Hey there. I have a timid 3 year old boy lab, I am female. We are very bonded and I've had him since he was a pup. Through some really unfortunate circumstances, we've had to move a few times since I got him. He's very timid, and a bit scared when people come over.

His reaction when people come over is to bark very loud, growl, and sniff aggressively. For the last few years, I've always just given the speech "just ignore him, let him come to you, please 100% ignore him, he will warm up in a few minutes." And he does. After a few minutes of being thoroughly ignored, he relaxes and brings his toy. If he knows the person coming over, he barks for a second then instantly rubs up against them and gets excited to see them.

But recently, I've realized that maybe this isn't the best approach when I invite a stranger (to him) over. It's intimidating to have a 90 pound dog barking at you.

So I'm reaching out to you guys for some advice on how to handle the situation better. I don't have new people over often, but I'd love to create a space where both my dog and the new person are comfortable.