Dog Community

Need your collective wisdom!

Posted : 9/16/2006 11:32:34 PM

Hi All,
Am new to this site and thought I would ask for your help with my dog "problem".

We adopted Shiah, an Austrailian Cattle Dog from the SPCA 2 years ago. We all met her as a family at the time...myself, hubby and 2 sons 10 and 13 and seemed to all get on well.

After about 6 months with us, Shiah started to become fearful of my husband. There are no obvious reasons for this...he doesn't discipline her, speak harshly, etc. She jumps when attemps to pet her almost cowering. Now she has taken to barking when he enters the a room in the house. She doesn't act this way toward myself or the boys.

When this started happening, we took it slowly...having hubby gently offer her treats and not making any moves toward her..always letting her make the moves. But it just seems to be getting worse. One minute she will let him pet her...then he will leave the room and come back in and she barks her head off and mows down anyone in the way, trying to get away from him.

She is closest to me..I don't work and spend all my time with her. I just don't know what else to try. It hurts my hubby's feelings and causes stress when we all can't enjoy the dog together.

Please send your advice!!!

Thanks,
Kim

spiritdogs

Posted : 9/17/2006 6:08:23 AM

Trust your dog - something about him is making her uncomfortable. It could be as simple as you are her preferred human, or that he yelled at her once while you weren't home, or that he wears something that smells funny, or etc. etc.
When I have a client with such a problem, and they can't figure out what the dog is trying to tell them, as long as I think the SO is not hurting or intimidating the dog, I ask that that person become the dog's sole provider for about three weeks. So, in this case, hubby would feed the dog, take her for walks (if he can't catch her, just let her trail a lead around the house so he can step on it to stop her, and pick up the loop end), and do all the fun stuff, too. During this time, no one else in the home gives her anything - no food, no treats, no playtime. Just him.

Kim H

Posted : 9/17/2006 1:59:58 PM

Could your dog have been physically abused by a man prior to the time you adopted her? When I was younger, we adopted a dog who was fearful of only my father. We think he was abused by his former male owner.

I thought of a couple of questions, however. Has anything about your husband's appearance changed, i.e. shaved off a beard or grown one? Could it be that when your dog tries to run from your husband that he's trying to get him to play? Our dog sometimes does this in an attempt to get us to chase him.

Deb

Posted : 9/17/2006 2:39:07 PM

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't acds a little on the one-person side? IMO, it doesn't need to be a thing where he needed to do anything... it sounds to me like the dog is just sizing up where the butter is on that bread.

Do what Anne says and I'll bet there's a real change, good luck!

ron2

Posted : 9/17/2006 3:38:54 PM

I was going to ask if DH has changed aftershave or cologne. 'There's something about an Aqua Velvet Man."

spiritdogs

Posted : 9/17/2006 5:23:12 PM

ORIGINAL: fisher6000

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't acds a little on the one-person side? IMO, it doesn't need to be a thing where he needed to do anything... it sounds to me like the dog is just sizing up where the butter is on that bread.

Yup, of the herding dogs, ACD's are more on the one-person side than, say, Aussies, who generally bond to the entire family group.
But, they all have a tendency to be reserved with "outsiders", so anything you can do to make the less desired human more of a "familiar" is good.

mudpuppy

Posted : 9/18/2006 8:05:12 AM

just a random thought-- has your husband had a good physical checkup lately? dogs have been known to be very sensitive to early signs of illness.

recclest

Posted : 9/18/2006 4:44:24 PM

I would try having your husband ignore the dog, rather than trying to comfort her. You can kind of encourage nervous behavior by trying to comfort the dog.
My old dog was a border collie/aussie mix, and he was nervous with my brother and dad until a trainer suggested that when the dog whined or hid, we would all ignore him. It literally took 2 days for him to quit. By the end of the week, he was crawling into my dad's lap for cuddles.
Good luck to you!

spiritdogs

Posted : 9/18/2006 6:36:32 PM

I think that ignoring fearful behavior is a good idea, but feeding the dog doesn't have to mean that you fuss over her :-)

) Just having hubby be the one to set the food bowl down is enough to have him perceived as a bearer of resources. ACD's are bright dogs. [

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