great dane peed on MY bed.

Question
Hello.  We have a 1 yr. old great dane un-neutered male dog.  He loves my husband a great deal and respects him and listens to him.  But he doesn't seem to like me very much and he will never listen to me unless my husband is around to correct him.  Recently today I scolded him for running away from me outside and then later on this evening we noticed a huge pee puddle on my side of the bed.  He has peed on furniture that I primarily sit on before.  He doesn't show his teeth or growl at me but is this a dominance thing?  I am 6 months pregnant and I am afraid of him possibly turning on me or the baby when she comes out.  Is this justifiable? What should I do?
Thanks,
Kristen.

Answer
First of all, if you scold him for running away, he'll likely NEVER come to you reliably.  Instead, try making it worth his while to get to you.  Don't be afraid to use food (correctly).  There's a great DVD by Leslie Nelson that will have your dog coming to you in no time if you follow her protocol.  You could do it secretly and impress your hubby with your, and your dog's new found skills!
Urinating on your stuff is not a "dominance thing" and you need not worry that a non-aggressive dog will suddenly turn on you, but you do need to establish some control over the dog so that his size alone is not an issue when your baby arrives.  Great book for parents: "How to Live With Dogs and Kids Without Losing Your Mind" by Coleen Pelar.  Far too many dogs lose their homes due to the irrational fears of parents to be.  The fact is that most dogs acclimate very well to new members of the pack so long as they know their boundaries and the parents are smart enough NRVER to leave a child under age 10 and a dog alone together without adult supervision.  Here's a good page on introducing dogs to babies properly: http://www.dogmanners.com/Yournew.htm
As to the urination issue, the simple answer is that if you were not going to show this dog, he should have been neutered at about 7-8 months of age and you might not have had to worry about this at all.  Make the appointment today would be my advice, but understand that some dogs don't stop right away, or at all (very few).  If you do not have control over the dog, attend a good positive training class with him (without your husband perhaps).  Often, dogs are more fearful of men because they tend to have deeper voices, so they don't take liberties, but in my opinion, it's far better for everyone in the family to be able to control the dog without any punishment or raising the voice - that way, even your children will, at some point, be able to ask the dog to "sit" or "stay", too;-)) Here are some places to find good positive trainers:
www.trulydogfriendly.com
www.clickerteachers.net
Good luck.