Visitors to house

Trekraider · #1 15-01-12, 10:19 AM

We have a 4 year old GSD bitch that we have had for 3 weeks. The problem we have with her is that when we have visitors she shows aggressive behaviour towards them. Barking and growling . She does not stop and we have to put her outside. How can I introduce a visitor to her to stop this going on?
Apart from this she is a lovely girl and has settled in very well to her new home.

Stuart · #2 15-01-12, 10:48 AM

Welcome to the forum

She sounds like she might be a rescue dog, so you will not know her history or the reason for her behaviour, so its not always easy.

Is it just in the house that this happens or does she do it outside?... she is either guarding you or the house

Our dogs are not aggressive, but do tend to scare people, so the way we do it is to put the dogs into a room, bring in the people have them sit at the kitchen table, and let the dogs in, haveing asked the visitor[s] to ignore them,..after a while the dogs settle and except them

By doing it this way, you will bepass the person trying to get in,..[which your dog doesnt seem to want ],... and it allows the dog to `inspect` the person on his/her terms.

Others, may advice you train your dog to sit in a certain place until the person is inside,you will need a brave `subject` to help you with this one

wildmoor · #3 15-01-12, 12:23 PM

as you probably dont know her real background I would use a tall dog gate and keep her in another room where she can see but not get near visitors when they enter tell them to completely ignore her and not even look at her, at the early stages dont have her in the same room as guests

jayne5364 · #4 15-01-12, 01:51 PM

Anya did this when we first got her, she was 18 months old. When we went to see her the first time we had been told how she reacted. She did look pretty aggressive, lots of barking and growling. I asked them not to restrain her. I went in, ignored her while she did what she did and just started talking to her previous owners. She then started sniffing my hands and allowed me to stroke her. She's my best buddy now lol. They were pretty shocked but they did say they always held her collar and restrained her when people came to the house.
We had a lot of visitors in the first few days, all family and all very much dog people. We tell them all the same, ignore her and don't be scared (LOL).
8 months down the line the most she can muster is a grumble.
I'm liking the idea ^^^^^ up there of keeping the dogs away until visitors are inside, then allowing dogs to come in and sniff. Not the approach we have used, but if I've been out with the dogs and get home to find we have visitors, she is generaly pretty good meeting and greeting them when she finds them here.
Good luck, it's very early days yet.

Trekraider · #5 15-01-12, 04:40 PM

Thanks for the replies. Seems to me that it helps if the visitor is not nervous. She senses the fear in people and then there is no stopping her. Its a tough one to sort out isn't it.

Stuart · #6 15-01-12, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trekraider

Thanks for the replies. Seems to me that it helps if the visitor is not nervous. She senses the fear in people and then there is no stopping her. Its a tough one to sort out isn't it.

This is very true, Kee especialy reacts to nervous children,.. this is why the people who come in should do nothing at all to the dog, just ignore her, as Pam said dont even look at her,.. she will come in sniff around, and her own time walk off, if you then get you guests to get on with their visit without interacting with the dog, they should be able to move around freely without recieving a barking session,... a guest looking at the dog could be taken as a threat, a stare to a dog is threatning

Try and arrange your first guest to be someone who is dog savvy, and who will not feel apprehensive, and see how it goes

DelsMum · #7 15-01-12, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildmoor

as you probably dont know her real background I would use a tall dog gate and keep her in another room where she can see but not get near visitors when they enter tell them to completely ignore her and not even look at her, at the early stages dont have her in the same room as guests

Yep I was going to say dog gate. If you've only had her 3 weeks she's still probably a bit unsure as to where she stands ie who is the protector- is it her or is it you. If you aren't confident that when you let her in to the room she isn't going to go and throw herself at them you could stick her on a long line. All I would add is that I wouldn't let her in the room with visitors until she's quiet and calm. Any sign of grumbling and I'd put her out again so she doesn't get anywhere/rewarded when she's being grumpy.

Stuart · #8 15-01-12, 08:18 PM

Another reason we ask our guests to sit at the kitchen table,..rather that the settee, is that if someone is nervous about the dogs, they are able to lean forward with their hands and most other parts well away from the dog,..it makes them feel safer....if they were to sit on the settee, then the dog is able to get to the person easier, and so makes a nervous person more so, it is also easier not to make eye contact at the table

LindaM · #9 16-01-12, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart

Another reason we ask our guests to sit at the kitchen table,..rather that the settee, is that if someone is nervous about the dogs, they are able to lean forward with their hands and most other parts well away from the dog,..it makes them feel safer....if they were to sit on the settee, then the dog is able to get to the person easier, and so makes a nervous person more so, it is also easier not to make eye contact at the table

Really like this idea Stuart and thank you for explaining the reasons behind it. A person sat on a settee is likely to get Lukey peering into their eyes. I have some friends who don't like dogs (not even a sweet cavvie

) so Luke only gets to meet some of my friends, not that he growls or anything.

The sitting at kitchen table is so good for all the reasons you outlined

paulsuzy1991 · #10 19-01-12, 10:07 AM

We have exactly the same problem with our 2 1/2 year old bitch.
What we always do , which seems to work best , is put her in another room until the guests are sitting and settled. We tell the guests to totally ignore her and bring her out and place her behind a gate in the kitchen so she can see the guests. Once she settles we give the guest her favourite treat and ask them just to hold it low but ignore her and carry on as normal, no eye contact. We then bring her out and let her approach in her own time and take the treat , with no reaction from the guest, then put her back behind the gate. It has takes a while but eventually worked very well for us.
Its the eye contact or a hand out that unsettles them if they are nervous or protective.
We also have found she is a lot better with the person sitting at a table rather than on a sofa.