Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hi,
I have a Dutch Shepherd from a rescue. She has been here one month. She is just a super dog. We are having one problem. She doesn't care for my husband. She is fine with him outside, will sit and down for him and take a treat. In the house she would perfer that he sit still on the couch.When he gets up to move around she will go around him to his front and growl. It is getting better, happens once or twice a night. When I tell her to leave it she comes immediately to me and will down. Yesterday, we were standing in the living room talking and she ever so quietly opened her mouth and placed it around his leg- did not bite. She was watching me the whole time. Told her to leave it, which she did and had her go to her place. Unless I have her with me or in her place, she will sit or lie directly in front of him and watch. I do have her drag a lead in the house.
Otherwise everything is going wonderfully. She learns quickly, has an immediate recall, accompanies me on farm chores off lead.
Can't get rid of the husband, and certainly not the dog. So any suggestions as to how I should handle this?
Deb

Her name is Tess, she is 18 months- 2 years old. Unknown background.

Welcome to the forum

debmac wrote:Can't get rid of the husband

That would have been my suggestion

Sorry, I am no help with this. But there are female DS owners WITH husbands on this forum who will be able to help.

Sadie is very mouthy and will just hold your arm for a second, she never does it and growl though. My thinking is she is looking to be dominant over your husband and he needs to set the order straight with her. Maybe have him correct her and send her to her place so she learns to respect him as well.

We may have this solved- 48 hours with no incidents! Her drives are coming up, and she is engaging in play. I feel like I'm living with a puppy again- the vacuum and broom are wonderful things to chase- she's pulling on my sleeves and pant legs. All in all wonderful progress. When her foster picked her up from inpound she was almost completely shut down. She had been there a month. It took 3 days before he saw her tail.

Deb

Welcome Deb. Funny that you warned us right away that placing the husband was no option. Hmmm.

All kidding aside. It is not easy to have to handle this if you don't have a lot of experience (no offense meant) and equally hard to advise you via the internet, based on your description only. With that being said: remember that every time you (have to) call her off and away from your husband, you are more or less confirming to your dog that there is something amiss. It would probably be most helpful to let the dog make contact and your husband bribe her when she does (high value treats in pocket) Good to hear that you may be on a right track, and for the record: I would not get rid of a husband either who is willing to put up with this behavior. I think you may have a good one!! Good luck!

(And feel free to be a bit of a party pooper and redirect some of the vacuum&broom chasing, since it can make your future life as a 'proper housewife' a huge challenge. Fun now. A pain in the future)

Proper housewife Not much hope of that.
We are doing the treats from Mac when she is not being aggressive. It is helping. He is endlessly patient with me and dogs, when we met I had 5 GSD's in various stages of training.

It's a quite a bit different beginning with a rescued dog. I've always started with pups and a clean slate. She is worth the work and if nothing else will be an excellent companion, and make me a better trainer. I'm looking into getting a Dutch Shepherd pup this spring- so keep your fingers crossed.
Deb

yes, they are quite the work, but sooooooooo worth it. He sounds like a keeper.

Wait, are we talking about the husband or the dog?

Both are keepers The situation has completely resolved. She mainly ignores him- works for us all!
Thanks for the assistance.
Deb

It's great that your dog is improving and tolerating your husband now. I can only assume she is going to have a problem with a visitor, somewhere in the future. The extent of the reaction may vary (could just be hiding, could be this growling scenario), but you're going to want to work on this right away because visitors and relatives aren't going to be as tolerant as your husband.

I can't stress enough the importance of muzzle training. Finding a good basket muzzle that fits and getting your dog used to wearing it around is a huge asset when introducing new people. If you can get a trainer on board to help you, that would greatly improve your success, but you can start with a few dog friendly understanding friends, especially men since she's already shown a dislike with one.

Work on her introductions after she learns to tolerate the muzzle. Keep the muzzle on, and slowly work on her comfort with different visitors, so you can understand what she doesn't like about certain people and what situations you should avoid. It could be gender, size, beards (Odin hates bearded men), the depth of their voices, or just plain proximity to you. You can then learn to assess visitors on an individual basis and whether or not they're worth introducing to your dog.

For example, if the ATT guy comes, Odin goes away in his cage. He is male and has a beard and that's just too much of a risk to have him running around for a 20 minute service check. He comes maybe twice a year and Odin doesn't need to get along with him. For my dad (who is also a bearded man), we spent extensive time with a muzzled Odin and slow introduction since my parents visit at least every month and we visit them often. They're very close now because of this.

Thanks for the suggestions Stephanie. Tess has been going to work with me several times a week- the days I'm mainly in the classroom. She has been calm and attentive. She will look at people we are passing or are approaching us- sniff at times and then ignore them, both men and women. I do not allow random petting. I will have them offer a treat if I know the person well. Her obedience is growing by leaps and bounds with sharp focus. We do not have many visitors out on the farm, I will watch her closely. She drags a lead until she has demonstrated acceptance of their presence. The muzzle will be a good idea when people are in the house.
Deb