Submissive and aggressive?

[payner33]

My husband and I got our puppy when she was 9 weeks old and she is now almost 9 months old. When we have guests over, we are not sure how she is going to respond...she will either get really low to the ground and urinate as she approaches the guest, or she will start barking with the hair on her back raised. Yesterday she snapped at someone for the first time. I am very confused because she is such a friendly dog with my husband and me and seems so submissive. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[KOPsBecks]

Hey thanks for your post.
It sounds to me like you have a nervous dog, these dogs tend to show a form of fear aggression to strangers when they feel threatened. To fix the problem you have to be really patient and persistent. It is important to slowly and regularly introduce your puppy to strangers, it is best to arrange this with people beforehand so that you are aware they are coming. Then when your puppy shows any signs of being brave, not aggressive, but calmy friendly and happy then use lots of praise and reassurance that this is the right behaviour. Don't punish the dog for fearful behaviour, just ignore them ansd don't approach as they may bite. Let me know how you get on with this,

Becks