my 3 months shepherd puppy does not bark at strangers, why?

Question

my other dog when she was a puppy, she was wary at strangers and now, my new shepherd puppy is not wary at strangers. i expect him to be tough yet gentle but i think he does not care at strangers at all. how can he be a guard dog if he is not wary at strangers? all he know is to eat and eat, that is the time he barks because he is hungry.

thanks

Answer 1

i thought the same thing about my puppy when I got her but as she got older she started to do those kind of things. I think that puppies are just too young to know to do things like that and they are still so small that they just dont care. Give it time and I think he will start and then you will want him to quit!

Answer 2

Good that he doesn't bark, and good that he's not wary with strangers!

A well-balanced and well socialised dog should be perfectly at ease with strangers. It is is unrealistic - and unfair - to expect a dog to flick a switch between being 'tough' and 'gentle'. These are human behaviours and attributes, and they are not at all appropriate to your dog's thinking.

Remember, dogs are essentially hierarchical pack animals, and all training and conditioning must be done with your dog's nature and sensibilities as the no.1 consideration -dogs are not machines with a handy nice/nasty switch.

Be kind to your dog, take him to puppy classes, get him obedience trained, get him well-adjusted and well-socialised, so that he becomes a loyal, loving and happy member of your family. Have no doubt, he'll look after you if it's ever really, really necessary.

Relax, enjoy your dog & let him enjoy being around you and other people. If you want something to deter the bad guys, go out and buy yourself an alarm system and/or a shotgun. And if you want a dog just to make you look tough, then you shouldn't really have a dog at all.......

Answer 3

He may just know they are not tying to rob you! If you were in danger it may be a different story. It could be because she is a pup. But in sayong that, my Dobe pup will bark and growl if he hears anything out back. (Hes gentle really!)


A lot of the American show German Shepherds are useless guards, they break under pressure, the guarding instinct was bred out of them. All thats left of the Show shepherds of today is bent backs and crippled back legs.
I'm talking about the red dogs with the black saddle. The common ones you see around, usually they are no good at attacking or guarding. Americans have ruined Dobermans too, the same goes for them. They crack under pressure and don't even have enough strength to hold down an intruder.

I have a Yugoslavian bred Doberman, now that is a Doberman. He's going to be huge. I would say at least 27 inches, and thats the max. height in most standards. His grandfather was 32" and his father 29".

If you want a guard, get a German dog, or other European working dog, the sable coloured ones or wolf coloured ones.
Or better still, get an alarm system.


Good luck!

Answer 4

Some dogs just don't bark at strangers. One of mine does and the other doesn't. She may learn when she is older. Don't try and force her to be wary of strange people though - better at this age to be socialized to avoid aggression later that you don't want. Usually dogs bark at strangers only partly as a warning, but mostly as a greeting.

Answer 5

give him time he is just a baby right now he has no natural wariness of people,he thinks all people are his friends he has no reason to distrust anyone,your other dog may have learned at an early age from her mother to bark at strangers,shepards have a natural instinct to protect so just give him time let him be a baby for a while before you rush him into being a ferocious watch dog,even if he never becomes a super watchdog he may surprise you someday if you are in trouble even the sweetest dogs have been known to fiercely protect those they love in an emergency

Answer 6

He's a puppy. He knows humans feed him; therefore any human he sees potentially has something for him to eat. You can train him as he gets older. Start now, but slowly. As for your other dog who was always wary.....dogs all have different personalities, just like people. Some babies are outgoing and reach to be held by everyone they see. Some babies are standoffish, and shrink away from being held by anyone but Mom. Your other dog was wary; this one is not.

Answer 7

If you have always had your dog around people, not just your family and friends, she is just adapted and used to being around strangers. I am sure that as she gets older she will bark when someone comes to your front door. German Sheppards are very good at guarding and protecting - I know first hand!
I have 2 German Sheppard-Rottiweiler mix dogs that are very protective over me! We have had them since they were 8 weeks old. And at night when I am on the computer, one of them is always downstairs with me. Then when it is time for bed, Corona or Mercedes waits at the bottom of the stairs until I am upstairs, then will walk through every room in the house as if they are making their rounds!
Now that is what I call protective!

Good luck!

Answer 8

The chief qualities of an outstanding dog are: a well-balanced nervous system, readiness, lack of inhibition, vigilance, faithfulness, incorruptibility, together with courage, combatively, and cleverness in defense. These are the characteristics, which together make the King Shepherd such a fine working dog and, particularly, a watchdog, companion, guard dog and sheep-herder.
Just give him some months so he can start barking. :)

Answer 9

She's too young, my weimaraner didn't start to bark at a knocking door until about 5 months then suddenly this big bark came out of this little dog. She will in time, right now she's just too young, sooner or later you'll be regretting the barking.

Answer 10

Some dogs dont start barking until they are older. They just cant. My boxer couldnt bark until she was about 5 months and now its a big bark, so just wait.