Alaskan Malamute

　　Having my own dog be aggressive to other dogs is something that really makes me feel embarrassed. My dog Dangdang looks gentle and cute, but its temper is not that good, especially when encountering other dogs, it often barks at them for no reason, which really annoys me.

　　Recently by chance, I discovered a small method that can at least reduce his barking at other dogs. Although it’s not 100% effective, it can at least reduce some of the aggressive barking toward other dogs. Honestly, I’m quite a failure at dog training; more often I feel like I am being trained by my dog. However, at least I hope it can earn me some face when we are outside.

　　Dogs being aggressive to other dogs is sometimes because the dog’s own personality is aggressive, sometimes because the dog is timid, but the real reason is unclear. My Dangdang barks at more than 80% of white long-haired dogs (like Pekingese and such), so I usually pull him away when I see these dogs from a distance. Recently, a few times when we encountered white long-haired dogs, I suddenly noticed he didn’t bark, which surprised me a bit. Later, I summarized it might be for the following reason.

　　Those few white long-haired dogs, I know and can call their names, and their owners are all very friendly people. So usually when they see me from afar, they call their dogs’ names and greet the owners, who also respond kindly by calling Dangdang’s name. I think the sound of communication between us makes Dangdang feel that this person and dog are friends of his mom, so he doesn’t feel particularly tense. He usually watches them from afar, but if he doesn’t know them, he will suddenly start barking loudly. When he confirms that I know them and we have a good relationship, he is much more relaxed and goes up to sniff and greet that dog.

　　In short, actively and kindly talking to other dog owners lets your dog understand that the people and dogs coming are friends. (In this way, dogs also contribute to promoting our social interactions.) Of course, this method is not 100% effective, because dogs are things we sometimes really can’t understand what they are thinking. But as mentioned above, this method can somewhat reduce your dog’s aggressive barking at other dogs; you might want to give it a try. (Source: PetsZone)