Expert: Jill Connor, Ph.D. - 10/2/2008

Question
Some back ground... Lab/ Bull Terrier mix... or so the animal foundation told us.  We got Wilbur at about 5 months old.  Was a great dog, had some house training issues at first but seemed to learn to ask to go out quickly.  Very active as I would expect any puppy to be, chewed up stuff, all normal puppy things.  He loved playing with other dogs and had no issues meeting new people.  Example: We first met Wilbur at a pet fair hosted by the animal foundation trying to find good homes for their animals... anyway new people all day long and he was happy to meet them and loved the attention.  He was like that for a couple months after we got him home too.  He's great with our kids (2 and 5) has never once bit or nipped either.

So on to my question... Now, he goes nuts when he sees someone (or a dog) he doesn't know.  Hair on the back goes up (he looks mean) barks all that jazz.  If he's out playing with us and sees the neighbor come home across the street he'll run all the way over there to bark at her.  He bolts, refuses to come when called all etc.  But he almost acts scared.  Say someone come in our front door he goes nuts (hair up barking all of it) even if it's a family member that he sees all the time.  But if that person walks towards him he just keeps backing up and will eventually hide in his kennel, but still barking.  Never once has he lundged at someone, never attacked or bit anyone.  Now, I understand he maybe more territorial now and at first he wasn't because he didn't feel like it was his territory, but any ideas on how to help calm him down?.. make him more confortable when we have vistors.  We live in a small town, the type where you don't lock your doors, friends and family just come over and walk in (no knocking) and it's welcomed.  I'd really love to help Wilbur get comfortable in that situation help him understand I guess that no body is there to hurt us or him.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Steve

Answer
Your dog is demonstrating fear.  He is at risk of becoming a fear biter, given the present situation.  Unfortunately, in order to correct this problem, you need to lock your door (or post a large sign: DOG IN TRAINING, DO NOT ENTER.)  He should also not (NOT) be allowed off leash to run up to anyone for any reason.  The way in which to correct this problem requires a lot of work on your part and everyone else who lives in your household, but it CAN be done.  This is almost certainly due to a lack of appropriate socialization in the first few (and crucial) months of his life when he was in the "care" of whomever owned him at that time.  His behavior when surrounded by a crowd of strangers at the age of five months is no indication of his basic temperament, but rather the result of his situation, emotionally, psychologically and physically.  What you should have done (and perhaps attempted) was to carefully and consistently socialize him after adoption, paying close attention to subtle body signals of fear.  But of course I don't expect you or anyone else to realize that was necessary!  So here's the fix:

Front door:  Set the dog up, many, many times over the next two or three weeks.  Ask neighbors and friends (one at a time) to participate and be sure everyone involved has about 30 minutes to spend.  Visitor knocks and cracks door (slightly), dog goes forward, visitor closes door without entering.  Repeat until the dog no longer goes forward (the first or second time this might take quite a while, as "strangers" are free to come and go and this has most likely exacerbated the dog's fear.)  Once the dog DOES NOT GO FORWARD, allow the visitor in.  If dog goes forward THEN, visitor GOES OUT and starts over.  The aim is for the dog to DO NOTHING when the visitor enters.  He should, in fact, show some displacement behavior, which means: look around in a confused manner, lie down, turn around, pretend nothing is happening, etc.  This might take QUITE A WHILE because of your situation but eventually it WILL happen.  At that point, you can change the sign to read:  DOG IN TRAINING, IGNORE DOG upon entry.  Everyone should totally ignore the dog for at least five minutes after entering (providing the dog shows NO behaviors you do not want, in which case you need to go back to square one.)  This is time consuming, requires everyone's cooperation, but is well worth the effort as the dog will learn there is nothing to fear, no one is paying attention to him, no one is threatening him or any of his family members.  Once he is consistently calm, he can be rewarded (with praise and a food treat) for ACCEPTING without any show of fear (barking, growling, lunging).  

You must also use positive reinforcement training to give this dog at least one strong behavioral response to a command for any behavior, usually sit, but use a different word.  It will take several weeks of intermittent training to form a conditioned response wherein the dog will ALWAYS (indoors, don't expect this to work outside without several more weeks of patient work) "sit" on command.  You can then instruct your visitors, once they have entered and ignored the dog (and he has not demonstrated any untoward response) to ask the dog to "sit" after which you can reward the dog.  This will build a positive response in the dog to visitors, after he has acquired a response that such visitors are not a threat or anything to be feared.

Regarding the outdoor behavior, put the dog on very long training leash (available at any pet store.)  Set the dog up by asking a neighbor to participate.  When the dog begins to go toward the neighbor, YOU GO in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION to the end of the leash and TURN YOUR BACK on the dog.  The dog will be forced to stop; the neighbor must be directed NOT TO REACT in any way at all (each time someone backs away from such a behavior, the dog learns more about how to use aggression).  The dog will STOP; the dog will LOOK BACK in your direction.  Your back will be turned, then turn toward the dog, scoot down and call him to you.  If he refuses to budge and turns back toward the neighbor, turn your BACK AGAIN.  Repeat this until the dog begins to come TOWARD YOU.  Praise him no matter how far he gets, even if it's just a foot, and then calmly lead him away.  Repeat this training as often as possible, using various people (if possible).  If you are unable to find anyone to cooperate, do it by yourself.  The trick is to go in the opposite direction of the dog's advance and turn your back, removing your participation and forcing the dog to rethink (and problem solve) through the event.

All of this is counter conditioning.  Somehow your dog has acquired strong fear response to approaching "strangers"; you are most likely an ingredient of this behavior, without any intention of course.  If you feel you are unable to address these behaviors alone, find a certified applied animal behavior expert.  if you have any questions about any of this protocol, please repost.