rescue dog behavior

Question
We recently adopted a dog who had spent 4 years in a puppy mill. She gets along with our other dogs alright when she is on the floor out outside. But, when she is on the couch with my husband or I she growls and tries to attack the other dogs if they come near. Can you help me with finding a way to make this work.  Thank you.

Answer
This could be baggage from her past or an effort at pack leadership.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm