Not good with visitors

Storm_rages

Hi,

I am looking for advice about my dog, who was a stray we found last year. We are in dog training at the moment but a new odd problem has come up and i am hoping someone with more experience will be able to help me.

He is very worried about other people. He is not to bad on the lead if we are walking by some one but if that person bends down to pet him you can see the fear in his eyes. I had a friend come visit me at home last week and he made some barking when she arrived and when she came back from the bathroom he started up again. Once she was sitting beside me he was happy enough to get patted.

How do i make him less worried about strangers? (we have a second dog, and she is as friendly as they come) Thanks for any help in advance

kazza90210

You can try and make him less nervous, by getting some friends to help you get him used to having strangers come in. when they ring the doorbell dont make a big fuss or look at him and expect him to react, open the door calmly and ask your friends to bring treats, when they come in dont have them talk to the dog or make to much eye contact but get them to offer the treat to him. then you should all walk calmly into your sitting room/kitchen etc and just have them sit down and act normally, you can offer more treats if you feel he is still a bit nervous. let him come to people in his own time, dont force the issue to much. hope this helps

Storm_rages

thank kazza90210, funny thing is this only seems to have started lately... we have had him over a year, but he seems to be getting worse..

I foresee a view more nights in watching "The Dog Whisper"