We have a very reactive and fear aggressive dog. She is an actual nightmare but we have been dealing with her along with a trainer and many many hours of training, behavioural adjustment and socialisation clubs etc.
She is very much better and I have a handle on what to do with her now for the most part even though she is pretty evil. The last thing I can't seem to get a grip on though is visitors to our home.
She flies at them barking, hackles up, tail between legs. She won't settle and barks constantly and will go flying at them if they dare move etc. She is literally terrified of them.
For this reason she is always locked outside but it's difficult on nights like tonight when we have visitors but it's cold and raining and she's sat in the dark.
Ideally I would like to get her to the point she can sit quietly, perhaps in another room, but how?!
I don't have anyone with balls of steel who would sit there long enough for her to accept them and I can't ask random people to spend hours at my home either. These were the trainers suggestions but practically they are hard to implement. She will not accept a treat from a stranger because she's too scared and if they throw them at her she takes it and runs then comes back full of hell once she's eaten it.
The only people I could ask are family, but she already knows them so it's not really a true training exercise.
Should I lock her away or try and battle through with it? Is it worth the hassle and is she likely to ever improve with this sort of thing or do I just need to accept she needs locking behind bars every time someone comes?