I have an 15 month old border collie she is good with the family but she hates strangers and wont let people in the house she snarles and barks at them I think she is scared but I dont know what to do to stop her

reasure her that it is ok but dont praise her or she'll think what she is doing is right, if you can shut her behind a gate, but not a door, so she cant do any damage but isnt being shut off from people.

your right in she could be scared but at the same time she could be protecting her home.

when people are in the house is she ok? try and get them to give her a biscuit of something. but she must come to them!

i hope she gets better soon

Ice

thanks ice queen didnt think of that, she doesnt leave alone when they are in the house we have had to put her lead on her today and she spent the whole time growling it was horrible but I thought that locking her out might make it worse I have tried to ignore her but I am worried she will bite someone

Be careful when trying to manouvre a dog behaving like this, as in their anxious state they can end up biting the owner :( It would be a good idea to leave a short line attached to the collar when the dog isn't alone in the house so you can restrain/manouvre without getting too confrontational. It is also important to make sure that the dog isn't rewarded in anyway for this behaviour, which means drawing a fine line between ignoring it and putting the dog in a safe place, personally I wouldn't say anything to the dog apart from a firm 'It's OK, I'm dealing with it!' and a command like 'bed' if the dog has already been taught it. At the moment this dog doesn't know what it is supposed to do when you have visitors - it's up to you to teach it (without pushing strangers into it's personal space, which may trigger a full on attack :( ) that quiet and calm behaviour is what you want and is more rewarding. If you need help with this then contact a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, preferably one with an interest in behavioural issues.......

thanks for the advice I think we will need to get some help she spent most of last night barking and growling at noises out side the poor dog is beside herself with stress she has been fine since the kids got up but I am now worried we are causing her this problem

Don't worry too much about behaviour exhibitted over the last few days - dogs have a lot to deal with when there are so many fireworks about - even the most placid dog finds early November difficult to cope with, once the fireworks are over she may well settle down again.

this problem has been going on for a while it has gotten worse we are obviosly giving her the wrong signals but I dont know where we are going wrong will look into seeking advice she is a lovely dog with us