Shih-poo issue

Question
Hi.  My shih-poo has a problem.  Harley, a male, is 4 years old.  We got him from the pound when he was about a year old.  The issue is that whenever my wife leaves the house without me Harley tries to stop her.  He get in front of her and barks trying to stop her from leaving.  He even nipped her leg once.  It only happens when she leaves by herself.  If we leave together there are no problems and I can leave the house alone with no problem.  Any ideas?  Thanks

Answer
Hi Brian;
Does Harley ever ride in the car?
Drive it, if he does, and smell for a gasoline smell, and listen for a malfunction.
Don't laugh.
The only reason can think of that he would act that way is,
1. He can't stand for her to leave him.  But then he would act that way when the two of you go.
When she leaves, he is mistreated. That doesn't sound likely, siince it is YOU that are trying to get help with the problem.
He is afraid to stay by himself. Something has happened to him when the two of you were gone. Again, he would act that way when the two of you leave together.
He is a spoiled brat. But then, he would most likely act that way every time both of you left.
This makes me think he perceives she is in some kind of danger.
Has she taken a trip and left the two of you there for several days, or more?
That could be it. If he thinks she is not going to come back, or at least for a long time.
To say he perceives some danger in the car. Animals have remarkable perception, and if he hears something in the sound of the motor, or has smelled gas in the car, he might think you could handle it, but alone she couldn't.
Next, look at your neighborhood.
Is it one he could think unsafe for her to be out alone.
He seems to be so frantically trying to prevent her from going. That makes my alarms go off.
I have experienced my own dogs sensing a danger, and saving the family by our paying attention to the actin and checking everything out.
Has he been this way ever since you got him?
If so, maybe when the lady left in his other family, the man beat him or something that was cruel, and he still has psychological fear of being alone with a man.Maybe the abuse didn't happen when the woman was there.
We have an Australian Sheopherd mix, that my son got from a girl he knows. Her husband was abusive to her, and beat and kicked the dog.
He was just about a year old when we got him. We have had him a little over a year, and he adores my husband, who is very gentle with animals, but if my husband makes a sudden move, that startles the dog, he jumps, runs and cowers, STILL!!!
It could be psychological damage that would be eased by massages when he gets this way, to calm him down.
I have helped abused dogs adjust to people with these massages.
I have also cured fear of thunder, excessive barking, aggression, and gotten a lot of relief of pain from surgery, Arthritis etc.
It is easy to learn the massages, and you can order a video to learn them.
I also have videos for massaging horses, and cats, the other animals my family has.
I really can't praise these massages enough.
Go to this site, and read what can be done with the massages, and you can order a video from there.

  www.lindatellington-jones.com

Animals can suffer from all the same phobias and fears humans can, and are helped by calming massages, even more than humans are.
My daughter is a massage therapist, and she does wonderful things for my pain and immobility, and she gives my dogs massages sometimes too.
My English Setter would crip around when Terri was here, to fake pain, so Terri would give her a long massage.
It is remarkable whan you can achieve with a 5 to 15 minute massage.
The cattle and horse ranchers around here, that have high dollar stock, pay big bucks for an animal massage therapist to come once a month and massage their animals, and before shows, races etc.
These are just the only reasons I can think of for such bahavior.
None of it sounds like a simple case of spoiled dog. It sounds as if he is genuinely afraid of something.
Charlotte