Territorial aggression mixed breed

[proscizewski@wi.rr.com]

I have a two year old mixed breed male from a shelter. We beleive it's lab, beagle and possibly springer or border collie. It is a well mannered dog but is very aggressive towards people that come to the door. He barks and runs towards the door but once we say it is ok then he is great with the person. My concern is when someone comes to the door when I am not readily available. I've tried the distraction thing with food and getting him to sit when someone comes to the door but as soon as the food is eaten he is back to running towards the door. He is fine in public when he is with me. Any suggestions?
Paul:

[Maggiesmom1]

My first thought about your post was it doesn't seem like a real problem...most dogs will bark when someone comes to the door. If he calms down when you say "ok" then that all sounds positive. Its nice to have visitors "announced" and I think most dogs find it their "job" to bark when the bell rings.

If you are concerned what he does when you are not home and someone comes to the door, I think I would put him in another room away from the front door area when you are not home. My Maggie always goes in her kennel when I leave so that if someone did ring the doorbell and I wasn't there, she wouldn't be able to "storm the door". If you don't use a kennel, perhaps you could shut your dog in a bedroom by himself when you leave.

I hope that helps.