# Barks at my husband



## mimismom (Feb 15, 2009)

Any advice would be welcomed... 

Almost every day Mimi will bark at my husband. She and I will be sitting on the sofa watching tv and he will walk into the living and she will bark at him. 
DH will come into the kitchen from our bedroom and she will bark at him. I make a noise to get her to stop or say stop :nono: and she will after a couple more barks but then she will gruff (sort of a low growl underneath her breath).

Of course this hurts his feelings, gets mad, and he blames me for spoiling her...I spend most of the day with her since I am at home... he gets home from work in the evenings and tries to play with her and give her treats. She will occasionally go to him on her own and understands his command to come. 

But eventually after not seeing him for the few minutes he is away from us, she will bark. 

The only other times she barks is when the doorbell goes off, strangers approach the house, and alarming noises, etc..just regular watchdog. 

Do you have any experience with this? Or is there anything else we should do besides trying to ignoring her? 

:frusty:


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## maryam187 (Jul 18, 2007)

If I remember correctly, Mimi is a rescue? So she's prone to having insecurities depending on her past. One question that popped up while reading your post was: where is Mimi sitting when your DH enters the room and she barks? If she's on your lap, you have to put her down instantly as she may be 'protecting' you. I know others with more rescue experience will chime in, but I think having your DH being as much as possible involved in her training/life will help her create a better bond with him. It's going to take time and patience and try not to get frustrated (you and DH) as this will lead to more frustration that Mimi can sense.


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## Eva (Jun 20, 2008)

Try having him give her a small treat every time that he walks into the room. She'll soon decide that he's her best friend


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Kubrick used to do this to my husband, but he never took it personally and your husband shouldn't either - taking it personally and blaming you for 
spoiling her is something that Mimi is sensing and might cause even more animosity towards him. It's very possible that Mimi is unused to men (Kubrick was like that as he wasn't socialized around men early in his life and my husband is a big man at 6'4" with a deep voice) or that she doesn't trust him. Does he feed her ever? Take her on walks? Train her? He needs to get involved in her day-to-day activities. Playing with her every once in a while isn't enough.

I'm not sure what your day is like, but if you can give her dinner later so that your husband can feed her (also if he can feed her breakfast too), that is a good way to start. Also, when he wants to get her to approach him, have him go down on the floor (my husband used to lay flat on the floor on his belly and just let Kubrick sniff his face) and have him give her whatever extra special treat she just LOVES - do NOT give this treat at any other time, only your husband can give her this treat. Any time she even approaches him, have him give her a tiny little piece of that treat. After a while, you'll see she'll start approaching him more often and he can instead start praising rather than treating. Also, make sure that he isn't trying to pet her from the top of her head as that is intimidating to them... approach from below the chin, palm up.

Kubrick is 100% okay with my husband now (he adores him and loves to play with DH) but because his breeder did not socialize him with men at all (he was from an oops litter and she was working 14 hour days so he wasn't socialized almost at all) it created a slight uneasiness around them. Although he is much much much improved, to this day he still prefers women to men.


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

Evye does it to my father-in-law too who happens to live with us. I don't know why she barks everytime he comes in the front door or enters the room, tail wagging the whole time. He seems offended by it thinking Evye hates him. When she is through barking at him, she rolls over on her back, legs up in the air for her belly rub. I never thought of having him offer her treats, so good suggestion. BTW, Mimi is adorable.


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## mimismom (Feb 15, 2009)

Thank you for your recommendations. Mimi was rescued from a backyard breeder. She can either be near me, in my lap, or next to me when she barks at him. He does cuddle with her on a regular basis and praises her. We try to split up potty duties while he is home.
I have tried several ways to stop her, but its continued now for a few weeks... I suppose once she got comfortable. 

Now that I think of it, she does this mainly with men.

I will encourage DH to take for a daily walk, give her breakfast before he leaves to work(and dinner), and treat her more often to see how that helps. 


Thanks!


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## mimismom (Feb 15, 2009)

Sharlene, 

It sounds like Evey just wants the belly rub from your father in law!
Corey also thinks Mimi hates him...


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

I will be sure to tell my FIL that Evye isn't the only one who barks at a family member. He takes it so personally and I was clueless what to do about it. Hopefully some of these suggestions will help.


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## mintchip (Apr 19, 2007)

Just a thought---they seem to sense how we are feeling Could you get "nervous that Mimi will bark" She could sense that there is _some_ problem-she must protect you from???


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## Cosmosmom (Jan 12, 2007)

I think you need to socialize her more around men .. It is going to take time and there have been many other good suggestions have been made by people on this forum .. 
Cosmo was and still is a barker but he is much better than he used to be . I tried to socialize him on walks take places where there were a lot of men wearing caps and hats as this can intimidate as well .. 
I would give the men a treat and see if he would go to them .. The thing that helped the most was our kitchen remodel we had workmen constnatly and I would take him in two or three times a day and jsut casually talk to them .. I never forced him on anyone .. He eventually figured these guys are really cool and he loved to go for a visit and to say Hello .. 
It does take time and patience . Also you must be relaxed so your dog does not pick up your vibes if you are anxious .. Going to doggie classes with you husband may help also - try and get him more involved like others have mentioned .. 
Cosmo was cool to my husband in the beginning and now they are best buddies ..


