I'm looking for some advice--We adopted a 2 year old female labradoodle 4 months ago from a family moving out of the country. They had gotten her from a breeder when she was 5mos old. She is mostly sweet, loves me and our children but has started growling and barking at my husband whenever he comes into the room. The previous owner mentioned that she preferred women but she seemed ok with my husband for the first month or so. She has gradually gotten worse even though he has tried everything to show her he is not a threat. He tries to take her for walks, play in the yard, treats etc. but she will not come near him. We think she must have been mistreated by a male at some point although she responds well to other males-friends, neighbors, visitors. Any recommendations on the situation would be great. She is a great dog and we would love to find a solution to this so she can remain with us. Thanks
Behavior issue
1 - 3 of 3 Posts
Hi, welcome to the forum!
I am sorry that you are finding this situation with your dog...it is sometimes really tough to understand them...but one thing I would consider is whether or not your dog is in pain for some reason. True, she is growling only at your husband, but it may be an indication of her fear that he will try to move her or hurt her...when dogs are in the wild, they don't openly show pain because it makes them vulnerable prey for other animals, so they learn to deal with it by 1) hiding and 2) growling to keep or scare others away.
The first thing I would do is as the vet for a complete checkup...and since you wonder if she was abused, you might ask about diagnostic x-rays to see if she has any broken or badly healed bones.
Other than that, you may need to get a specialist trainer. Obviously something is going on...I wouldn't wait ... I'd get some help with training now, before someone gets hurt. This dog needs to learn to live with your husband. I have seen in other posts where people suggest that your husband ignore the dog...I am not sure that is good advice. Growling is a sign that something is wrong...at least from the dog's perspective and sometimes the growl is a good way to let you know to back off, still these are big dogs, capable of hurting someone...and you never know what might cause this to happen.
The growling may be directed only at your husband now, but it is an indication of something ... and, left alone, it could escallate to children and there may come a time when the dog might just bite instead of growl.
I am sorry that you are finding this situation with your dog...it is sometimes really tough to understand them...but one thing I would consider is whether or not your dog is in pain for some reason. True, she is growling only at your husband, but it may be an indication of her fear that he will try to move her or hurt her...when dogs are in the wild, they don't openly show pain because it makes them vulnerable prey for other animals, so they learn to deal with it by 1) hiding and 2) growling to keep or scare others away.
The first thing I would do is as the vet for a complete checkup...and since you wonder if she was abused, you might ask about diagnostic x-rays to see if she has any broken or badly healed bones.
Other than that, you may need to get a specialist trainer. Obviously something is going on...I wouldn't wait ... I'd get some help with training now, before someone gets hurt. This dog needs to learn to live with your husband. I have seen in other posts where people suggest that your husband ignore the dog...I am not sure that is good advice. Growling is a sign that something is wrong...at least from the dog's perspective and sometimes the growl is a good way to let you know to back off, still these are big dogs, capable of hurting someone...and you never know what might cause this to happen.
The growling may be directed only at your husband now, but it is an indication of something ... and, left alone, it could escallate to children and there may come a time when the dog might just bite instead of growl.
1 - 3 of 3 Posts
