[yorkietalkjilly]

Wow! Great ideas all.

If the dog is in very bad shape and essentially panicked by all stranger contact, I would sit on the floor beside the dog in the living room, have had a helper come to the front door, open it and briefly just stand there so the dog could get their scent through the screen and then walk away, not even looking at the dog. Over time, the dog came to see that they could be near a stranger w/out going into fear.

Once a dog could accept that without running or acting afraid and they perked their ears rather than pulled them back, the stranger/helper would come into the house carrying a luscious boiled meat treat from a treat-pouch hanging from the front door knob, not acknowledge the dog at all, drop the treat and walk out again as I would sit by the dog in the living room and distract him if he were capable of being distracted.

At first, one or two dogs won't even approach the treat but if his breakfast has been delayed for this specific re-training in not being fearful of humans, in time, if left on their own, they manage to get to that food. This is a way to start with very, very human-fearful dogs who are yet too frightened to do anything but pee, shake or look for a place to run when they set foot outdoors in the front yard or see a stranger nearby. In time, the dogs begin to associate a strange human with non-threatening activity that includes the strangers sharing resources with them and they slowly begin to accept having strangers do more things in their presence without fear.