Why Would A Dog Alert Bark More With One Person Than Another?

[ravenau1]

My Dobe definitely barks more with me than when the OH is with us. Not at home thought, just when we're out and about on walks. At home she's the same, only barks occasionally if there's something unusual going on and is generally pretty relaxed.

Recently she was barking at pretty much everything while we were walking (everything from people to grasshoppers), and lunging at cars as they would go by.

We've been working with our trainer about it and having some success now and I now think that a great deal of it has to do with my tension. I'm recovering physically from a chronic and long term illness and now I have so much more freedom than before. I simply would not have been allowed to walk around outside the house unsupervised. And even though now I am encouraged to, and it's an important part of my physical rehab and I really do enjoy it I think some part of me is still a bit nervous about it, but I am relaxed when the OH is with us. As I feel more in control and calm about the situation, Astrid is calming down too.

I would say that I do 99% of the pet duties here, feeding/training/walking/general care etc as I am home 6 days per week. And Astrid does seem to prefer my company to my OH's, though she does check the bed in the early mornings to see if he's there or not (shiftworker) and will happily snuggle up to him on the couch or play with him in the yard. I do all the hands on type training, though OH always comes with us to class because he drives and I don't.

[Vehs]

I was looking after a friends dog who had a bit of a habit of barking at noises and being particularily vocal after dinner - the time my bf stayed over he barely made a peep ;)