_eponymous_

Hey Dr. Tammie! We adopted a puppy, which was advertised as a chow mix, of which I have had many. What we ended up with is a shepherd mix that closely resembles a Belgian Malenois. She is so smart and well behaved it is amazing. She's now a year old and almost full sized. She has a strong tendency to be vocal and demonstrate aggressive posture when there is a potential treat. Protecting the family is obviously a core behavior for her, but not really desirable. How can I get her to relax her vigilance without damaging her reason d'etre?

Thanks for the response. The trigger can be anytime, inside or out. It's not frequent and honestly a bit random. Certain people walking in front of the house, a man walking up suddenly at the park, a deer outside the camper window. She never actually engages, but she barks loudly and fuzzes up along her spine. It's a frightening display. I normally redirect with another command. Lately, we've decided ”touch" works well. Touch means she puts her head against my leg and receives pets. I also scold her for the display and she knows she's done wrong, but just can't seem to not do it. We go camping a bunch, so there are always new and exciting scenes and she can't always know what is a threat or not. Once she saved me from stumbling on a Moose that was taking a nap on the trail, so it's not all bad. On the other hand once she went berserk on some dude walking behind me on a trail in the city. I apologized, but he was obviously scared and I felt terrible. It really kind of scares me too when she just starts up at something. She the sweetest dog I know, but once in awhile she decides something is trying to get her and the family and turns into Mrs Groofer, a 70 lb ball of furry terror. She's just a puppy, we will keep working on it. I'm sure she'll improve with age.