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[thiswaste]

Three years ago I rescued a gorgeous dog from the animal shelter. She's a mix between a labrador and something else (we're not sure) and is about 4 years old. With us, she's a darling. She loved cuddles, she tries her best to comfort us and keep us company and never displays any signs of aggression towards family members

Comments

[waitresschic]

We have a similar problem with our recent addition. She is fearful of men in particular and used to growl when any entered the house or approached her on the street. We've done a few things that have helped. First we made a point of walking her every day and worked up to brining her to the shops near our house and PetSmart. She got to smell and see a lot of different people that way. When men come into our house we give them bits of chopped up hot dog that they toss to her. We also ask them not to look at her or pay any attention to her until she is calm and comfortable. I also make both our dogs sit and wait while I open the door and great guests. It is my job to decide who can and cannot enter the house not theirs. These things have really helped our dog. She hasn't growled at anyone for the past couple weeks. Good Luck!

[waitresschic]

Also stop bopping her on the nose. Most aggression is based in fear. Hitting the dog will only make her interactions with new people more fearful and less enjoyable.

[papilio_luna]

This. You're making an already scary experience even scarier by yelling and hitting.

[papilio_luna]

What you need to do is go from being reactive to being proactive. What I mean is, don't think of this as "How can I tell her this behaviour is unacceptable", think of it as "How can I train her to behave in a more acceptable way

[whereareyou]

this, 100%

[xianghua]

This, exactly

[ccb_love]

My friend did this, plus have a little baggie of pups favorite treats next to the door saying "Please grab one to toss to the pup when you come in. Otherwise ignore her". I think she got this method off Its Me Or The Dog. Since then the dog is REALLY excited to have guests because the very best food comes from visitors. Also, because they ignored her instead of upsetting her more by contributing fear and agitation she learned that it really was no big deal.

[magnoliafly]

Take it easy with her especially since she is already growling and baring teeth. If possible, while you are working on this put her in a safe place away from the strangers so she doesn't get overwhelmed. Once dogs go "above threshold" (growling, baring teeth, barking) you can't get through to them because they're brain has basically turned off and has gone into survival mode

[cottonmanifesto]

put her in another room when people are coming into the house. let them settle in before letting your dog come out and meet/greet them. make sure they have tasty treats for her, and coach them to ignore the dog until she's ready to interact.

[jendaviswilson]

I have this problem with my dog, in fact, it's his #1 issue. The first time we ever had guests, he was apoplectic. Now he's usually ok after the first round of doorbell barking, but still sometimes he picks someone to bark at whenever they move after sitting still a while.

I make him sit, and practically shove treats in his mouth while letting him sniff the stranger. He then gets more treats for not barking at them the whole time they are here. If he starts barking again, he must sit.

If your dog is totally out of control, I'd use the crate/separate room. But if your dog is like most dogs I know, they'll just raise a holy ruckus in that other room until allowed to come see what is going on.