aggressive silky towards adult males

Question
We recently adopted a 2 year old female Silky terrier from the SPCA.  She was previously owned by a 35 male.  We have had her for one week and she appears to be housebroken (paper when left loose & outdoors).  She was spayed before pick-up and is on eardrops for an ear infection.  She is very loving, tolerant to being brushed, picked up and given affection by myself (adult female), my 9 year son and 5 year old daughter.  She is lively, energetic and tolerates grooming, eardrops, and leash well.  She does appear to beg and cry for attention. Tallulah appears to have issues with adult males, especially my husband.  She growls, barks, and snarls pretty furiously when approached by him.  It always occurs when I am holding the dog or have it in bed with me.  It also happens when my husband tries to address her.  When I remove her from his presence and then reintroduce her to him, she is fine.  At night, I have to pick her up let him get into bed and then enter.  She will then approach him and try to receive affection from him.  Obviously, we let her sleep with us as I did with my previous dog.  I do not wish to crate her in the evening.  She is alone during the day for approximately 6 hours. Please help!  I have come to love her very much in just one week and he is threatening to have her returned to the SPCA and at this point if she goes I may just have to join her!

Answer
Hi Jennifer, It sounds like your terrier has a fear issue with dominant pack leaders. Usually dogs can sense that the man of the house is more dominant. If she is a dominant female, she could easily develop fear aggression, if she has not already. It is important that she learn that everyone in the home are her pack leaders. Do not coddle her or give her any affection when she is upset. Pick her up and hand her to your husband. Let him carry her around, walk her at the heel, be involved with her training exercises... He can start by putting her on a lead and walking her. When you lift a dog, you take away it's dominance, which is why she is rebelling. She must learn that there is nothing to fear from any humans and that your entire family are fair, calm pack leaders. You may want to enlist the assistance of a good canine behaviorist in your area. Many obedience trainers are not used to dealing with fear aggression and behavior problem solving. A good behaviorist is worth every dime you might need to spend so that your dog lives a long, happy and healthy life with her new pack. Terriers are wonderful dogs, my own terrier is an award winning service and therapy dog. But terriers are unique, they have a high prey drive, they are relentless and will not give up easily, they can be as ferocious as any large dog when they feel threatened, yet they are brilliant and easily trained. Congratulations on choosing a wonderful breed. Thank you for writing to me and being willing to get help soon. Please leave me some feedback, and follow-up to let me know how things are going and if you need further help. Again, thank you for writing. Regards, Susan