Why does my homestay Blue Heeler growl and follow me when alone?

Question

My homestay family has a dog, and he let's me pet it only when I sit at the couch. He growls and barks at me when my homestay mom is not at home. My homestay mom asked me to give him some treats to make him listen to me. But when I'm home alone with the dog, he barks at me and follows me around the home and tries to heel me, and when I see him following him I ask him to sit and stay and stop following and then he growls at me. Help me with what should I do. By the way it's a blue heeler. Pet's info: Dog | Australian Shepherd | Male | 90 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

This sounds like a difficult situation. Ideally, it would be best for your homestay family to address this issue by working with the dog, or keeping him separated from you when they aren't home to make sure that everyone is safe. As far as what you can do, I would recommend ignoring Duke as much as possible. Growling, nipping at you from behind, and following you around are all very common behaviors for a dog who is anxious and uncomfortable with you being in the house - you're a stranger and not part of his family, so you may be scary to him. Looking at him, reaching for him, or talking to him will only make him feel more threatened, which may make the aggressive behavior worse. You can try carrying treats with you to drop on the floor or toss for him when you need to walk around the house - this will help him associate you with good things, and should also help to prevent him from following you and nipping at you since he'll be busy sniffing around for the treats. Many dogs like this will improve over time once they realize that you are not a threat, and that good things happen (like treats!) when you're around.

Why does my homestay Blue Heeler growl and follow me when alone?

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