Very well written article! I have a question for you though, I am still in progress to figure out how to deal with the situation. I have a dog (she will be 4 in May), I did training sessions at the local pet store. She was extremely active puppy and she would jump on every person she meets on the street-trained her not to do that over the time, she likes everything-other dogs, cats, people, kids, men, women-you name it! when I got her I lived alone and then my boyfriend moved in with me and she got used to him. We didn't have that many visitors but the ones who would come to the house, she would be as friendly as outside. We had my boyfriends mother to visit us from time to time and Ivy (my dog) kind of became little odd around her, she kept distance off of her. She moved in with us in several months and Ivy started barking at her when we around! like not full mouth bark, but she would make this half bark sound (if that makes sense)? She told us when we out of the apartment, she would not make a sound! Long story short :D we moved into the house (we lived in the apartment) and I thought since it is brand new area for her, she would be "ok" with my boyfriends mother, but no! she does exactly the same thing. sometimes she starts growl at her, and when we not in the house, my (now husband's) mother would say that she would not make a sound. Ivy would come out of the bedroom and just walk around. This is a mystery for us completely. We try to say "its ok Ivy" come say hello etc. My mother in law has difficulty walking, she walks with a cane and she also calls Ivy by her name in like sweet tone, sometimes Ivy gest close to her, licks her hand and backs off and starts barking again. I honestly did really good research and can not figure out how to deal with this situation. When strangers (we dont have that many) come to the house she does bark alittle but then she stops. Like now, I have plumber working in the bathroom that is joined with bedroom and Ivy sits on our master bedroom bed and does not make a sound but my mother in law just walked out of her room and she right jumped off of the bed and started barking again.
Let me know what your thoughts would be? I understand she might think she is protecting us but it is very odd behavior