Polly the polar bear in the desert
Just the other day I had a client who mentioned that her dog is quite aggressive toward strangers. Basically everybody that comes to visit her house it getting the barking treatment first. Since quite a few people get scared when a big black dog comes running and barking, that circumstance really bothered her. She also mentioned that she likes when she gets visitors and does not want the dog to scare anybody.
In the conversation before she mentioned that her family means everything to her, and that she would do anything to protect her family. That made me wonder…is the dog trying to help her protecting the family? Does the dog maybe think she is not strong enough to protect them alone, that she needs the support of the dog in order to do a good job at keeping the family safe?
Maybe its a hint, that she should get into her own power and become the calm and assertive leader of the pack. If you don’t take the leadership position of the pack, most dogs will step forward and take that part, especially females. On the other hand are most dogs get totally swamped by that responsibility and don’t really enjoy that role in life. They much rather have someone to follow, so they don’t have to do the thinking and protecting. It’s a much easier life for a dog.