At a loss...

M

MTBlueShadow

Forums Regular
I have no idea why but Blue seems to be very afraid of my husband. When he comes home from work Blue will run to the door barking like he always does when someone comes to the door and as soon as he sees that it's my hubby he turns, runs right into our room & under the desk. I just don't understand why, he's fine when other people visit although most visitors are female. The only other male that comes to the house is my friend's fiancee, who is pretty quiet most of the time.
Maybe it's just that Shawn can be boisterous at times, not angry loud, just annoying loud. Part of me wonders if he was abused by a man. I don't know what the deal is. I know Shawn has never hurt him in any way. I guess it could be that Shawn just isn't home a whole lot with his new job, but when he is home he tries to make friends with Blue petting him & showing him that he's not a bad guy but Blue just doesn't want anything to do with him. :(
Any ideas?? What else should we do to try to get him to warm up to Shawn??
I know shelties can be timid, but he hides out under my desk pretty much the whole time Shawn is home from work. I have to coax him out to go outside & to eat.
Sorry if this is long winded and doesn't make sense.
 
It could be a fear stage.

The other problem may be your husbands voice. Dogs respond better to a high pitched voice and a low voice could be percieved as a 'growly' voice (esp if he was used to getting commands from female voices). It doesnt necessary mean he was abused by a man, just not used to them or used to only being growled at by them. Your hubby might have to go falsetto for a while and use a high pitched voice to greet Blue.

You may also want to get him to do the feeding for a while, or if that is not possible, have Shawn give him really yummy treats like chicken or a kong so he learns that Shawn=something really nice. Try to make it that Shawn is the only person who gives the yummiest treats or the kong.
 
I agree with Caro...
Also when Shawn feeds or gives treats..have him not look at Blue...kinda turn sideways from Blue.
Then let Blue come to Shawn on his own...Shawn may have to toss treats to Blue at first...then work up to taking them from his hand...

woofs

Julie
Clancy & Abby
 
Caro's right

Have Shawn try sitting on the floor and have some irristable treats. In a voice as calm and soft as he can call Blue and extend the treat. Try this by gentle persuassion to encourage the bonding. This will let Blue know he wants to be friends and is getting down to his level. Shelties can be very timid to certain people. Why Who knows, but calm voices and treats will only help.:biggrin2: Best of luck and please keep us updated on Blue's reactions.:wink2:
 
Update on Blue

He is gradually becoming less afraid of my husband. Blue will still run & hide if he makes any sudden movements or loud noises, but he does not hide all the time anymore. He is so funny at night when we go to bed, he will lay on the opposite side of me from my hubby & reach over my legs to lick his toes. LOL!! He's slowly warming up.:yes:
 
Just a thought,

Does your husband rough house and play wrestle with the kids? From your signature, I get the impression of younger kids. Cleveland HATED when Ron and the kids rough housed. Cleveland would be terribly upset and tended to shy only away from Ron and Joel, but was still loving and warm to me, Amber and Roxanne.

Fortunately, ALL of them, Ron, Joel, Amber, Roxanne AND Cleveland grew out of that stage. (Of course I had to threaten the humans with knocking them out of that stage and into the next before they got over it! Ooiiyyy, broken vases and knocked over plants and a fearful dog was more than I could stand!)
 
That's it!!! Hubby & the kids play "trap" where he wrestles them to the ground & holds them while they try to get loose. They love it!!! Blue not so much!! Makes so much sense now!! The girls & Shawn play like that & Blue shies away from them & is really close to Daylon & me. Thank you Jan!!
 
MTBlueShadow said:
He is gradually becoming less afraid of my husband. .... He is so funny at night when we go to bed, he will lay on the opposite side of me from my hubby & reach over my legs to lick his toes. LOL!! He's slowly warming up.:yes:
Click to expand...

THAT is too funny! I can just picture it in my head. He's probably thinking - I'm safe over here, maybe he does not see me, just a little lick...

Glad that he is warming up and 'you' figured out why he was so shy with your hubby!
 
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