Nervous -yappy pup

Hi Peeps Todays dilemma is .......Macey's nervousness ..she's always been a bit nervous , she used to roll over and wee when we came in but we ignored that and she has mostly stopped.... but she's very yappy at people and doglets -I do walk her on her own when I can so she doesn't pick up bad habits from Murph
But she barks at people who come into the house -Only strangers mind if she knows them she's fine -but as she's barking she's backing off and sometimes piddles
Now I have been telling people to ignore her -not look at her at all -I tell her 'no' and when she's quiet I praise and treat her -Is there anything else I could be doing ???
If I walk her round town she's fine -her confidence is growing -her tail is up and she struts her stuff and ignores people passing , but if anyone stops you hear the grrrr
She barked at a springer on the field the other day -so I marched her over -spoke to the owner and let her off lead -they had a bit of a run and then she was fine -happy to come away -do you think I did right ? I don't want her to think that barking makes either us move away or the dog move away
So peeps ideas on a postcard please

Edited to add -sorry if you don't know Macey is almost 7 month old JRT X who was spayed at the end of Jan

I have just come in from training a puppy class so, if Mini hasn't been along to offer some suggestions beforehand, I will try to help tomorrow (later today your time)

You are doing the correct thing when people visit. They should ignore her - not look at her, not speak to her, not approach her or try to touch her. Prime them with a dog treat and have them just drop it casually, again without making eye or voice contact. If she approaches them when they are inside have them continue to ignore her and casually drop the treat as before. The idea being that she will associate visitors with good things and will be more relaxed, hopefully to the point where she will confidently approach visitors of her own accord. Bear in mind that this desensitisation could take quite a long time, so be patient.

With the ouside problem I think a little bit of "sitting and watching the world go by" might help. Have a look at this thread http://dogweb.co.uk/talk/viewtopic.php?t=1594 and see if there is anything there that you can use.

Edited to add: If you are telling her "no" in a cross sort of voice this could be adding to her anxiety and, perhaps, rewarding her behaviour as she is getting a reaction from you, albeit a negative response. Ignoring her yourself might help (explain to your visitors what is going on). If she will sit give that command as it is a positive thing for which you can quickly reward her.

Let us know how things go

Thanks

edited -we've been out over the weekend and I've taken every oppertunity to take Macey with me -we've been in the bank walked round town stopped and chatted to peeps ( all I've told to ignore her ) and she's been really good no growlyness at all she even passed two horses -BUT she did bark at a woman getting the shopping out the boot of her car but she didn't growl at the policeman in the garage ..Hurrah !! so all in all not too bad methinks

Hi

I have written a number of articles on fearful and timid dogs this is one of them on my website it may be of help.

http://www.doglistener.co.uk/fearful/fearful_dogs.shtml

Stan

Does the food you are advertising carry this logo and is your link approved..please answer and I will go away

I presume you always attack people when you are found to be incorrect in a statement. That really is a nasty habit and should be treated.

I do not advertise for dog food manufacturers I happen to feed my dogs on the foods that I show on my website to advertise would suggest I get pecuniary advantage for said advertising I do not and I do not get paid for it I happen to believe that it is the best dog food on the market. I am not interested in the above logo as it is garbage if they don't test themselves they buy in information from labs that do. cynical use of the words WE do not test on animals is just that "cynical" I have actually studied and investigated all these claims about dog food manufacturers most are put about animal rights activists and believe it or not the opposition.

I had no idea I needed admin’s permission to post a helpful article.
Stan