My husband and I adopted a small lab/shepherd mix two months ago as a playmate for our min pin-sounds like a weird mix, but they have fun. 90% of the time they get along great and are able to run around and burn off a lot of energy in the day just playing.

When we got her, the shelter let us know that they think she had been abused by the husband of the lady who surrendered her and that she was reported to not do well with men. We all kind of laughed about it at the shelter because as soon we had her on a leash to walk around with her she was playing and loving on my husband.

So anyway, we knew we still may have issues with other men and made sure that we had our dads come over and meet her. Since we’ve had her, my dad and MIL have stopped by and let them out no trouble, and when my FIL comes over, she barks a little but when she realizes who he is, she’s fine.

So we were of the thought that she was fine with meeting people so long as we take it slow. However, in the last couple of weeks she’s gotten more aggressive with visitors to the point of nipping and biting.

The first instance, a male friend of ours stopped over to drop a baby gift off for us (37 weeks now). My husband wasn’t home and you would have thought he was breaking in the house with how she was barking at him. I kept telling her it was okay and made sure to speak positively, but she would not stop. I had stand behind her the whole time and basically bear hug her to not jump on him.

The second time my stepmom was over, and me not thinking much if it bc she’s a lady and a huge animal lover, we just walked in the house together and the dog bite her- not enough to break skin but enough to leave indents on her finger.

The third time, my dad was coming over to help me in the nursery and she nipped at him. Mind you, he’s come over by himself and hadn’t had any issues.

So, my questions is, does this sounds like aggression, maybe with territory or is she being protective of me as every encounter my husband wasn’t home.

I’m really just getting nervous bc I cannot deal with that sort of behavior when baby gets here- I’m a nervous wreck thinking that she’d snap at the baby if she’s possessive of my attention in any way. If that makes sense. She also has gotten too rough with our other dog on a few occasions to the point where he yelps and shakes after. And obviously I can’t have that happen when I’m home alone with a newborn since it would difficult to react fast enough and safely with the baby.

If you made it through this whole thing I really appreciate your time. I’m just trying to figure out what the best route might be as far as training her- any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!