Afraid And Nervous With Husband

[Guest Jaust4u]

We have just adopted a 2 year old female. She has been with use for about 3weeks now and seemed to be settling in nicely. She is very attached to me but was very affectionate to all family members. Unfortunately she tried to run out of the house after me the other day and my husband grabbed her collar to stop her. She freaked out and cried so loudly you would think she was being tortured!! She was fine. Since then she is anxious and fearful of my husband. She even growled and snarled at him at one point. Any suggestions or advice as to how to get her trust back with him would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you 😊

[Brandiandwe]

Time and patience. If he can feed and walk her it will healp. Otherwise, he should leave her alone and let her come round. Baby gates in front of the front door are also an excellent idea.

[JohnF]

Time and patience. If he can feed and walk her it will healp. Otherwise, he should leave her alone and let her come round. Baby gates in front of the front door are also an excellent idea.

 

And give your husband the opportunity to learn about canine body language. Once he gets that things will lighten up and she will feel more inclined to approach him.

The GSOD scream is always frightening the first time you hear it too.

[Guest bubbagumpshrimp]

Time and patience. If he can feed and walk her it will help. Otherwise, he should leave her alone and let her come round. Baby gates in front of the front door are also an excellent idea.

 

This. I did a lot of the feeding, car rides, and all of the walking routine for our grey early on. He bonded with me quickly...and not as much with his mom. Once she started taking him on car rides, he warmed up to her. The key is getting her to associate your husband with something positive. ex. Treats, car rides, walks, feeding time, etc.

[LaFlaca]

He should basically let her be for awhile; let her come to him if she decides to. Meanwhile, hubbie should take over walking and feeding responsibilities. Additionally, he can toss her high value treats when he walks by her without making any contact with her. He can try sitting on the floor and doing the same thing each time tossing the treat closer and closer to him. Again, avoid contact with the dog unless she initiates it. Once the dog initiates contact give her a "jackpot" of treats and briefly touch her collar as you pet her. Do this collar touch training frequently so that she gets used to having you hold her by the collar. This will come in handy if you need to restrain her in an emergency. Training a reliable recall is very important, too.

[greysmom]

And be super careful around all doors leading to unsecured areas. If she's tried once, she probably will try again, and having your dog on the loose is NOT fun. We have used xpens around doors inside, and set up fencing outside our front door in a kind of "airlock" set up. Yes, it's a pain to open and close the gate all the time, but one or two seconds of your time is worth all the heartache if your dog get out.

 

There is no worse terror than watching your dog run away from you down the street.