my dog has a grudge against me

Question
i have had my pekingese for 2 months now. he is a sweet dog when he wants to be and i first i thought he has a problem with anyone getting near him when he eats, because he bite me while i was trying to get by him while he was eating. on that part it was my mistake and i startled him. since i got him at the pound in florida, i brought him to maryland where i am stationed and where i am currently living. anyway, as days started going by if i looked at my dog he would get mad and started growling at me. my husband saw his behavior towards me and suggested that maybe he has a problem with women in the past like maybe he was abused by a women. my family came up from florida to visit me and my dog was so happy to see my father, my mother and my sister. then i realized that women were not the problem. my husband trys to show my doggy that it is not acceptable to growl at me. we try playing together and he completly ignors me. the only way that he is nice to me is when he is hungry  and when he needs to go outside. and right after i give him what he wants he growls at me. for example, when i take him outside to do his business he is happy and will let me touch him so i can put his leash on. as son as we come into the house and i want to take out his leash he growls and trys to bite me. what i did was to leave his leash on and then sit on the floor and call him to me so it will be less intimidating as appose to stading up. it worked for a few days then he just started to be nasty again. he respects my husband and he respects everyone eles. he just has a grudge agaisnt me only. it hurts because i love him so much but it is like evrything i do to him is wrong. i need help quick before he bites me again and draws blood. thanks for hearing me out. hope to hear from you soon.

Answer
Hi Graciela,

It's not that your dog has a grudge about you, it's that he has dominance aggression issues, and thinks he's in charge.

Your first impulse may be to minimize your contact with your aggressive dog. However, this will only encourage the dog to become dominant to more and more people and tightens his control of the household. Therefore, because it's you who's having the most difficulty with the dog you become the main provider for everything the dog needs food, water, exercise, praise, affection, and all play activity.

Hopefully, your dog already knows at least one basic obedience command, such as sit, stay, come, and down, etc.
All other family members must totally ignore the dog no play, food, or affection. The dog must look to you as its sole provider of everything.

The dog must be rewarded for any signs of submissive behavior such as ears back, looking away (avoiding eye contact), rolling over, licking, crouching, or lowering the head when being reached for. Any dominant gestures that the dog will tolerate should be used frequently and the dog must be praised and given occasional food rewards for submitting.

The dog must earn everything. Before he's fed, give him the sit command. Before walks, or anything else the dog is about to receive, it' the same thing. A command must be followed.  

You can read more about how to train your dog out of his dominance, or status related aggression here:

http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/aggression3.html

Training your dog out of the dominant aggressive behavior is definitely possible, but it will take time, since the behavior has been going on for some time.

If you don't feel that you're making progress training your dog, or don't feel safe trying to train the dog yourself,  then it's time to call in a dog trainer or behavior specialist meet with you and the dog to evaluate the situation. Ask your vet, the kennel you use, or call your local animal shelter for a recommendation. Sometimes getting help from a professional who can see the dog, and how he and you interact is the best way of getting to the bottom of a problem.

Best of luck,
Patti