The few months of shelter-in-place undid the little socialization work we started with Skye. She was doing relatively well with visitors (see previous post) but since the beginning of July when we began to carefully see a couple of friends at home, it has been really difficult. As soon as she hears the person, her hackles are up and she barks loudly (very loud!) and it doesn't stop until the person sits down. She starts barking again as soon as the person moves, laughs, or makes big gestures. She is obviously not comfortable with a stranger in her territory (not that we tried meeting strangers outside our home - remember no collar, harness, nor leash...), and that's kind of normal. What is bothering me is that instead of staying away from the visitor, she comes really close to them - really close, she touches them with her nose! She doesn't back off. I am actually tossing treats away from the person so she can step away and take a breather (both Skye and the guest!). She goes get the treat but comes back immediately and barks. I have seen her doing air snaps several times, especially when the person is moving around. Today she even stood in a doorway to prevent my friend from going through. It's really not cool and stressful for all involved. I need to put some training in place and restart the socialization from scratch :(
On a positive note, she still likes our cleaning crew and lets them go all around the house without even a bark.