why does my boy want to bark more when im at home at people walkin past?

by Karo
(New Zealand)

When i am home my one year old puppy barks at everyone and anyone that walks, bikes or runs past even other dogs. He goes right up to the gate and will even jump up on it, when i'm not here he doesn't do this.

He is very cheeky and has a amazing personality and is like one of the kids....he sleeps with the kids every night. He is very bonded with us all but people get scared of him cause of his sheer size.

He is 44.6kg at the moment n still hasn't "filled" out.






Hi Karo
Your pup is probably more vocal in his attitude towards people approaching 'his' territory when you are at home because his protective instincts are activated... he knows you are there and wants to make sure everyone knows he is your guardian.

As long as he only barks and doesn't act aggressively to people then I wouldn't worry about this right now. Don't encourage it though, as a pups protective instincts need to develop naturally and he should never be encouraged to act aggressively or to be fearful or confrontational with people.

It sounds as though he's got a great personality and temperament, and he's a handsome boy, so I doubt you have much to worry about. As for his size/weight.... he's still a puppy and has at least another year of growth before he could be considered full grown (possibly more). He's going to be a big boy. Best of luck with him.