Hi guys, long time reader, first time poster. My chocolate Labrador, Dexter (you should be able to see him in my profile pic) is absolutely fantastic and is everything that I wanted in a dog. He is my best mate. However, when I have to be away from him for the night he seems to really misbehave when he's left with my wife. He has been biting her (not too hard, but has caused a bruise) and generally will not go in his crate or run when told. Does anybody have any advice for us? It appears to me that he thinks I am his 'master' and has no respect for my wife. I've read up on stopping him jumping and biting etc so can hopefully sort that, but I'm a bit worried that he appears to behave differently when with my wife alone - he's (mostly!) fine whenever I am there. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Does your wife put him in his crate etc when you are there? Just wondered whether you do those tasks when you are there rather than her.
Please throw out any thoughts that Dexter is 'not respecting' your wife. It just isn't a canine way of thinking. Does your wide do any training with Dexter apart from asking him to do things when you are away? It does sound as if the problem is a lack of training and interaction between the two of them. Also does she use the same cue words as you? If not that could also cause problems for a young dog simply not understanding what is asked of him.
Thanks for the replies guys. She does the same as me when putting him away etc, but to be fair I do spend more time with him than she does and am definitely guilty of taking over when we are looking to train him. I will try and take a back seat for a while I think!
