Rescue Basset Hound Afraid of Husband

Question
Hello!

Our family rescued a 5 year old basset hound from a rescue group about 5 weeks ago. "Georgia" was the breeding bitch in at a puppy mill before she came to live with our family.  Despite her past life, amazingly, Georgia has been an absolute delight with me and my two young girls.  Our only problem is that she is terrified of my husband! She will not come out of the corner when he comes home and watches him like a hawk with those big droopy basset eyes. Frequently, she will not even take a treat from him.  Another challenge to contend with is that she will not eat her food if he is in the house or if she is afraid of his return!

The difficult thing to figure is that she is not terrified of all men -- just some.  At first, we thought that her fear was related to his physical stature (my husband is a big guy) but now we're beginning to think that it's the tone of his voice.  Nevertheless, despite my husband's attempts to give Georgia treats, take her for walks, speak softly to her and give gentle pets, our dog is not improving!  Any suggestions? Thank you in advance!

Katherine


Answer
5 weeks is not a very long time to overcome what may have been a bad experience with certain men. Keep at it. Have everything positive come from your husband. He feeds her, keeps offering treats (ones that she can't resist), has control over any favorite toys, takes her on walks (if necessary, you start out together and pass the leash to him)...if she has trouble don't feel the need to take over. You and your girls have to also pull back in the amount of attention you give to her so she is not going to you for comfort against perceived fear of your husband.

Your husband should not use his voice, unless he can pitch his tone higher when talking with her. He should try to avoid eye contact.

Try these things and give it a little more time, hopefully things will improve in their relationship.

Good luck,

Josh Abrams
Founder, www.dogasaur.com