around me shaking with my regretfully unexpressed defense the rest of the day.  I don't do well with bullies, and if I hunker down and let them have their way with me I suffer consequences within myself, and she would suffer from that as well, and probably longer.  By defending myself I was at least the normal human she expected the rest of the day rather than a basket case.  Also my tone in speaking to him was loud, but not nearly so rageful and dramatic as his to me.

We were about 10 feet away from the family and she was on a very short leash, I made no move to get closer to them and she could not get free from her halter, so she really couldn't do anything.

To be honest, if I could somehow train her to never even look at a child again, even if it meant giving up every playing with my nieces, I would do that so I could feel like I had what was generally perceived as a "good dog".  Can't be done though.  It would feel good if she wouldn't even glance at them when walking by though.  Our trainer kept thinking she would make a good therapy dog, but I wouldn't want to try that now, I don't want her possibly involved with kids.

organictroll

To be honest, if I could somehow train her to never even look at a child again, even if it meant giving up every playing with my nieces, I would do that so I could feel like I had what was generally perceived as a "good dog".  Can't be done though.  It would feel good if she wouldn't even glance at them when walking by though.  Our trainer kept thinking she would make a good therapy dog, but I wouldn't want to try that now, I don't want her possibly involved with kids.

This doesnt sound like the correct route to go...and as you already know, that is not possible. You will always have children around unless you keep her at home all the time and and what cost? I would work on getting her attention back on you when she starts going into her very playful mood. Is there something that she *really* enjoys? A toy, ball, even treat? Does she know the sit or down command? Try to catch her attention before she gets into this barking and playing frenzy (which I am sure you can tell by her body language) and bring her attention back to you. Make her sit and focus on you. Does she know the look command? Grab her attention with a favorite ball or toy and try to make it a 1 on 1 session with her. Really, even though she just wants to play...she isnt being a very obedient dog because she isnt listening to you. If you cant make her snap out of it and bring her attention back to you and have her settle down, then maybe you could work on training again with her   I think the look command is very important and it can help you in the future when this would, and will happen again.

The look command is also helpful for a lot of other things. Marley can be in a pack of dogs and if I yell "LOOK" he will immediately stop and look at me and wait for what I am going to say next. This could be helpful if I see something that he doesnt. Its always good to be able to get your dogs attention back on you. Start at home indoors and once she masters it there, take her for a walk, then into a place with a few people, then maybe the farmers market.

My Nikon likes kids but also has high prey drive that can get triggered by little kids making high pitched noises or running around.  I don't let him look at little kids out in public even though he actually *likes* them.  He might bark or want to join the fun of running and chasing which may very well be harmless but it doesn't look harmless and because of his size he can easily knock a kid over without meaning to hurt them.  Plus these days with how litigious society has become, pretty much anything from an accidental bump on makes your dog an evil aggressive child eating dog.  Again maybe I'm just more careful about it because I have GSDs so we are already dealing with breed bias and preconceived notions (and to be honest I have seen so many ill-tempered GSDs that these stigmas are not all that unfounded).

Basically my rule is...kids we don't know, the dog must stay away from, not allowed to fixate on, and if I get any vibes that the kids or parents are nervous then the dog must assume a passive position (like if we are walking and I see a little kid learning to use training wheels, I either cross the street or at the very least move my dog off the sidewalk and have him sit and look at me).

Kids we know (and parents we know).... interaction is OK and closely monitored

My friend goes through this bias with her GSD, and he's a big love bug, especially with kids.  He has a big dog bark and people think he's viscious if he makes a sound and he's anything but.  I guess I thought since Layla is tiny by comparison I wouldn't go through what she has if she barked.

I've been trying to catch up on learning about dogs but don't know anything about "society" so far as they are concerned.   I like the idea of keeping her attention away from kids.  I will work on this with her ball in public.  When she sees her ball nothing else exists, except perhaps me to throw it.  I will work harder on the "look" command at home, I bought some much loved treats yesterday and that will help.  I have used "look" and a treat to keep her from trying to pull to greet other dogs when I run with her in the morning.  Maybe I can make good use of MY anger by working harder on these things with her. 

We don't mind her annoucing to us that she hears something outside when we are indoors since she doesn't bark at everything.  I will need to train her to be quiet outside.

I always have Heidi's highest valued ball with me whenever we go anywhere.  Typically now, especially when we are on walks and we come across barking dogs...I will tell her "not for you" hold the valued toy and she watches me and the toy until we are out of the zone.  I give her the ball as reward for focusing on me instead of the distraction.

Teach and practice "watch me" every day...this will help to get her focused on you when you need it.  Between getting her focused on you and/or her valued toy you will help her to be successful in public. 

Alternatively, when you are out and about and find yourself in a situation where she wants to fixate (either play or no), you could put her in a down stay and have her "watch you".  It will start becoming second nature the more you incorporate it in your daily life.

Good luck!