Help With New Puppy..

[Asadian]

Ok so me and my wife just took in a 12 week old Labrador/English Bulldog Mix. I work nights and my wife picked him up from the house we took him from while I was sleeping.

My wife claims the dog bit her a couple of times when she picked him up but after the car ride home this dog is a attached to my wifes hip. The dog is friendly and playful with her but she is an absolute monster around me. The dog acts as if it is terrified of me and no matter what I do the dog does not seem to want to warm up to me.

For instance we have had the dog for 3 days now. During the day the dog will go out of its way to completely avoid me. I will periodically throughout the day approach the dog and give her treats and toys to play with and simply walk away. The times where i have tried to pet the dog after giving it something it would immediately respond with aggression.

Last night I was laying in bed with my wife and the dog. The dog will lick, play, and cuddle with my wife but avoids me like the plague no matter how nice I am. Anyway my wife fell asleep with the dog laying on her in the bed. As I was watching TV I reached over to caress my wife and felt fur Lol. I used this as an opportunity to gently pet the dog in a calm manner to give the signal of "HEY! I DONT WANT TO HURT YOU!!"; before I could give it a good few pets the dog flipped out and attempted to bite my arm and face.

I'll be honest this is a first for me. Most of my friends  consider me something of an animal whisperer as I can generally befriend pretty much any animal I encounter. ESPECIALLY dogs. I've never enountered a dog that showed aggression toward me. But this is different and I don't know what to do:(

Something tells me this dog may have been beaten or worse by a male figure of the previous owner. I find it hard to believe considering the caliber of people we purchased the dog from but I guess looks can be decieving. I know it's only been a few days but something tells me this dog isn't going to warm up to me anytime soon.

I'm considering returning the dog but my wife loves her; and I want to love her to but I don't want to be with a dog who will flip its top when my wife isn't home or attempt to attack me just trying to let her outside or give her food. I work long hours and training the dog when it acts in this aggressive manner toward me will be all but impossible.

Any friendly advice??

[deadgamegrrl]

Glad to hear it's going well! And since you haven't gotten bit with the 'unconventional' methods, it's actually a sign that your dog has pretty good bite inhibition. Good luck in the future and keep us posted!

[Margot49]

Thanks for the update and glad to hear that things are progressing well!  Not necessarily the method I would have tried cause I think they need to learn to walk and not fly to a destination.  LOL!!!!
Hope all continues to go well and she will be a great addition to your family.
Happy 4th to you also!!

[Asadian]

I just wanted to give an update on our current situation. Things with the dog are looking WAY UP! I'm so happy about this. The dog has warmed up to me and not only is she no longer scared but I'm one of her new best friends Lol.

I think the dog just wasn't very socialized. What I did to get the dog to not be scared of me pretty much went against all of the convential advice I ahve read on the net but it worked Lol.

I noticed whne I would go to pet the dog she would just make it "look" like she was going to bite me. When I actually followed through she never really bit me she would just do the quick head turn and fake snap. i pretty much forced myself on the dog for a few days. If she wouldn't follow my command to come outside and go potty I would just pick her up and bring her outside. I did this for pretty much everything. If she wouldn't listen i woiuld just grab her or pick her up and bring her to the desired location.

After a couple days of doing this the dog had a complete transformation. She started to listen to my commands; she started playing with me; and she even brgan showing affection to me.

As it stands now you couldn't really tell whom the dog favored between me and my wife when in the same room. Sure some days it seems she listens or cuddles one more than the other but thats the norm with any dog.

I'm prous to report the situation is no longer code red and me and the pup are best of friends as of now. Thanks for all the advice from all you guys and thanks for listening. happy 4th of JULY!!

[deadgamegrrl]

Also an evaluation by a licensed behaviorist might be a good idea.

[Margot49]

Too young fir Obedience but a puppy socialization class might be a good idea.

[LoveMyBostons]

Maybe it'd be a good idea for you to take her to an obedience class. She'd learn to look to you for guidance and acceptable behavior. Your wife would have to be on board though and help reinforce what you learned in class at home.

[Margot49]

I am happy the pup is doing well with your wife, however, there are 3 of you there and the pup has to be at the bottom of the pack.  I hate to say this, and don't take it wrong, but your wife is reinforcing the behavior.  Please try some of my suggestions.  And, look up NILF (Nothing In Life Is Free) for some training methods.  This behavior has to be nipped in the butt (no pun intended) or you may be raising a liability issue.  Maybe consult a behaviorist?  
Good luck and do keep us posted.

