Dog that hates/fears men???

Behxo

So I recently moved out with an old best friend of mine who owns a lovable black lab/border collie mix named Leo. He is a very sweet dog who I knew I would have no problem living with, so when my friend offered to live together I had to take it up. After getting settled into my new home a few days later I had some friends over and found out that Leo apparently hates/fears men A LOT. I didn't know of this issue before moving in but don't blame my roommate for not informing me because she rarely ever had people over and never really had to deal with the issue before. All of the men she associates herself with, Leo has no problems with so it seems like any new men that are introduced to her dog is what seems to freak him out.

Leo does not bite but last night as one of my friends entered the house I witnessed the dog barking furiously, ran up and jumped on my friend nearly knocking him over. Big no no. What scared me even more is that when my roommate tried to calm her dog down, he even started growling AT HER! So the fear is so bad for him that he even takes it out a bit on his own owner, she asked us to step outside so he would calm down enough for her to lock him up in a room. We both understand the severity and know we need to take him to be properly trained but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? The most information I could get from research was to just have men come over with treats on a daily basis but only have people over once or twice a week...

I will try the method of having guys having a treat on hand for when they enter the house but not sure if it will work since people don't come over often enough to really seem like it will be effective. (doesn't hurt to try though!) As for any animal lover you know the difficulties that can come along with it sometimes, I would love to have people over without having to lock up Leo in a room or being kept outside. Will probably end up getting some training lessons but if it can be helped, would prefer training him on our own. Any suggestions are appreciated!:flowerforyou:

Behxo

guess not lol just figured some people might've had some experience with it

Pipsg1rl

More likely she has a man fear issue also.

This can stem from/feed off of her state.

Were the guys wearing hats?

Also, if you have "a few" people over, the dog sort of loses it's control over the room. Try maybe one person at a time.

Or let your roommate know you are expecting people so she and you can be prepared.

Pipsg1rl

ps: you say you don't' have people over often.

Why not train the dog anyway? Have a friend come to help you.

They ring the bell - (they have treats, you have treats)
you make dog move back, sit, or lie down (we have a mastiff and for her lying down is VERY submissive so it's hard to get her to do so).
DO NOT OPEN DOOR until dog is in the expected position. REWARD THE DOG.

ask your friend to repeat.
repeat dog positioning and reward.

AGAIN and again.

You may want to try with your roommate ringing the bell before you open it, so that way when you DO open the door it is your roommate.

Do this in stages until you are ready to have a male friend ring the bell.


In my house the doorbell ringing is way worse than knocking on the door. Don't know why.