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[quote=Anonymous]Second the suggestion to get a trainer.

It’s really important to deal with this well because when the dog gets people to back off or to become fearful, it is getting what it wants from this behavior, which reinforces it.

Having had a reactive dog, I can give some advice, however. When you are expecting guests, exercise your dog well before they arrive. A tired, contented dog is better behaved. A few minutes anyone comes over, crate the dog well away from the door. It’s best if this is on another floor even. Give the dog a favorite treat, like a bully stick or a stuffed Kong, so that it associates this crating with good things. When the dog is calm after guest arrivals, leash it and bring it to where it can see, hear, and smell guests. Proceed slowly; the dog only gets closer if it stays calm—no barking, growling, lunging, jumping or leash pulling. The moment those behaviors start, back up and wait for your dog to give you a sit. It’s possible that the dog takes hours to calmly accept the guests or never calms down. In that case, the dog does not meet the guests and stays safely in its crate. When the dog can calmly be in a room with the guests, give it treats for looking at the guests and then making eye contact with you. Pre-train this as “look” and “watch” commands. By doing this, you are counter-conditioning your dog. It will learn that guests are associated with reassurance from you and with treats. You can also have guests casually toss treats to the dog. They should keep talking or playing with each other and not make eye contact with the dog. This is also a form of counter-conditioning.

Be consistent. Even if you are expecting food delivery or a tradesman, the dog gets crated. Do not let it jump, bark, growl, etc. at any visitor or it may start to escalate its aggressive behavior over time.[/quote]

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