Why does a seven month old puppy act aggressive and bark at people coming into the home?

The dog is just being very protective in its own way. What I would do is just put the dog in a dog carrier when someone comes over and let them get used to company i would also recommend walking your dog once a day to get used to people.

You need to assert yourself as “pack leader.” Don’t *ask* the dog to quiet down, *tell* it to, and be firm and confident in your authority. Just don’t be aggressive/abusive–just let the dog know who is in charge, and try your best not to let the dog’s behavior cause you any anxiety. If you are at all anxious, the dog will likely pick up on this and won’t obey your commands.

“Besides taking the dog to school”

If you can’t provide adequate training, you don’t need a dog.

The dog sounds as if people were not introduced coming INTO the home as often as they should have been. That dog SHOULD have been rewarded and trained every time someone came through the door.

From now on, leash her whenever guests are expected, and keep a leash by the door in case someone random pops up. She needs to be leashed and told to sit. When the guest comes in, if she moves, you LEAVE the room and wait for her to calm down.

It doesn’t matter if it takes a minute or a month, you LEAVE and WAIT. When she’s calm, praise her, and bring her back out. Do it again and again and again and again until she’s relaxed at the door.

She NEEDS formal training, there is no beating around that bush.

There are many possible reasons for aggressive behavior in dogs. It could be “fear aggression” (she barks because she’s afraid of these people and wants to give the impression of being intimidating). It could be “dominance aggression” (the dog thinks she is the alpha animal in the house and is being controlling). It could be that she thinks she is playing, and doesn’t realize that her behavior is perceived as aggressive.

It’s very important to understand which kind of aggression she is displaying before you attempt to correct it – otherwise you could make it worse. Unfortunately, there is no quick answer – you really will need to do a little reading up on the subject in order to make lasting changes.

Here are some websites that may help:

There is also an excellent book on do-it-yourself dog training called “How to Speak Dog” by Stanley Coren. Here’s the Amazon link:

it needs socializing skills. do this by slowly introducing one person or dog at a time. or take him to a dog park and at first keep him on a short leash, with good behavior lengthen the leash, bad behavior shorten the leash. soon he`ll realize that acceptable behavior is rewarded with the outcome he`ll like. soon you can take him off the leash. (as long as it is in a safe environment). this is called positive reinforcement.

ok first off, any miniature dog is going to be hard wired to pain a pain the rear…and the reason for that is because they are bastardized and bred to be tiny from their original forms. Along the way they suffer mass amounts of poor breeding and frequent inbreeding to attain the breed as what it is today.

2nd off, if you bought the dog from a pet store, or mass pet selling place than chances are it is from a puppy mill.

a puppy mill dog is born to a mother who has more litters than she’s supposed to in her lifetime and as frequently as possible. The dog is then taken away from it’s mother too early..sometimes as early as 5 or 6 weeks old and then put into a metal crate inside of a truck and then transported to the pet facility you bought it at. Usually sitting in it’s own ***** around a bunch of other dogs in the dark.

on top of all that, when doggie mothers make too many babies their health suffers and so does the offspring. They don’t take care of the mother the way they are supposed to and what ends up happening in is poor qualities such as (hip dysplasia, blindness, deafness, luxating patella, reproductive problems, skin disorders, epilepsy…etc)
…these poor breed features or happenings aren’t taken care of and they are sold to you the innocent consumer. And the kicker is, most of the time these dogs aren’t even purebred and they are mixed with something else so they can sell it to you more and faster.

Make sure you purchase a purebred puppy that’s first, second off i recommend not purchasing a mini or toy breed dog.
If you want a smaller dog jap chins, **** zus, chihuahua’s, beagles, cairn terriers, bulldogs (french and english) etc…all wonderful dogs

but you also need to do your homework before buying a dog and see what it’s breed is known for, any health problems that are prevalent in a breed and how to care for them..

for example english bulldogs (along as some frenchies) usually have bad skin problems and you’ll need to medicate them and take them to the vet frequently. It’s also important you know what to feed the dog and bath it with since they have sensitive skin…all of this costs money.
Sharpei’s actually give off dander that a lot of people are allergic too, not only that but they are more of one person owner dogs that can be vicious…

so do your research, buy from a respected breeder and understand it will take about a year of the dogs life to properly train it.

they are a big responsibility that shouldn’t be taken lightly
hope i helped and good luck

She’s protecting her family and her territory. The best thing to do is to ignore the bad behaviour completely if you can, otherwise, shut her away from visitors until she’s calm. Ignore bad behaviour (barking, jumping up, etc) and reward good behaviour (calm). Imagine the world from her point of view, lots of HUGE people towering over her, its very scary. Ask your visitors to greet you first and just ignore her until she’s calm, then they can make a fuss of her and give her a treat preferably when they can get down to her level. However if she is getting too aggressive (biting) or people are frightened of her, then its better to keep her away from visitors until she’s calm, to save her getting stressed. I hope this helps. If it still continues, you could try some sort of corrective / distractive behaviour like a whistle or a puff of air (like the canned air) which won’t hurt the dog, but will let it know that the behaviour is unwanted.

First you need to teach her to sit and down and stay.
Keep a leash and treats by the door. When people arrive, put her on the leash and put her on a sit or down stay, then open the door. If she gets up immediately put her back. If she barks or growls, correct her and put her back. Have the guests give her a small treat as she is staying quiet. Soon, she will look foward to your guests as much as you do. Get someone to help you by practicing coming in the door.

Sounds like normal territoriality, which ought not to be eliminated, merely tempered. It is part of her job in the pack to be suspicious of and challenging to intruders, and this sounds like what she is doing. How you correct the issue is to teach her that a few barks is good, but now that you’re aware and on the job, she needs to stop.
When someone rings the bell or knocks, give her two or three barks, then tell her you’ve got it and, if she hushes, praise her for her vigilance and go answer the door. If she starts up, go back to her, and wait till she’s quiet, then go to the door. Repeat as need, which oughtn’t to be long. Her goal is to get you onto the incursion, so she’ll be eager for you to do so, and will soon get the point.
See, the way to train dogs is to show them what is expected of them, while meeting their needs. So, when she quiets down, praise her, even if it’s just a breather, and carry on. They’re clever dogs; she’ll get the idea. Similarly, in regard to the lunging and hopping, an admirable challenge, which should vanish when you show yourself to be On the Job. If it doesn’t, put yourself between her and the company, give a sharp yelp, and praise her when she subsides. Unless you’ve trained her how to deal with strangers, she isn’t going to know any better than instinct tells her, and at this age, she’s now become an adult member of the pack. She’s laudably trying to do her job, as she understands it; if you want her to do it differently, you have to show her what that difference is.
Be patient but firm, don’t scold and don’t punish, and praise her for every positive response. Use that short, sharp yelp to distract her from what she ought not to be doing, and she’ll come along fine.
You have an excellent dog there. Don’t quelch her.

Hello,

I think lack of socialization is the reason of your dog’s aggression. Exposure to as many types of people will hep your dog interact confidently. Getting a professional behaviorist is one big help to your dog’s situation. For more info about aggression toward people, check out this site:

I love the personality of a schnauzer. They are so sweet.