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My Mini Aussie Is Afraid Of My Husband

by Alex
(California)

I have a 5 month old male Mini Aussie and he is terrified of my husband to the point where my husband is so frustrated that he wants to get rid of him. He isn't afraid of me at all and 9 times out of 10 he is glued to my side. Every time my husband tries to call him over or pet him or feed him or play with him my Mini Aussie pees on the floor. You would think my husband beats him by how afraid he is of him (which he doesn't by the way, only normal scolding when he's bad.)

I don't know what else to do. My husband is as nice as can be but my puppy is still afraid of him. I would chalk it up to him being very timid and shy but he doesn't do it around me and when he's around other dogs he is more aggressive. He will even play with dogs 3 times his size and end up chasing them! I've been to the vet to check if he has a bladder or urinary tract problem and he doesn't. So how to I get him to stop being scared of my husband? If I don't figure something out soon my husband is going to make me get rid of him and I won't do that. Help please.

Comments for My Mini Aussie Is Afraid Of My Husband

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Aussie afraid of husband
by: jcrply

The first thing that came to my mind is that your husband could take over the feeding of the pup. And all the food should be given from his hand, not in a dish. If he's quietly and calmly sitting on the floor with the food, eventually the pup will have to be hungry enough to come close enough to take the food from his hand. It may take a lot of patience.

Providing food
by: Neil Coy

I suggest that your husband exclusively take over the feeding duties for your pup. They soon learn from where the food comes. I know you will find this hard for a while but YOU must refrain from giving him treats until he accepts this. I know very well how stubborn an Aussie can be. I have one that is a champion at stubborn.

I read somewhere that the Alpha more often means provider rather than dominance.

Aussies by nature tend to bond with one family member and typically stick like Velcro. Perhaps several weeks of this regimen will shift the pup's focus.

Please post the results if you try this technique.

Re: Submissive Peeing
by: Anonymous

I have gone through a similar situation. If your vet has not done a stick test, meaning removing the urine from the bladder by needle and sending it to for a very popular lab in Arizona for testing, you may want to look in to that? That detects uti's that vets can not seem to do in their facility. Not sure why? But that's what happened to me. The 3rd vet did that and figured it out finally. Couldn't hurt to ask your vet about it though? Also the submissive pee. I would see how your dog reacts around other men. Could it be that the breeder you got the dog from was a man and they were mean and your dog is just afraid of men? I also would have him stop any disciplining and leave it up to you do it for awhile and see if that helps. I would have him back off and slowly try to develop a relationship with your dog again over time. But you should be the primary person who feeds and disciplines for now. I hope it works out for you! I was also told by one vet that obedience classes can help develop self esteem for the dog. I don't know if that would help with peeing. It seemed weird to me but I thought I would throw it out there as well. Just some things to think about. Hope it helps!

submissive peeing
by: Suzan

Puppies and dogs communicate through body language. Many dogs and puppies that are more submissive will find men in general very intimidating.Even though your husband is a kind person and would not hurt the puppy, his size could be very intimidating. Have he make himself "smaller" to the puppy. When your husband interacts with the puppy, have him crouch down and call him over, sit on the floor with the puppy when feeding him. When playing with the puppy, play games that are not rough. For a very timid puppy, rough play like tug of war or just rough house play can make him more timid. Taking your puppy to a puppy class will help with your puppy's timidness and also this will help your puppy gain trust and build a positive trusting bond with your husband.

Submissive peeing
by: Anonymous

The internet is full of people like us having issues with their mini Aussie. I honestly think it's something wrong with the breed. We have tried everything to includes meds. But it seems to Be getting worse. For no reason at all she will suddenly start cowering and peeing thought out the house. When not peeing she paces whines or growls incessantly.

We are afraid to get give her up because we fear she would be given back to a shelter or abused because the level the frustration is high.

Our Aussie is beautiful but she has completely gotten out of hand and despite our best efforts she is just getting more and more anxious.

Has anyone had success overcoming this issue after exhausting all normal remedies?

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