Odd behavior towards one person

[Kay]

I have a neighbor who stops by every once in a while who Traveler doesn't like.

About a month ago my neighbor came over to my house and I introduced her to Traveler. Trav acted as he normally does when meeting new people and, once he realized he wasn’t getting a treat, wandered off to lay down in the living room. We went into the kitchen to get some lemonade and Trav followed us (which is his usual behavior - I keep his treats in the kitchen). We ended up talking in the kitchen and about 10 minutes later, Trav started snarling at her. I quickly put a leash on Trav and led him to another room, shutting the door to the kitchen. He didn't resist the leash or being moved into another room although it did take him a few minutes to settle down/stop barking. My neighbor visited again yesterday and Trav started aggressively barking once she was in the driveway. We ended up talking outside on the patio with Trav barking inside for a few minutes. Later in the day some other people visited and he was his normal, laid-back self.

This friend does have chickens and I'm wondering if this is why he doesn't like/trust her. Before I adopted Trav, he had been adopted as a guardian dog by a woman with turkeys. He failed miserably, killing a few turkeys (he was about a year old at that time, too young to be guarding livestock by himself) and the woman just opened the gate and let him wander away. Luckily he was chipped and a local vet was able to contact the rescue group who placed him. I adopted him a few months later (July 2010).

Trav loves going on his daily walks and is great on a leash, has a decent number of families who greet him, and is indifferent when meeting new people and other dogs. He's a pyr so he does bark at everything, but normally settles down once I acknowledge it. No change in his health and has been to the vet recently.

What should I do about Trav's behavior towards my neighbor? Growing up we had dogs that just didn't like one person (usually a trapper or hunter) and we assumed it was a scent that the dog wasn't comfortable with and just kept the dog away from that person.

I'd appreciate any advice!

[TexasKat]

Some poultry owners who have Pyrs who kill poultry beat them with the dead bird or tie it around their necks till it rots off in the mistaken belief that it's how you 'train' a Pyr to guard poultry.

No it's not a joke. A Pyr owner in an email list I'm on recently advised another Pyr owner to do just that.

Explain to your friend what you think is going on and put Trav up whenever she comes to visit. If this happened to him, I doubt he'll ever trust anyone who seems to be similar to the 'original owner' in any way.

[Kay]

Thanks for the advice. My neighbor seems to understand he's only that way with her but I didn't know if there was something I should do to try to change his behavior. As for training a guardian dog that way... I'm just glad Trav is retired from all that.

[Chicag0_Red]

It can be anything from her choice of perfumes to some smell she is bringing from home. Pyrs don't really see people the way we do ... they see them with their nose as much as with their eyes and smells that we think are long gone are still in the middle of that persons signature.
In times like this I am reminded of something that Joseph Gentzel said in his book "The Great Pyrenees Owner's Handbook" ... "Your Pyr may know something that you do not." (no disrespect meant to your neighbor, but, remember that Pyrs see the world differently than we do.) I have a neighbor that doesn't like cats ... wouldn't hurt one just doesn't like them ... Hank has a couple of cats in his flock ... Hank does not welcome this neighbor anywhere near his property although he will generally tolerate him off property.