[Pcvtaylor]

I have a 4 year old male catahoula/lab mix. He is the best dog and amazing with my 3 small children. He has never been aggressive with my children. He was 9 weeks when we adopted him.

Last year he started growing at my husband for no reason. My husband will open the back door and tell him "outside. Go potty." He will look at my husband and won't go. If my husband goes near him he starts growing. It's just bizarre behavior. We have a female pit and a female lab mix. They love my husband and he's never had a problem with them. He loves dogs and has tried everything with our male dog. I just don't understand why he challenges my husband. My husband walks him daily and loves my husband...he only shows agression with him when he gives him a command. Pls help. We ordered a corrective collar..hoping that will work.

 

[Lillith]

DON'T use a corrective collar. That will likely make the issue worse. This is fear, and you don't want to make the dog more afraid.

What has your husband done when the dog disobeys? How does he handle that?

 

[Pcvtaylor]

DON'T use a corrective collar. That will likely make the issue worse. This is fear, and you don't want to make the dog more afraid.

What has your husband done when the dog disobeys? How does he handle that?

My husband corrects him with a firm voice. Doesn't yell or scream at him. I think the dog is just use to women and children. My husband is also out of town for work all the time.

 

[Lillith]

Some dogs are very sensitive, and the voice, posture, and size of men compared to women often intimidates some dogs. Some dogs are fine with correction, and some dogs are not. You have a Catahoula mix. That breed isn't exactly forgiving. A single incident that you and your husband may not have even registered may now stick out to your dog. Dogs remember funny things, sometimes. It could be as simple as one time your husband was in a hurry to let the dog out, but the dog was dawdling for some reason and your husband grabbed his collar and pulled him outside. The dog may have thought that was rather too scary, so now is mistrustful of your husband when he is asked to do something.

I suspect that the dog does not actually understand why your husband is correcting him. I imagine he says something like "No!" in that voice, which can be scary for a dog if they don't understand what they're doing wrong. Does your husband ever physically touch the dog in these moments (or at any other time)? It doesn't have to include "spanking", it can be grabbing the collar, pushing them through doors, making them move off of furniture, etc. We think nothing of it, as we are certainly not trying to harm the dog, just make them do what we want, but it can be very intimidating for a dog.

Instead of correcting the dog for doing something wrong, make sure your husband understands that first you must teach the dog what you want them to do. Don't get mad and correct when the dog doesn't want to go out. Instead, lure them out with a treat. Lure them off furniture with a treat. Reward for being on their pet beds. Bad behavior can be redirected to more appropriate behavior. Dogs don't come pre-programmed with the word "no!"

In a nutshell, when the dog does the "wrong" thing you should either redirect or ignore (or manage). Reward greatly for the correct behavior. Set the up for success! You don't want them to feel that an issued command that they may or may not fully understand is going to get a reprimand. It causes them to no longer want to work with you. Some dogs just shut down, and others may growl to warn you that you're being a jerk.