[Asadian]

I have contacted the previous owners and they claim the pup has never had aggressioon issues. I don't have any kind of papers or anything like that we pretty much took the puppy off of someones hands to raise her. My Wife just really wanted a dog.

I have taken the puppy around to meet some of my friends and she seemed ok but would have the occasional "Snap" moment when someone would try to pet her. She is W/O a doubt more aggressive toward male figures. but she snapped a a few of my female mates as well.

I just find it so odd because this dog is so lovable and playful when it's just my wife around. My wife can do no wrong in this dogs eyes. My wife can pick her up, play with her, pet her anyway she wants, etc.

Today the dog was having a blast running back and forth in the living room chasing after the ball my wife was throwing down the hallway; AS SOON as this dog saw me walking down the hallway she stopped all playing and jumped up on my wife. If I sit down by my wife the dog burroughs itself into my wife's lap to avoid me.

I really want to understand why this dog hates me so much. Of course my wife is loving this saying things like "Oh your just mad an Animal finally likes me more than You". But the fact is I'm so happy the dog loves my wife but I will admit it does make me feel slightly rejected in a way. I just hope I can get on the dogs good side.

Thanks for the advice.

[Asadian]

I understand what you are saying and of course I dont expect the dog to be comfortable in a new environment after only a few days. What concerns me is the aggression  issue. I've had pups in the past so I know when an animal is attempting to adjust to a new environment. However none of them were aggressive like this one.

[Margot49]

Karla,
I totally agree, however, this sounds like aggressive behavior which concerns me.  That is why I would like to know how it will react in other environments, with other people (particularly men) and other dogs.  

We rescued a GSP some years ago as she was a fence jumper, not unusual for hunting dogs, and the owners just left her the 3rd time she was picked up.  I had 3 young kids at the time.  Gave it some serious thought and decided to take her.  She was wonderful with the kids and fine if someone was home.  We built a large, "covered" chain link area to put her in when we were gone.  Worked out fine.  She was friendly with every person, kid and dog in the neighborhood except one teenage boy down the street.  Of course. She had never been around him and he was a nice kid but every time she saw him, she would shake like hell and hide behind me.  I could only assume she had a bad experience with someone that looked or sounded like him.  Sure wish they could talk sometimes.

[Misfits4Me]

Three days is an unrealistic amount of time to give ANY new dog a chance to adapt to a new environment......More like 3 weeks would be closer to acceptable....3 months if probably fairer to the guy!  Karla

[Margot49]

Sorry to read you are having these issues and it concerns me you are seeing this in such a young puppy.  Have you contacted the person you got it from?  Do you know if they were socialized and handled regularly?  It's possible the pup had a problem with someone of the make gender and you will probably never know.  This could be environmental or a behavior issue that may be inbred.  I would be curious to know how the pup is Round other dogs, other females and it's reaction to other men.  Hard to access unless there is a more rounded picture of the behavior under different circumstances.
In the mean time, I would not force yourself on her.  You can try to win her over with treats, get on her level to do this and it might work better if she is on the hungry side.  Do not make any motions over her head.  Try petting the side of her or under her chin.  Not a good idea for your wife to coddle her.  Bad behavior warrants being ignored, good behavior warrants a reward.  You try taking over her feedings.  Talk to her, praise, etc.  time, consistency and patience.  
3 days isn't very long and, as I said, I would be curious to see how she does in other environments and around other people.  
You could try doing some research on the Internet on maybe signs ig aggression in puppies.  Has she had a good Vet check and up to date on shots?
This may turn around.  I just hope you are not dealing with an inbred temperament issue.
Gook luck and hope you can work through this!
The breeder give you any kind of a contract or guarantee?

[LoveMyBostons]

I'm sorry you're dealing with this. I'm glad you understand that this may be due to something that happened in the dog's past. It's sad that in 12 weeks of life, she encountered someone that caused her to mistrust men.

All I can suggest is spending quality time with her one-on-one. Teach her tricks, reward her with treats, to earn her trust. It's not going to happen overnight and you have to have patience. It's going to take longer than 3 days. I wish you good luck!