Dog barks at boyfriend & brother ONLY!

Question
QUESTION: Please help me to understand why my dog only barks at my boyfriend and my brother, the only two close men in my life. I adopted my dog (Yahoo) on 5/24/07 at the age of 5 months. Yahoo's mother is a German Shepherd Mix and I do not know what his father was. It's just myself and my son in our home and the 3 of us are getting along really well. Yahoo is spoiled now and in returns gives myself and my son lots of love and attention. When I first introduced Yahoo to my boyfriend (which by the way wasn't long after I adopted him), he instantly looked at my boyfriend and barked barked barked. His hair on his neck & back was raised and his tail was down and "would not" go anywhere near my boyfriend. My boyfriend since then has done all he can do to bond with my dog (i.e. doggy treats, holding his hand out first to allow my dog to come to him, has tried to pet him, the list goes on and on. Nothing has worked thus far. My dog barks at him so much that I can no longer bring my dog over to his apartment for fear that his neighbors will say something. The very last time we were together, this time his tail was in an "up" position, but still the same stand and bark.

With my brother, it's the same thing. My brother has come to my house and my dog stands in front of me or to the side of me and barks directly at him. My brother too as tried to bend down and bond with Yahoo and still the same response. On another occasion, my son and I took Yahoo to my mothers house and this time my brother was there. Again, my dog only barked at my brother.

Neither one of these guys have done anything to me. And no harm is being done in front of my dog to me, so I'm not understanding his behavior.

Please help me to know what's going on inside my dogs head. He's still a puppy :(


ANSWER: Since you adopted him at five months, you have no idea what sort of life he had before that. Puppies go through a fear period at around eight weeks of age, and it doesn't take much to traumatize them at that time. It is quite possible that Yahoo was frightened by a man during that time, and men in general now terrify him. His barking with tail down was a sign of fear, but his barking with tail up is now a sign that he is feeling more confident and would be more apt to stand his ground with these guys.

You should get him into obedience training classes and work with him every day, and practice "Nothing in Life is Free" with him. http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm  He needs to learn to listen to you when you tell him to QUIT.

I would guess that you are getting upset by this behavior, and the guys are probably getting pissed. The dog is now most likely interpreting this as a real threat (guys angry; you upset). When he stands in front of you and does this behavior, he is taking on the role of Alpha (your role) and protecting his pack.

You need to correct him for this behavior, and the guys should ignore him, but NOT look him in the eye. They could try sitting on the floor and feeding him, but again, they should not look him in the eye, but instead look over his shoulder or down at the floor; the dog should be hungry for that technique.

Karen

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Karen :)

I would like to clear up your guess about me getting upset by Yahoo's behavior. I am in no way irritated or upset with him and maybe because more than anything I just wanted to understand him and figure out what could be wrong. I have no frustrations (thus far anyway). As far as my boyfriend and my brother, they've just given up on trying to bond with him and neither of them pay Yahoo any attention when he does bark at them at this point. I will definitely access the webs-link you provided and you made a very good point when referencing me not knowing what could have happened to him weeks on in his life.

My only question is, what do you mean by: "When he stands in front of you and does this behavior, he is taking on the role of Alpha (your role) and protecting his pack"?


Answer
Every pack (and yours is comprised of you, your son, and the dog) must have a leader, the Alpha of the pack. If the primary person in this pack is not "strong" enough to lead (in the dog's mind), he will most likely assume that role when he feels the need. For some reason, he feels the need to be protective in the presence of your boyfriend and brother.

Initially, when he was fearful and had his tail down, he was protecting himself and warning them to stay away from him. With his tail up (showing more confidence and aggressiveness) and standing in front of you, he is declaring that HE is pack leader and will protect his pack from those whom he still feels are threats, but now to his pack. (Be sure you never pet him or encourage him when he is doing this, or he might take it one step further.)

This is why I want you to start working with him and teach him that YOU are the Alpha in the pack, not him. Everything you do with him must tell him that YOU are the boss, and he is the subordinate. The Alpha always gets the best, first... and that must never be him, as he must be the lowest in the pack... and that includes lower than your son, which will take some work on your part if your son is still a little sprout.

Karen