[DTS]

hello,
i have a 7 month old female shepherd. she is a great dog and we have had her for 3 months. she listens well and is really freindly except when it comes to strangers. when she sees someone she doesn't know or someone she met only once especially men she barks and growls. her hair stands up on her back. she does this in public and in our home. i want her to be protective don't get me wrong, however i don't want her to bark at every tom, ****, and harry that walks by. this is effecting us getting her socialized because i get embarrassed when in public and she barks at people which i need to get over. if the person doesn't approach us, she won't bark. but if she is approached by a stranger she barks. i would like to know how to cure her fear or strangers, and men. she loves my boyfriend who lives with us and his dad whom she sees on a regular basis. also, i was wondering how to cure her excitement when she sees someone she does know. when my mom comes over she will just about knock her down. i say no and try and calm her but it just doesn't seem to be going the trick.
thank you

 

[DTS]

Well I took her to the dog park for the first time. At first she barked and did her usual. Then I was told the rules were no leashes. I reluctantly took her off and to my surprise she did great. She turned into miss sociable. Going up to everyone for pets and sniffing every dog. She is very protective of me when she is on leash.

 

[DTS]

yeah i see where the flight or flight reflex can kick in. the woman told me it was because she was protective. but i can relate to the flight or flight thing because its the same with horses. and horses are like big dogs. she only barked at another german shepherd that was bigger than her when she was off leash. she does that when she sees another gsd.