Our dog is 2 1/2 years old and we have had him since he was a pup. He is a mixed breed and we believe he has some chow in him. My husband and Kermit have a love hate relationship. When I am not around they get along fine, but has soon has I enter the picture Kermit will become agressive towards my husband. I am looking for any suggestions we really don't want to get rid of him he is part of the family however, we need to get this aggression under control. Kermit needs to learn who the bosses are in this house it past time for us to take control back.
Hi there, if he is fine alone with your husband and aggressive when you are there, then this sounds like jealousy....I think you should really watch yourself and see how YOU behave when you enter this situation. Are you greeting the dog first? it might be a good idea that when you enter you greet your husband and do NOT greet the dog...at all....this sounds hard and it IS hard to do, but by you ignoring the dog then it is your husbands responsibility to remove the dog, ask him to sit, or to back off...well, this shows that your husband has control even if you are in the room. You need to really ignore the dog for at least 15 minutes or until the dog is totally relaxed. You will find that in a short time, the dog will not be so jealous. If your hasband could also do something fun with the dog while you are there ( and you ignore) then the problem should quickly be fixed.
Is your husband playing rough with the dog? is he feeding the dog? taking him for walks? do you feel sorry for the dog under your husbands treatment? is he too strong for your liking? Often a dog will sense ( similar to a child) which parent is the pushover and how to cause problems between the 'parents' at the benefit of themselves let me know what happens Annie
You said Kermit becomes aggressive towards your husband as soon as you enter the picture. What do you mean by aggressive? Barking, growling and jumping at him? Or actually trying to attack him or biting him?
If Kermit just barks and jumps, etc. I would suggest you and your husband make a lot of scenes together, including hugging and kissing in front of him, as you ignoring him totally, until he gets used to see you and your husband are closer than you and Kermit. Kermit is a family member but he is not a person. He should learn clearly there is a difference between people and dogs so that he would respect people. You and your husband (and any other human beings) control Kermit's life whether or not he prefers it. He only gets food from us people, he gets walks only when we take him out, etc.
You and your husband should be able to carry conversation without Kermit's interruption and to watch TV sitting next to each other, so forth. Kermit can join you guys only when he behaves and be nice to both of you.
Ignoring is hard as Annie said but that is the key. Once he settles, praise and give him a lot of attention. Everyday is a learning for him so be consistent and patient. Don't forget to practice basic obedience, sit, down, stay, come, etc. daily too.
If his aggression is more like attacking or biting your husband, you might need a different approach so let us know.
Kermit started out just barking and jumping at my husband, however recently he has tried to bite him. Things get out of hand quickly because of course my husband get scared and yells or runs from him. I am able to remove Kermit from the room, but my fear is that I will be be able to contine to control him. I just don't understand why he is acting like this because when I am not around Kermit begs my husband to take him for a walk or to play with him. I would like to be able to get a handle on this has quickly as possible because if this continues we may have no choice but to surrender him to a shelter.
I am afraid your husband's reaction of yelling and running away from Kermit is inadvertently enhancing his aggressive behavior. By the way, how big is Kermit? Somehow I got an idea that he is not so big:confused:
Can you ask your husband to just stand still like a tree and totally ignore Kermit when he starts barking at him? While he stands still you can take Kermit to a separate room for a time out. Kermit should be soon learning he needs to behave nicely if he wants to hang around with you.
Another thing your husband would want to do is to feed Kermit every meal. He should make Kermit sit and wait. He needs not to give in even Kermit starts barking at him. You should not be around when he feeds Kermit. The idea is to establish more respective and structured relationship between your husband and Kermit. Same thing before playing or taking him for walk. I am afraid your husband hasn't been very firm and consistent as far as teaching obedient behaviors to Kermit. Start with the basic training, hopefully your husband can take Kermit to training/obedience classes. It will help tremendously to build a good relationship between him and Kermit.
If you let Kermit act the way he does now to your husband, he will soon be out of hand and escalate the behavior towards other people. Please don't give in and be firm with him. Good luck
