Why Dog Bark at Some Strangers and Not Others

As a dog owner, you might be wondering why your dog barks at some strangers but not others. How do dogs relate to people, and what are they trying to communicate with vocalizations and body language? While it's hard to identify any particular rhyme or reasons for this selective disliking of people, it could be for several reasons such as:

Trying to get their attention

We tend to think that dogs only bark to show aggression or dislike. However, this is not always the case. Dogs can also bark to get our attention or if they want something from us. For example, your dog might bark at a stranger because they want to be petted or given a treat.

Acting out of fear

When dogs have not been properly socialized growing up, they may bark out of fear when they encounter someone new. This is because they fear the unknown and are not used to being around people.

However, even social dogs can be aggressive because of the stranger's look, smell, and body language, or if it has had a bad experience with a stranger in the past, they may bark out of fear or mistrust.

Being traumatized

Dogs subjected to a range of physical or emotional abuse in their history have difficulty learning how to behave around people or in social situations. This is often the case with rescue dogs that have had a bad start in life.

To curb your dog's behavior of barking at people, you will need to retrain them with positive reinforcement. That means rewarding them when they behave the way you want them to and ignoring them when they don't. With time and patience, your dog will learn that barking at people is not okay.