Please give advice on how to deal with husband's dog?

My husband and I got married a year ago. He has a 40 lb. dachsund/something mix that I don't like. It pains my husband greatly that I do not like his dog. He is always trying to get me to pet it and interact with it.


I don't like the dog because it bites people (6 in the past year including me and my husband) and constantly (daily basis) tries to attack other dogs. Also, it doesn't do anything but beg for food. It doesn't really like to be petted, or play, or romp with other dogs, or anything. It just eats and attacks. I am very worried about it hurting our future baby since I'm trying to get pregnant.


I am planning on insisting a trainer come in once I am pregnant. I feel like then my husband will be more open to changing the way he relates to the dog.


I guess my question is, do you think I should try to act like I don't hate this dog? For my husband's sake, and so that my husband doesn't resent me? On the one hand I think I should, as an act of kindness toward my husband. But the thought sort of enrages me. Why should I have to feel guilty for hating this dog, when anyone in their right mind would hate the dog? What is crazy is LIKING a dog hat hurts people and other people's pets.


Help me!!





By the way, I HAVE read up on dogs and have trained the dog to ';kennel up'; when someone comes to the door so they aren't bitten, and the dog always obeys me when my husband is not home.Please give advice on how to deal with husband's dog?
Its an absolute waste of energy to ';hate'; a dog.





Put your energy into training the dog to behave properly. You dont have to love a dog to train it. Just because your husband allows the dog to get away with murder, that doesnt mean you have to.





Research training methods and train the dog NOW, or take him to training classes, and modify his unacceptable behavior. Dont wait until you are pregnant. Your husband may not change his mind when that happens.





(You do realize that you are going to have these same issues with the kids? You might consider that before you have a baby with this man.)Please give advice on how to deal with husband's dog?
I think you need to take the initiative here and get that dog some obedience lessons. You will have to be trained too on how to deal with this dog on a daily basis. Since your husband knows his dog's behavior bothers you ( it would me, the dog sounds obnoxious ), he should also make an effort to work with his dog.


No dog is too old to train.
Why wait until you are pregnant? Get that dog a trainer now, if this dog had been trained to start with, you probably would have liked it. No one wants to be bitten every time they turn around. If after a reasonable amount of time things do not change re home the dog.
I bet your Husband knows that you hate his friend.





Have him look into Nothing In Life is Free with you. Live it, love it.





There are things you can do to prepare for baby. YOU and he must be on board, but it CAN be done.





-Get sounds of babies and start playing them, laughing, crying, screaming. All those different noises that doggie isn't used to.





-Have a room that dog is NEVER allowed in. Start going into the room without him. Leave him out there so he can get used to you being with baby.





-Baby gates. Can't stress those enough. Not only will it keep dog out of areas, it will keep baby out too.





I'm sure there are more. GL





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Do not ever bring a child into a household with a biting dog! It is dangerous, possibly even deadly! You will never be able to trust a dog with a aggressive nature around a baby, babies just excite animals too much. Read up on dog and children injuries and fatalities, it will scare you smart. There will be one time when the dog will have access to your child no matter how diligent you are. I know that many people will scream about this, but I and every person who cares about children and has seen a bite case involving children and `the family pet' agree.
I think you should definitely hire a trainer. He or she will be able to assist you in seeing the world through a dog's point of view, and hopefully help you understand why he behaves the way he does. After a few sessions you should be able to see changes in your dog and you relationship will improve. Who knows? Maybe you'll end up liking him :)





Also, it's not his dog, it is both of yours dog. Understanding that you two are part of the same family will also help the two of you get along better. You won't be able to make progress if you don't grasp that concept. However, you don't need to pretend you like him just for your husband, what about you? I don't think he will resent you for it, because by hiring a trainer, you are showing him that you want your relationship with the dog to be better, and you are willing to take the first step.





Good luck :)
First off- You can't accept unwanted behavior in children or dogs. If you see the dog going for something or someone make a loud sound(not too loud) clap your hands and say hey or shht for example, to distract the animal. I try to get between my dog and the person at the door and tell him to go. If I don't I have a 135 pound dog barking and he is hard to move after he gets to the door. If he doesnt move away when I tell him then I walk towards him till he back up a respectable distance and I tell him to lay down. If he doesn't lay down I grab his collar and push/pull him till he lays down. I gently unlock his elbows when he braces down. You might need a muzzle and your dog is small and its probably an ankle biter so get a tennis racket to keep between your legs and his teeth. Use it like a shepherd would use his staff to herd sheep and block their path. Never beat the animal of course. You just have to be faster then the dog and prevention is key. Be firm. If you dont want it to happen, don't let it but if it happens don't let the dog get away with it.





