My dog dances and woos at strangers on walks. What should I do?

Question

Sie is getting better. She lets some people pet her head and all the time under the chin. Like today she let the neighbors she never met a guy pet the top of her head so yay. But but sometimes if I tell her come on and tense the leash up as we walk by someone she dances in a circle all crazily and woos at them is this concerning. We saw 20-25 people out on our walk and she did this to 3 of them. One a couple jogging with a stroller, guys around a truck, and a man walking by. All I tensed the lea. Pet's info: Dog | Siberian Husky | Female | unspayed | 5 months and 25 days old | 39 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

It sounds like Sie is unsure and anxious around some new people. If she seems uncertain or barks at them, just move further away and reward her with a treat for refocusing on you and coming with you. Over time, if you're consistent about this, she will learn to "check in" with you automatically when she sees someone she's nervous about - just continue to reward for his, and never force her to go closer or greet anyone if she doesn't want to. Ideally, it would be great if you could enroll Sie in a good reward-based training class in your area. This would help her learn some basic skills that you can use on your walks, and would also give her some experience being around new people in a controlled, positive way. You can search for a qualified trainer in your area here: www.ccpdt.org

My dog dances and woos at strangers on walks. What should I do?

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