Protectiveness

[jennifert]

Thank you to everyone for your responses. I'm sitting here crying now because I know you are all right and I appreciate the concern, attention and advice you have all contributed. I also feel sad because I feel so close to Duncan and love him very much. It feels like I am betraying him by agreeing to take him to professional training. I know that is silly to feel and is not true but...Anyway, I will call some trainers and behaviorists today. I don't have a lot of money and I know that many of these professionals are expensive. There are some obedience classes that are less expensive but I don't think these would be very helpful. From the sounds of it, he needs one-on-one, hands-on training. I'll give some a call and let you know what I find out.
Thanks again to everyone for all of your help!

I would be curious to hear what you did to correct the situation with the two girls.

I guess I didn't really do anything! He stayed away from them as long as they were sitting still. If I left the room he came with me. If they left the room, he tried to follow so I made him stay with me. I told him NO when he tried to bully the one smaller girl by pushing her.

However, it was almost impossible for me to keep up on, since I am too affectionate with my animals and had this tendancy to tense up when we were in situations where he could act-up.

Yorkster: This is how I feel! The more we encounter situations where I think he MAY act up, the more nervous I become that he will and then the more likely he is to do so. I'm scared to bring him out or bring people over now!