visitors

Question
We have a one and a half year old black Germany Shepherd named Buster.  He is a good tempered dog.  He loves his family and gets along with other dogs.  However, when people visit the house he is very protective and barks a lot and lunges.  We have started putting him in his kennel for quick pick up / drop off visits.  For longer visits we keep him on a leash until the visitors are sitting down.  When we release him he seems to calm down pretty quickly after sniffing the newcomers.  Still, it's pretty intimidating for friends and family.  Is there anything else we should be doing?  Anything we should do differently?

Answer
The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm

If you are the leader, then visitors are your responsiblity, and he should take his cue from you.  If you greet the visitors warmly, he should accept them.  He should also accept being put into a sit or down stay when you answer the door.