Is my dog just being protective?

[Nancy101]

As a long time cat owner, I just got my first dog. She looks like a Brittany Spaniel/Husky mix but favors the Brittany more in looks. She's 9 and very sweet and I absolutely love her. The person I got her from had her since she was a puppy and took great care of her in all aspects. She and my 3 cats get along amazingly well considering they haven't been around dogs much and I think it'sbecause the dog didn't come off as threatening at all.

I took her out for a walk last night and it's like we've been together for years instead of 2 days. When we would meet someone though and they offered their hand for her to sniff she would bark and bark. I'm not if she is protecting me or is just initially nervous around strangers. She doesn't lunge at them, try to bite or hide behind me, in fact she stands in front of me. Other than this, she is the best-natured dog I could ever have. Is this something that in time will change as I'd love for other people to be able to be able to pet her.

Thanks!

[bckrazy]

good job for rescuing her! she sounds really cute we would love pics, of course!!

Aggression towards friendly strangers shouldn't be tolerated. It might start as barking, and could easily escalate to biting, or she might just be scared or nervous. Do you know how well the previous owner socialized her? She might not be used to getting walked, and approached by strange people. Just take it slow, have her associate people with positive things. Enroll her in obedience classes or practice diligently at home with at least one or two good obedience books... get her to do a solid sit, down, stay, wait, and settle. Have her sit when some one approaches wanting to pet her. If she barks, she should be told a stern NO or WRONG, move her into a sit and when she's quiet give her praise and a treat. Slowly start to have people offer her a treat in their hand, have them stand at a distance so she can approach them, not the other way around... then progress to letting people pet her once she's comfortable with taking treats, and eventually she'll hopefully realize that not all people are going to hurt her, or you. Also, ask people not to bend over her while they pet her, and ask them to pet her chin or cheek rather than patting her head (dogs tend to dislike getting patted on the head, its a dominance thing).

There are a lot of people who have better advice here... but I've used this with getting my dog used to neighborhood people. Sometimes dogs do bark at people, occasionally, when they feel a bad vibe from them but it shouldn't be tolerated all the time out in public. Good luck!!

[jennifert9]

Congratulations on your new dog! What a wonderful person you are to take in an older dog. Not many people are willing to do that unfortunately. I think bckrazy's advice is excellent. However, I do think your dog is being protective. My dog Duncan is overprotective and behaves in much the same manner except he does lunge at strangers and would bite them if given the chance. I have tried everything with him, including 3 different very expensive one-on-one trainers. Nothing has changed. It's a difficult situation because it keeps circling back on itself...You take the dog for a walk and a stranger comes walking toward you, the dog barks, you tell him no but since you can't take the chance of the dog biting the stranger, you keep the dog close to you and away from the passer-by, you get nervous everytime someone approaches, increasing the dog's idea that there is something to fear, the dog becomes more aggressive to strangers because he/she is being "taught" to avoid them....It's a vicious circle.
I would definitely advise getting professional help. Or finding a really good friend that the dog has yet to meet and practicing walking by them over and over again until the dog and yourself, no longer react. You may want to do this with a muzzle on the dog in case the dog does try to bite your friend. The dog's life and safety come first.
I live with this situation everyday and it's very difficult. The dog may be feeling insecure since he lost his/her home of 9 years and feels that if he/she loses you, what then? Good luck and keep us posted!!

Oh and welcome to Pet Talk!!

[Nancy101]

Thank you both for the replies and the great advice. My neighbors have 2 golden retrievers and I was thinking about asking them to help in socializing her when meeting strangers and other dogs. She really is a sweetie and you'd never know she was 9 years old because she is so active.