So I have this friend who has a tri 9yr old female - very protective of her human caretaker. Unfortunately Maggie hates Gossy (she would attack or try to whenever she saw Gossy) and apparantly remembers that I am Gossy's caretaker. Maggie has bitten me three times now - the first time I think she was trying to get at Gossy and bit me by mistake but the other times I was visiting without Gossy and Maggie just walloped me when I came in the door.
Last night was the worst, she really cut skin. I didn't see her facial expression (dark foyer) when I entered so not sure if she displayed aggressive signs. But after I came in and sat and talked awhile (and bandaged up the wound) then Maggie came over to be petted, like she knew she did wrong and was apologizing (at least I like to think of it that way).
The odd part is that Maggie doesn't do this with all visitors, so it's not just basic resource guarding but there's some dislike in her behavior as well.
I know there are techniques for redirecting a dog's behavior to teach them to be calm when someone comes to the door etc. And I seem to remember something about directed aggression but can't readily find the discussions. Can someone post a few ideas that have worked for you that we could try?