How to calm a fearful dog barking & growling when pet sitting?

Poor Marley! This is a fairly common problem for many dogs - you're correct that the barking is generally caused by fear. Treatment for this issue normally involves teaching the dog to associate good things (like treats!) with seeing large dogs and men so that over time, she begins be happy about seeing them rather than getting scared and barking. To do this successfully, you need to start at a distance away from the dogs (or men) where she is comfortable and able to notice them without barking - for some dogs, this may mean that you need a lot of distance at first! As soon as she sees another dog or a man, praise her and reward with a treat. Once she understands the game, you can gradually move closer as long as she's doing well. This can be difficult to do on your own at first, so I would strongly recommend getting in touch with a good reward-based trainer who can help you in person - he/she can help to set up controlled training sessions with a helper dog or some strange men until you get the hang of things and are ready for "real life" situations. You can search for a qualified trainer in your area here: www.ccpdt.org

Your best option is to have a professional trainer come to your home and evaluate her during these situations. They will be able to give you the best advice. Behavior issues are not quick fixes and if you don't know what you are doing you could make the dog worse instead of better. These types of behaviors should be handled by a professional. I don't know where you are located so just do a google search for in-home professional dog trainers (like Bark Busters or Sit Means Sit) or you can probably get a reference from your veterinarian. ( https://sitmeanssit.com/ )

What you're describing sounds like a reaction to the general excitement level and maybe the volume in the room. Some dogs will actually become aggressive that type of situation (for example, they will bite ONLY when there's a touchdown -- not so fun for the visitors). As far as stopping it, keeping her a quiet separate area during big gatherings is one way, as long as she doesn't bark to be reunited with the group. You can also try feeding her a continuous steam of small treats to help change her emotional reaction to these events. One thing to avoid is any yelling or punishment, since that may push her over the edge from barking to aggression

Many dogs get very excited when visitors come to the door! I would recommend asking guests to call ahead for now when they are coming over, so that you can put Vesta on a leash before they arrive. Use the leash to keep her under control, and use treats to reward her for sitting or other calm behavior. Once she calms down a bit, your visitors can also ask her to sit for treats and petting. It takes lots of time and patience to work on this issue, so be patient with Vesta while she learns! Ideally, I would also recommend finding a good reward-based trainer in your area who can work with you in person to make sure you're making progress - you can search for a qualified trainer in your area here: www.ccpdt.org

Poor Vito! In general, we tend to treat this problem by teaching the dog to associate good things with people entering a room - often, very tasty treats :) My first thought is that you may need to use higher value treats if he isn't interested in eating them when you try this - things like chicken, roast beef, or string cheese are often good choices for this type of training. If he still will not take treats in this situation, then this means that he's too worried or anxious to eat - in that case, you will need to find a way to make the situation easier for him (possibly by removing him from the room until the person sits down and gets settled, then bringing him back in), or he may need anti-anxiety medication in the beginning to help. Since it can be difficult to do this on your own, it would be best to make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can help you in person. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here (dacvb.org) or a qualified trainer here (ccpdt.org).

This sounds like a difficult situation. Ideally, it would be best for your homestay family to address this issue by working with the dog, or keeping him separated from you when they aren't home to make sure that everyone is safe. As far as what you can do, I would recommend ignoring Duke as much as possible. Growling, nipping at you from behind, and following you around are all very common behaviors for a dog who is anxious and uncomfortable with you being in the house - you're a stranger and not part of his family, so you may be scary to him. Looking at him, reaching for him, or talking to him will only make him feel more threatened, which may make the aggressive behavior worse. You can try carrying treats with you to drop on the floor or toss for him when you need to walk around the house - this will help him associate you with good things, and should also help to prevent him from following you and nipping at you since he'll be busy sniffing around for the treats. Many dogs like this will improve over time once they realize that you are not a threat, and that good things happen (like treats!) when you're around.

I suggest you put some Feliway diffusers in your house starting about a week before the dog is to come over. This is basically "happy cat" pheromones and they really work to decrease stress. Their website has a lot of great information. ( https://www.feliway.com/uk/Products/FELIWAY-CLASSIC-Diffuser ) Also, make a "safe space" for your cat so that, if needed, she can get away from the dog. The best way to do this is to put a baby gate up across the door to one room so that the cat can get in but the dog can't. Put the litter box, food and water in there. Hope this helps. Best wishes.