Does the dog jump onto your husband's lap all the time? The dog should only come in to your space when you invite it to be touched. A dog that sticks his nose under your hand to make you pet it is asserting dominance and telling you to pet him. Make your husband stand up to remove the dog from his lap, you sit beside him and tell the dog to go lay down. Practicing a long down and stay with your dog is a good exersize. If you are determined then you can turn the dog around. If the man won't be the pack leader then you will have to be. Put the dog on a time out. Give him a bed to lay on in the living room or somewhere you can keep an eye on him to tell him again to stay if you need to. Don't let him on the couch or bed. Do not let him beg for food and feed him after you eat. Make him wait for it too. I put the food down and my dog has to give me space or I make him lay down in the other room and stay there till he stops staring at me. I tell him its ok but he still needs to be calm. I had an issue with a raw bone and him growling so I'm working more with the food. He eats the raw diet but rarely gets a bone to knaw on. I gave him one a while ago and when I walked toward him he picked the bone up real fast and growled. Now I kinda pretend to eat first (gross but the alpha always eats first) and I hold the bone while he chews on it. Its mine and I'm letting him have some. If I want it back I can have it back. It he takes it away then its his. you want to wrestle a 135 pound dog for a piece of meat? He can't just expect that the left over piece of meat on my plate will be put in his bowl. My ex fed him off the plate so if the dog is laying beside you and you move forward to stand up when you are done and he would move in to lick the plate. Bad habit! Anyways, its your house, your space, your food, your husband, claim it! Don't let the dog get in the way.





btw I am a mom of a three year old and an owner of a great pyrenees mix who is very protective and I've had to learn how to manage quite a few behaviors. My ex got him when he was 8 weeks old and I was pregnant. I prepared the dog for a child by doing things to him that a kid would. Expose them to as much as possible before hand. Scream, cry, grab his tail, foot, ear...nothing meant to hurt him though. Get a muzzle and get started. Talking a long walk to tire him out would be good before you try working against wills. My dog is almost as stubborn as me but I won't ever let an animal get the best of me again. Envision the outcome you want and dont let negative thoughts stick around long.





Good luck!
It may one of several things first off does he get plenty of exercise? Another thing is your husband. If he raised it from a puppy not only is he responsible for the dog's behavior but he most likely can't see it as he raised. You kinda see the same thing with people and their kids. They can't see the negative only the positive. Depending on his age a trainer may be your best bet, but if the dog is fully matured it will extremely difficult to change it's nature. If training is not an option the best bet would to put the dog up for adoption or in an extreme case where it attacks someone and severely injures them (although I personally would hate to do this to any animal or pet) you may have to have the dog put down for the safety of others.





I truly hopes this helps and hope you make a wise decision.
that dog needs to be in a behavior class not just a training class, because of its age, its going to take some good training for this dog to realize who the Alpha dog is in the house hold. and you know if that was a pit bull and bite people and other animals like that it would have been put down, put your foot down and tell your husband the only way to keep a red flagged dog around is to seek a behavior Specialist in-training and both of you have to work with it are u will get highly sue for it biting and attacking ,and than the law will make u put it down i have to say that i had a beautiful pit bull that i found and i had her to training and behavior classes and she still attacked a puppy and i had to give her over to the humane Society by law. just be award and watch for those red flags.and if this dog still act like it does after training than u will have to think a bout putting it down, instead of taking the chance of it biting sorry i love animals to but i love people a lot more,
Sounds like your husband has no backbone. This is why the dog begs. When you are eating, the dog is to be in another room. Put up a baby gate.





Your husband also never bothered with training this dog.





Not sure why you didn't see the red flags, but guess who will be doing ALL the work with the kids? It sure won't be him.





I would rehome this dog to someone who will bother training it.





Don't hate the dog. It's not the dog's fault he's like this. It's your husband's fault. A real man would never allow for a dog to bite his wife/girlfriend. I wouldn't have married a man who didn't bother with proper training.





The dog won't romp and play because it's too fat. Either you or your husband(make him do it as it's his fault and his dog) need to start running this dog daily, several times a day.
call a trainer now to start working with him Im sure your husband won't mind that since it sounds like its needed. And again when you are about 5 months along as a refresher. Then when you are about a month away hire a train that knows how to introduce a dog to a baby.


I'm guessing that he has had the dog longer than he has had you so ofcouse he is going to attached so please try everything you can to like the dog. I know its hard to to understand why he would like a dog that does that but its difficult if you have been with the dog for several years. The dog just needs some help.
I would get a trained dog behaviorist hired now. Right now the dog is dangerous and out of control and it isn't going to improve by itself. If it takes 6 months to get pregnant, you could have a lawsuit on your hands because the dog bit someone or injured someone's dog. An aggressive dog requires more than a simple obedience class.





NADO trainers are certified and considered the best of the best. Contact the one nearest you.


http://www.nadoi.org/





You might also want to consider a trainer who uses the Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) training method.





Either way your husband needs to sign on and help train the dog. You might want to enlist friends and/or family members to talk some sense into him.
(ask your husband first) but when the dog bites or tries to bite give it a medium smack on the behind then say 'No' in a very stern voice. it worked with my dog