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## Posh's Mom (Dec 20, 2007)

posh barks at my husband and my son sage. i know she loves them both. they know she loves them, and they love her. we've all decided this is how she says "hi" to daddy and her boy sage.  so start saying to mimi and your dh "are you saying hello to daddy?" and "that's enough" to get her to stop saying "hello." my dh says "hi, hi," when she barks and she's done.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Dexter has this bark problem also with dh. Dh is involved with Dexter care when I am NOT around (I work 3 nights in row, so dh has Dexter for 13 1/2 hrs when I am working) and I would say dh is involved with Dexter care 10-20% when I am around.

Dexter will bark when my dh walks through the front door, and also coming from out of a room down the hall (and dh was only gone less than 15 minutes). 

What was really weird....We had a visitor come to the door, both of us were home...the visitor was a male and NO Bark! What's with that?

Dexter stays with me through out the day; we are either playing or Dexter is at my feet sleeping....even when my dh is home. 

Linda


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

Posh's Mom said:


> posh barks at my husband and my son sage.


Posh's Mom....I have a grandson named Sage. How neat is that?

I cannot find any rhyme or reason to Evye's barking. Sometimes she does, sometimes she does not. We are trying the "hello, hi" because that is the only thing that seems to quiet her.


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## marb42 (Oct 19, 2008)

Everyone has given excellent suggestions so far. I had this same problem with Marble, except he would growl at my DH (which really ticked my DH off) and he would growl at noises in the house constantly throughout the day. We had a trainer come to the house, and she had us practice for 15minutes a day making a variety of noises (banging on the walls, knocking on doors, ringing doorbells, loud and quick walking, etc). As he growled, we would repeat "no growl" and say "good boy" when he was quiet. Other times we were to distract him by doing tricks for treats while the noises occurred. He still growls at noises but not as often. The training definitely decreased it and seemed to make him less fearful. Now I have to work on the long barking episodes when the doorbell rings
Gina


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## Cosmosmom (Jan 12, 2007)

I agree as you can see on the program It is me or the dog a lot of it is desensitization .. 
Getting the dogs to think this is not threatening situation or behaviour - it is normal everyday behaviour .. Ian Dunbar is the same . 
He suggest having socialization parties for your puppy .. especially when you are in the waiting mode as they have not had all their shots but they stil need to be exposure to other people and noisesand items of clothing such as hats and canes etc .. 
Distraction works well I find .. It takes time energy and attention .. Everyone in the family needs to be on the same page and that is why now most classes encourage all family members to come and learn not just the Mom.. Everyone needs to understand and be on the same page .. I found it made a big difference once I insisted my husband come to the class as well not just look at the homework sheet ..
He would never take the time to understand the necessity for this particular learning behaviour ..


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## Posh's Mom (Dec 20, 2007)

Sharlene that's really cool. Not many kids with that name! There is one little girl who is four in our town named Sage, which my son doesn't think is too cool...


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## swtxsweetie (May 16, 2008)

There was an episode of "It's me or my dog" about this! People already mentioned most of the techniques here. Take a look at her website if you want to know more details


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## mimismom (Feb 15, 2009)

The tips have been helping!... Her barking at DH is very minimal is usually at night when the house is dark and he walks in. DH has been more helpful with training and more actively involved in all her activities. We still have work to do though...


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## marb42 (Oct 19, 2008)

Elizabeth, glad to hear things are improving. I'm certain, with time, things will get even better.
Gina


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

I hope to borrow one of my grandkids this weekend and work on desensitizing when the door bell rings....and Sunday with my father-in-law who is Evye's prime barking target. 

Amy, It's a great name, call me biased but it sounds more appropriate for a boy.


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## Cosmosmom (Jan 12, 2007)

Thats perfect having family help you socialize and desensitize your pet ..
Just remember to be there to supervise and make it fun and do not overdo the exercise .. Take breaks if necessary . Do not forget to treat .. In the beginning it is good to have the children give him a treat or two .. These is not a forever thing but helpful in the beginning . Be careful though you do not want to overload him on treats or too much new stimulation as having company and children over can be very exciting and new ..
Look for cues that tell I am done for today Mom .. 
As to the barking in the dark I think this is a good thing .. He is being protective and guarding . Eventually he should recognize his smell and not be quite so protective of you ..


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## Sam375 (Feb 2, 2009)

The dog whisperer had an episode very similar to this...

What about keeping the leash on her and when she does it give the no and then snap the leash up wards , of course not too hard, but I know that is a method the dog whisperer uses.


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## Cosmosmom (Jan 12, 2007)

I know I keep using the same reference but I just like this woman better than the Dog Whisperer and the pack mentality format .. 
In Its me or my dog she uses various methods of teaching and sensitizing the animals . In addition to her show she also has a book which you can buy on Amazon .com .
I have seen her work wonders with dogs on the show and she is very good ar assessing dogs .. One of the words she uses is being vigilant which I think is important .. No slacking and you will begin to see progress and results ..


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