New User? Sign Up  |  Sign In  |  Help
Dog Training Questions
Find Dog Training Professionals near you!
ask.
answer.
discover.
     
Search for questions :
My Profile

Gerry

Open Question Bookmark and Share

What can we do so that my dog is not afraid of my husband and all men in general. ?

We got a male King Charles Cavalier from the Humane Society of Missouri about a year ago. He's 6 years old now and was a rescue from a puppy mill. He responds to me but not to my husband. If I am not at home and my husband is, he will run away from him and hide under the bed. He will take treats from him but then run away. He shys away and cowers from all males. He will let females pet him but is nervous around almost everyone else but me. He recently had a complete check up at the vet and was given a clean bill of health.

Posted 135 days ago

    Report Abuse
   Find Intereseting  
   E-Mail to Friends  
   Bookmark  
   Subscribe to Answer Alert  
Answers (1)

adunphy 		Having a fear of men is actually pretty common. Women tend to be smaller, have higher voices and are just less scary to dogs. Its not hard to fix this but it does take a lot of time.

First, I would guess the dog is pretty bonded to you and you are probably the primary care taker. Try switching that role to your husband. You can still have snuggle time with the puppy but your husband should take care of all the basic needs, feeding, letting him out, letting him out of his crate ( probably not putting him in ) - anything the dog likes, your husband should do or participate heavily in. Your husband shouldn't try to be over bearing, in fact he should be a bit aloof with the dog and let the dog warm up to him.

Once he gets over that fear of your husband you can start to work on them taking an obedience class or working through a book called help for my shy dog. There is also the cautious canine - these will give specific exercises you guys can work on. things like a hand touch, watch me, look at that are all great games you can play around strange men.

The goal isn't to get your dog to where he loves every guy, but being relaxed around friends and family is important. Good luck with your shy dog! and thanks for rescuing.

135 days ago

( 0 )
( 0 )
   Report Abuse
Edit your answer. Click save, when done.
Question Title What can we do so that my dog is not afraid of my husband and all men in general. ?
Your Answer
Character Count ( Max. - 5000 ) : 529
Email this question link to friends
You must enter email-address, if name is entered and vice-versa for each friend.
Friend #1 -
Friend #2 -
Friend #3 -
Friend #4 -
Friend #5 -

 

 

Get more dog training help at the Dog Trainer Search.