Strange, I am male, I feed the dog, I give him water, I walk him, but he
still follows my wife around the house. WIFE DOESN'T LIKE IT. How do I
attach him to me? He is a good dog. Otherwise, we have to give him back to
the kill shelter where he came from.
-Peter

"Pete" spoke these words of wisdom in news:2g%ik.17388
:

Strange, I am male, I feed the dog, I give him water, I walk him, but he
still follows my wife around the house. WIFE DOESN'T LIKE IT. How do I
attach him to me? He is a good dog. Otherwise, we have to give him back to
the kill shelter where he came from.
-Peter




Get rid of the wife

"diddy" none wrote in message
. ..
"Pete" spoke these words of wisdom in news:2g%ik.17388
:

Strange, I am male, I feed the dog, I give him water, I walk him, but he
still follows my wife around the house. WIFE DOESN'T LIKE IT. How do I
attach him to me? He is a good dog. Otherwise, we have to give him back
to
the kill shelter where he came from.
-Peter




Get rid of the wife

:-)

Pete wrote:

Strange, I am male, I feed the dog, I give him water, I walk him, but he
still follows my wife around the house. WIFE DOESN'T LIKE IT. How do I
attach him to me? He is a good dog. Otherwise, we have to give him back
to the kill shelter where he came from.
-Peter


Bummer about the wife. We have the opposite situation in our household.
I'm a lifelong dog person, he can take them or leave them.

I'm home with the dogs, I feed them, train them, groom them, play with
them, sleep with them (the husband works nights). They're MY dogs. But
when my husband gets home from work they treat him like a cross between
Mick Jagger and the second coming of Christ.

They greet him at the front door, the border collies performing a
welcome hula, the jack russell hopping and dancing on two legs. When he
sits on the couch the three of them vie for the coveted spot on his lap.
They gaze at him adoringly while he eats and would never dream of
being so rude as to actively try to mooch table scraps.

I find it a little annoying, and I make no secret of that, but he finds
the fact that in spite of all I do for them, they still choose to suck
up to him... well, flattering. And it makes him more tolerant of them.

And so I play it up, how they recognize him as the true household alpha,
they know which side their bread is buttered on, that they know who
*really* runs the place, etc., etc. It's important, by the way, to be
able to say such things with a straight face.

Perhaps a few gentle suggestions in this general direction might help to
modulate your wife's attitude toward the dog. There are very few people
who don't like being worshipped, especially when it's been explained in
those terms.

You might also try to find ways for your wife and the dog to interact
that they both find enjoyable. Walks, games, maybe just riding along in
the car with her on nighttime errands as her "body guard".

Another option would be placing some gating to keep him confined to a
single room instead of allowing him to be constantly under foot as she
tries to go about her business.

And it is only with a great deal of trepidation that I even mention
this, but there are times when two dogs are easier than one. A
compatible adult dog (probably of the opposite sex) might help to
refocus some of your dog's attention. This can be attempted on a
try-out basis if you offer to temporarily foster a shelter dog. I would
strongly suggest that this experiment be tried during a vacation or
holiday period when you yourself will be home and available to observe
and to prevent any additional stress on your wife.

On 2008-07-27 14:31:21 -0400, Kathleen said:

And it is only with a great deal of trepidation that I even mention
this, but there are times when two dogs are easier than one. A
compatible adult dog (probably of the opposite sex) might help to
refocus some of your dog's attention.

The more dogs we have, the bigger my entourage gets.

Having a three dog entourage nearly drove me crazy, but it didn't
appear that it was going to stop, so I had to change my attitude. That
worked out fine.

Dogs are always underfoot. Oh well.

However, for the OP, obedience training is a wonderful thing. It would
be great to work with your dog on a down/stay. Also, having places for
your dog to go when your wife is in the kitchen, etc. can be taught so
the dog will not be constantly underfoot.

Both the OP & wife need to go to class to learn to train the dog!

"montana wildhack" wrote in message
news:2008072715095516807-montana@wildhackcominvalid...
On 2008-07-27 14:31:21 -0400, Kathleen said:

And it is only with a great deal of trepidation that I even mention this,
but there are times when two dogs are easier than one. A compatible
adult dog (probably of the opposite sex) might help to refocus some of
your dog's attention.

The more dogs we have, the bigger my entourage gets.

Having a three dog entourage nearly drove me crazy, but it didn't appear
that it was going to stop, so I had to change my attitude. That worked out
fine.

Dogs are always underfoot. Oh well.

However, for the OP, obedience training is a wonderful thing. It would be
great to work with your dog on a down/stay. Also, having places for your
dog to go when your wife is in the kitchen, etc. can be taught so the dog
will not be constantly underfoot.

Both the OP & wife need to go to class to learn to train the dog!


Thanks, but I lean toward a kill-shelter.
Well, not really, just in my bad moments.

"diddy" none wrote in message
. ..
"Pete"
Strange, I am male, I feed the dog, I give him water, I walk him, but he
still follows my wife around the house. WIFE DOESN'T LIKE IT. How do I
attach him to me? He is a good dog. Otherwise, we have to give him back
to
the kill shelter where he came from.
-Peter


Get rid of the wife

Agreed .

Are you around while he's bugging your wife? You could always literally
attach him to you with a leash for a while.

Obedience training is also a good idea. That way she, or you can tell him to
do something when he's being a pest (like 'down'... 'stay').

How does your wife behave when he's hanging around?

Dale

Both the OP & wife need to go to class to learn to train the dog!


Thanks, but I lean toward a kill-shelter.
Well, not really, just in my bad moments.

For the dog or the wife?

Dale

"Dale Atkin" wrote in message
news:UP5jk.2085$%b7.536@edtnps82...


"diddy" none wrote in message
. ..
"Pete"
Strange, I am male, I feed the dog, I give him water, I walk him, but he
still follows my wife around the house. WIFE DOESN'T LIKE IT. How do I
attach him to me? He is a good dog. Otherwise, we have to give him back
to
the kill shelter where he came from.
-Peter


Get rid of the wife

Agreed .

Are you around while he's bugging your wife? You could always literally
attach him to you with a leash for a while.

Obedience training is also a good idea. That way she, or you can tell him
to do something when he's being a pest (like 'down'... 'stay').

How does your wife behave when he's hanging around?

Dale
Wife acts indifferent.

"Pete" wrote in message
...
Strange, I am male, I feed the dog, I give him water, I walk him, but he
still follows my wife around the house. WIFE DOESN'T LIKE IT. How do I
attach him to me? He is a good dog. Otherwise, we have to give him back to
the kill shelter where he came from.
-Peter

I have a similiar situation. My 8 month old Mini. Schnauzer male puppy. I
am female, I feed him...I do everything for him. My roomate, female, is
adored by the dog and she does not like being pestered by the dog. I have
hired BarkBusters to help me train MY dog. They have helped. The dog is
hyper and that has added to the situation...he is crazy about both of us. I
am home all day with him and my roomate works 9-5. I think he thinks I am
part of the pack and not the leader and he does not respect me when I try to
disipline him. I have a voice that is more for cats and my roomate has a
dog voice. He responds better to her than to me. I know as he gets older,
things will improve. Try getting some professional training and please
don't put him in a kill shelter...that is not a shelter at all.
Good luck and please don't give up.
Shirley