Hi everyone,
I'm new, cross-posting this from "shelter dogs" as maybe this forum is more appropriate. I'm looking for a bit of help with our new dog Kira. She's a one-year-old lab mix (lab and something smaller and lighter built -- hound maybe?), been with us about a month and a half and a real sweetie.
We chose her because she seemed so calm and friendly with everyone, and she has indeed been just like that with everyone in the family and 80 percent of our visitors. Basically, she's fit in like a dirty shirt.
However, every so often someone walks in our door who she gets really alarmed at -- hackles go up, she gets all woofy and growly and frightened-acting. Once the person comes in and sits down and she gets used to their presence (and gets a few treats from them once she's ready) she settles down and seems to be friends from then on. It seems to be mostly big men but I haven't found a real pattern -- she acted like that with a small, soft-spoken woman once too. She's been totally fine with every kid she's run across.
So we're trying to teach her that good things come from visitors and that if a person is let into the house, they are a friend. But it is a little alarming, not knowing if she'll amble up like an old pal or act like they're an evil intruder, especially since I don't know her that well yet and I can't know with absolute certainty that she wouldn't bite if the person came on too strong. It also makes me a bit hesitant when I'm out with her -- she would love for most people to come up and pat her, but there's that rogue 15% who might be in for a nasty surprise.
It's tempting to think certain people remind her of something bad in her past., but maybe that's not particularly helpful. The training is helping but I keep thinking there's something going on I don't understand... Also, I'm not sure whether to correct/reprimand her for her unfriendly behaviour, or focus strictly on the positive reward aspects (ie treats). Any insight/suggestions woudl be appreciated!
