Our little guy goes with us everywhere and we make a point to have him around people and different situations. We were a little nervous about him at first but he seams to be adapting. He is very protective and occasionally takes a defensive posture with strangers when in a one on one environment. He hasn't tried to bite anyone but shows the defensive pose and gets between the stranger and us, not a bad thing for us city dwellers.. He does back off when he's told. We need to work with him a little more to get him more comfortable.

He's actually good in crowds and enjoys letting people pet him. It is true that he's more assertive than our last Bouvier, but he's more observant (and demanding) than our last one. He learns commands very quickly and likes new challenges. You were right in your description, this one isn't satisfied by just sitting on the porch.
You have a good breeding program. When we were looking for a dog, we got some leads from the Bouvier Rescue group in Texas and they gave us some leads in Houston (as well as your Kennel).

I'm glad to hear you're keeping him out and about ~ I don't enjoy defensive behavior ~ I'm sure I could encourage it since it's part of the heritage of these lines, but don't choose to. The best thing you can do is ignore it and be normal/friendly toward the person the pup is suspicious toward. It sounds like you're doing just that..and you're right, it'll generally be in a one on one situation. With a pup what I would likely do is first of all tell the pup "no." - not in an anxious or loud voice, just a matter of fact "no." Then, as soon as he responds appropriately, give him a little caress and say 'good.' in the same general (but pleasant) tone. I wouldn't force him to accept the person he's anxious about ~ in fact, I'd 'ignore' the situation as much as possible and go about your normal business.

With my pup Gail at puppy class, she did not like the other people coming up to her in a forward manner and petting her on the head...she would back away from them. If they left her alone, she would approach them on her own and solicit petting and treats. She's fairly over that period now and solicits treats from a lot of strangers but if the person acts tentative in any way, it brings forward the suspicion in her nature. Keep in mind that all these puppies will be going through various fear stages from now through probably 18-24 months. If you think your dog is going through a fear period, you will want to be sure to manage his life during that time for his/your sake. You do have some good resources in Texas (Dave Kroyer in Hutto, TX comes to mind) that I'd encourage you to take advantage of.

Thanks again and please stay in touch~

Thanks, we are doing as you suggested here with him currently. I think we can get him past this without too much of an issue. We don't force him to do things that he's uncomfortable with and do a lot of positive reinforcement. In crowds, he's always introducing himself and I'm sure we can get him over this bump.

He did very well in his puppy classes and his social skills are really pretty good. She is looking at some obedience training and is interviewing a few of them. My wife was invited by a non-profit group in Fort Worth to teach him how to do search work (Guess he got scouted at puppy class.) I can't see her allowing him to do this but you never know. We appreciate your help and guidance. He's a great dog.