My rescue dog barks, avoids me, and only likes my wife. What to do?

It is possible that Mumchie was mistreated or possibly just very poorly socialized with men prior to coming to live with you. It sounds like he is very bonded with you. I would encourage your husband to do all of the feeding, as well as walks and any treats he receives should come from him. I think he would also benefit from a consultation with a veterinary behaviorist. I would encourage you to reach out to your veterinarian for a recommendation. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Dog aggression is relatively common and while there are training techniques to reduce dog aggression it can be difficult. If you can identify certain triggers: i.e. if she is only aggressive when she is at home, or when she is on a leash, it can be easier to work on training her to 'ignore' other dogs or desensitization. I would recommend seeing a behaviorist - your veterinarian would likely be able to recommend someone in your area. Until you are able to work on some training I would recommend avoiding contact with other dogs so that there are no injuries.

It sounds like he is very good motivated. I would use this to your advantage and make him “earn to play”. This means he must behave in order to get a treat or reward for everything. For instance, he must sit before you Put food down, he must sit before you go outside and before you give him a treat. Some dogs are food motivated and their lives revolve around food. Unfortunately this is difficult to change as it is a personality trait but you can use this in your favor for training. He is still young and will get better as he ages. You can put a citronella bark collar when he is outside to help with the incessant barking. I hope this helps!

Use a pheromone product such as the Adaptil collar or DAP plug in diffuser. Either may decrease any anxiety. If your daughter is old enough, have her feed Bambi and offer treats and toys to him. She can play or interact with him for very short periods of time initially. This time can be increased as he acclimates. Always use praise and reward as he progresses. Be patient and be consistent. Do not force him to play or interact. If your daughter is an infant, show her to Bambi for ever increasing periods of time. If she is crying or moving, go slow as this could be scary to him, especially if he's never seen a baby.

The best thing you can do is not to force him. Just be nice to him, talk calmly and give him small treats of something he likes a lot. In time he will come around. Forcing him will just make it worse. Most dogs do better if you ignore them at first so they don't feel threatened. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Poor Nash! It sounds like he may be a bit fearful, or having some socialization issues. A good first step would be to have your husband carry Nash's favorite treat with him at all times. Any time Nash approaches or shows interest, your husband can then reward him with praise and a treat, helping Nash start to associate your husband with good things, even in slightly scarier places (such as outside). You can also have people approach him and toss a treat to him (without acknowledging or petting him) to help him start to associate people with positives as well. I also highly recommend working with a trainer in person that can assist you with training techniques such as BAT (Behavioral Adjustment Training) to work on the fear and barking around other pets and people.

Hi, if your dog hates men it may be a dominance issues. Buddy may feel like men are trying to be the leader of his pack and he wants to challenge them. Or he may just be afraid of them and showing fear. I would socialize him with many men by walking her on a leash and having the man calmly drop a treat in front of him. The more different men who do this, the better. Praise him when he is not barking. Then have them come closer and get down on his level and hand him a treat. Go slow with this and don't have them reach to pet his unless he approaches them. If you're walking Buddy and he starts to bark, get his attention back to you by carrying some treats with you. Stop and have him sit then reward him. Ask the man going by if he would toss a treat to him. Sometimes strangers or neighbors, friends and family are willing to help with this. Good luck, i hope this helps!