a little help with Sawyer's craziness (barking, training, cats, animal)

[sawyersmom]

Hey all,

I've been so appreciative of the advice I've gotten from this thread. Now I am back with more questions. Sawyer has been having issues with people, he loves other dogs, cats, any animal really, but he's still terrified of people. We've figured out it is mostly the greeting that gets him and once he's used to them he turns into a big love bug.
What he does is as soon as people get in the door, he barks his ridiculously loud bark and goes right up to them and will be in his pounce position howling. This usually scares the heck out of them. He's never bitten anyone, nor do I think he would. He usually runs away if they actually look at him. I jsut cannot have him do this. He's such a sweet boy, I want my guest to see the real him and not be terrified by scared, howling him.
I'm not exactly sure when this started. He has always been afraid of people but usually he would hide behind me. If they came over to he house, he would go to his crate (without being asked) and eventually would come out and warm up to people. Never would he scare them. At some point, something must have triggered this and now I just want to fix it. Help please!

Thanks,

[cittic10]

Put him in a sit/stay when you answer the door.

Note: This will take a LOT of practice.
It's not like training one of the easier commands, it'll take time.

Also teach "speak" and "quiet" if you don't want barking or howling. The former is a prerequisite of the latter.