How to help my dog who is fearful of new people and tries to bite?

Question

My 1 year old neutered male Australian cattle dog is very wary of new people and if they laugh or make too fast of a movement for him he barks at them and some times tries to bite them. Is there anything to do to try to make him stop or feel comfortable with new people?When he was a puppy we tired to show him to as much experiences as possible and socialize him but he has always been timid with everything. Pet's info: Dog | Australian Cattle Dog | Male | neutered | 11 months and 6 days old | 40 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

Poor Bandit! It does sound like he's very fearful of new people - this is a fairly common problem in dogs, and can be due to genetics, inadequate socialization as a puppy, and/or negative experiences with strangers in the past. The good news is, most dogs with this problem are able to improve tremendously with some help from a professional. I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Bandit in person and help you put together a detailed treatment plan for him - this would normally include management recommendations to help keep him from being put in situations that are overwhelming for him, a training plan to teach him to associate new people with good things (usually treats!), and possibly also medication depending on the severity of his anxiety. It can be very challenging to try and do this on your own if you don't have any experience working on this problem, so I would definitely recommend having a behaviorist help you - especially since he does sometimes try to bite. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

How to help my dog who is fearful of new people and tries to bite?

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