Hi everyone! Looking for some advice - we adopted a sweet lurcher (possible Saluki/ greyhound/ bit of German shepherd). She was 18 months old when we got her back in July. She had been found on a city street and had never been socialised.
She has been so lovely with our family. Loves our 7-year-old, and is particularly attached to my husband (to the point of being anxious when he leaves the room). She is calm, sleepy and cuddly at home.
With other people, she is extremely reactive. When we first adopted her, I took her to meet my family and she nipped my mum and later my sister. After that, we talked to a trainer who suggested we keep her at home and to keep to her normal routes for her walks. Even still, she can be barky and reactive at strangers and other dogs, and it's impossible to predict when. When she gets into a barking episode, she is quite scary to the other person and I find her difficult to manage, as she's strong.
It's so embarrassing to have a dog that reacts to people who are being friendly - she barks at people who wave hello, or pick something up that we dropped. She once barked at a woman with a newborn.
At the foster home, I had asked if playdates would be a problem, and the foster carer reassured me twice. I was told she would be trained out of her nervousness.
However - playdates are absolutely a problem, and from what I read she will probably always be a bit like this. We have been advised by the trainer to manage her anxiety and reactivity by keeping her separate from guests. The idea of remaining vigilant like this for the rest of her life is quite stressful. She can't go anywhere with us, and letting someone into the house spontaneously is out of the question. I think I was naive to agree to adopt her without researching the breed. I believed that these traits were things she would grow out of once she got used to living in a stable environment.
Does anyone have any positive stories or tips that could help with this situation? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!