All of a sudden my dog getting a little jerky when he meets people (men). He’ll bark and growl and people are afraid. This is new. What can I do to curb this?

Listen to him and help him walk away as his main solution. Dogs who know they can remove themselves from an uncomfortable situation will not hesitate to do that, but when they can’t or feel like they can’t, their bark and growl is the hope that others will remove themselves instead.

Practice walking near men (at whatever distance your dog is comfortable with) that won’t care or expect an interaction and then walk away, mark and reward.

Your dog will want to learn that men = space, time and absolutely no pressure. Unfortunately I know most people might think that they’re good with every dog and that every dog should just be comfortable with them.

But just focus on your what your dog is saying and help them take space, then you can both decide if you need more space or can return to the situation.

Chances are you can pickup on his concern before he even feels the need to bark or growl (look at his hair, his eyes, his ears, his body language).