Help!!!
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It sounds to me like the female is resource guarding you and the house.
So, what you do is give them plenty of exercise.
Then, in my house, I put the food down, male left hand, female right and stand there until each is done.
NO one is allowed to touch the other dogs bowl until they are finished.
a leash on both can help with this. YOU do this every day, every treat, every time something is given to the dogs.
The dogs will learn what hand his treats will come from and they will rearrange themselves if they are in the "wrong" place, to get a treat or dinner.
It takes time but if your consistant, it will work.
Also, when your on the couch and she is by you and he comes over..if she growles YOU must get up and walk out of the room.
Same with hubby. Say nothing, just walk out. Wait then come back. REPEAT and you will have to, but it does work.
It takes work on your part, but she will realize that she isn't guarding you…with her actions, she is making you leave. It also helps her she that he isn't the problem, she is.
There is more...but those are the biggies right now.
I would also have squirt bottles around to give each a squirt when the behavior goes over the top.
Hope this helps. -
Some personal input in addition to my previous comments.
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Like Sharon H. said - get some squirt bottles for different rooms in your house. You could get cheap squirt guns (like dollar store) variety if you want something more discrete (i.e. can be hidden behind the decorative vase etc) but make sure they don't squirt too hard. I have done this before with a shelter dog that kept trying to bury toys in the couch (like inside cushions). The idea is that the squirt is to break their attention off of whatever they were doing. Then you command them to get off the couch, lay down, go to their crate etc whatever you think best for the situation. Then you can praise the behavior in response to the command. This way the squirt bottle doesn't have a totally negative association because there was a positive reward in the end.
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Another idea is to keep several containers of treats (out of paws reach of course) in several rooms of your house. This way you can very quickly reward your female when she is being passive and behaving nicely. You can also keep a few absolute favorite treats in these containers as well and every once in a while give the female (or any of the others) a jackpot treat (or several treats) for the quiet calm behavior you want. Think of it sort of like gambling - every once in a while you win big so you keep playing the game. Lottery-style reinforcement contingencies will help you maintain long term results.
Hope this helps.
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