Hello everyone, thanks for taking the time to read my post. I have a 1.5 year old border collie/blue heeler/Australian Shepard mix (half Border Collie, quarter others). She is very social, I have her decently trained with basic commands and tricks. I am have big issues with her in introductions to new people. She seems very excited to meet them only to become aggressive, (or defensive..) when they start to pat or talk to her. I believe this may be a socialisation issue as I live in the country, and she doesn't get exposed to people on the daily. I have been trying to get her out as much as possible having positive encounters with people but she continues to freak out about 50% of the time at people, showing teeth and barking for no apparent reason. How do I get my dog to trust strangers and not freak out in situations like this. How do I install confidence in my dog to handle this situations. She only reacts this way to men which I dont understand. I am a man. Shes never been traumatised or beatin. My folks are starting to think we should get rid of her. Please help. Also my parents do have some sheep that I have had her around a few times for fun.
She doesn't need to be petted and fussed over by strangers, some dogs love the attention others don’t. She may be more accepting as she gets older, but if all you get is her calmly ignoring people, that is good enough, patience and time. I wouldn’t force her into a situation she’s not happy with, find a quiet spot where you can just "Sit" and have her "observe" no need to interact Parks, outside supermarkets at a distance she is comfortable with are also good to expose them gently. Make walks enjoyable have her out experiencing sights, scents and sounds, take her places and have short training/play sessions and make it fun for her.
Great advice GsdSlave. Sometimes when I walk ours, we come face to face with a puppy, a baby in a buggy and two other very young children. If this little gang is with the mother, Yoji is happy, calm, sniffs around the puppy and the children stroke Yoji, if they are with the man/husband/dad it's a totally different story. Yoji barks continuously, so, we just carry on walking, I have tried to stop calming him, I just try to ignore the behaviour. ( Am I doing the right thing @GsdSlave ? ) So you see @Fenn Jones every situation is different and you just have to be alert and ' Carry On '
