Ever since she tried to bite him she has not stopped growling at him. He can't even come out to the bedroom or walk around with out her growling. Please someone out there help me, I don't want to have to give her up.
2006-11-06 04:46:37 · 27 answers · asked by Roma E 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
I agree, don't get rid of your dog, but thinking that it's a better judge of character than you are is a bit silly in my opinion, and I have experience with both dogs and men! In a platonic way of course.
It seems like your dog has established dominance over your boyfriend - she tried to bite him, and now he is presumably reacting to her aggression if he can't come out of your bedroom. She sees him as either an intrusion on her territory, a threat to her owner, or as possibly a threat to her owner's love for her. Since she has gained the upper ground, she's not going to just get used to him.
Your boyfriend should not back down from your dog, he should meet her growling with firm sternly voiced commands like sit or no - not cruel or angry, just authoritative. He should mask any nervousness as best he can. She needs to see him as an authority as she sees you, which she does no matter how gentle and caring you are - you're the boss, and she loves for it, it's how dogs work.
You should be affectionate towards your dog with your boyfriend - prepare her food with him standing next to you, and get him to put it down to her, patting her on the head and so on. Seeing the two of you being affectionate towards each other, holding hands and so on is important too so that she knows he's not a threat to you but make sure she doesn't see it as competition, take her for walks together and the like. This will make her see that you still care for her as much as you did and he's not going to take attention away from her.
And ultimately, if it doesn't work, and your boyfriend insists upon you choosing, keep the dog. A decent man will not ask you to choose in the first place.
2006-11-06 05:07:07 · answer #1 · answered by dm_cork 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
While you haven't provided your dog's history it is possible that either: a) It wasn't well socialized as a puppy; or b) you adopted it as an aolder dog and it was abused or has a questionable history. Either way, it's time to do a little therapy.
If your boyfriend is spending lots of time with you in your home the dog may feel like he is treading on it's turf. Something I would suggest is get some of your dogs favorite treats and have your boyfriend give them to your dog when it isn't growling. This is called positive reinforcement, essentially rewarding your dog for doing something right. You would also want to negate the negative behavior in some fashion, a loud 'No' when the dog growls or other such deterent.
Good luck!
2006-11-06 04:52:09 · answer #2 · answered by McB 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Like someone above said... tust your dog. Also your dog may be jealous of all the attention you are giving your boyfirend and not to her. Try spending more one on one time with her like I am sure you must have before the boyfriend was around and maybe after a few weeks of that she will realize this man isnt going to take all of "her" attention and time away. But definately DONT GET RID OF YOUR DOG for ANY MAN! Men come and go but a dogs love is FOREVER. She will never betray you and will always be there to listen and she will never judge or walk out on you.
2006-11-06 04:52:56 · answer #3 · answered by ♥Jade April♥ 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Your dog has established dominance over your boyfriend, and is now threatening him. This is a very dangerous situation for your boyfriend to be in. I don't know how large your dog is, but it's very likely she will try to bite him again. I would take her to obedience training, but have your boyfriend handle her, also have your boyfriend feed her and walk her on a leash too. If she continues to growl at him while in the house, you may want to put her in "time out" put her in a crate before things escalate and she lunges at him. Be careful, and also consult your vet for other ideas that you can do.
2006-11-06 04:51:28 · answer #4 · answered by Astro 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Regardless of the reason (fear, dominance, posessiveness) you need to fix this. Fisrt put your dog on a leash, and take your dog and BF for a walk. Start with one on each side. Do not let the dog growl give her a correction with the leash if she does. Once she settles in, move your boyfriend so the dog is walking between you and you boyfriend. Dont talk to her or anything like that, just keep walking. If she growls, correct her. As she gets comfortable in this position, pass your boyfriend the leash and keep pace with them. Once comforatable drop off and let them walk alone. Tell him not to interact with her yet just keep waliking. Dont have him correct her at this point if she starts to growl, just ingonore her, but make sure he keeps her walking. The longer they are off together the better. Once she gets back to the house with him have him keep ignoring her and take her inside(you ignore the dog too). Keep her on leash and as he moves around the house he takes her with her. Both of you should not pet her or giver any attention if she is growling, in fact she gets no attention period. Reapet this process as necessary and let her come around on her own terms. The leash will be your best friend in this case and just make sure sure gets no attention when being agressive(no eye contact throughout this entire process is important).If she starts being frinedly dont let him try to pet her. He should not pet her until she is completely sure of herself around him. Good Luck
2006-11-06 05:41:50 · answer #5 · answered by Matt O 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well just give your dog some time to get to know him maybe your dog is feeling like he is taking you away from her. So maybe start off with him giving her treats, to show her that he is not going to hurt her. Maybe the two of you can take her for a walk, to show her that your not going to stop spending time with her and that even when he is around there is still time for her. But don't forget that you have to take charge and show her that your the boss and that growling is not nice and your not going to stand for it. you have to tap her nose and then her NO. and enforce that rule to anyone.
2006-11-06 04:57:14 · answer #6 · answered by duell222 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Your dog have good reason to growling at your boyfriend. Your dog hate and dislike your boyfriend. My reason are your boyfriend might hate your dog already or may be bad man. My dog can growling if there is bad people near him, he will barking and growling. Your dog is trying to protect you and love you. NEVER GIVE HER UP. You need to trust your dog.
2006-11-06 04:55:47 · answer #7 · answered by doglover 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Trust your dog, change boyfriends.
Addendum: I see lots of agreement here. Trust your dog, NOT your feelings. I've seen a lot of folks and had a lot of acquaintences over the last few decades. My dogs have, by far, been excellent judges of character. Without exception, those folks whom the dog of the day disliked turned out to be less than trustworthy.
Treats from the bf would assuage the dog's temper, NOT yelling at her. If she never takes a liking to him, keep the dog.
2006-11-06 04:47:59 · answer #8 · answered by credo quia est absurdum 7 · 6⤊ 1⤋
don't give up your dog,it's obviously very protective of you and by growling at your boyfriend there is something about him that she don't like. you may end up finding a new boyfriend
2006-11-06 04:50:05 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Have him bring her favorite treat when he comes over.Maybe he could even be the one to take her for a walk. A lot of dogs are possesive but she'll probably get used to him.
2006-11-06 04:58:25 · answer #10 · answered by INSANE SUGARPUFF 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