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Snappy dog issues...(kinda long)
Not sure how do best resolve this issue.
My fiance and I are getting married in Aug. We will be moving in together along with my Sheltie and his two Dachshunds. The issue we are having is with his 3 year old Dachshund. He is completely and utterly attached to my fiance. However every time I or anyone for that matter walks or gets near my fiance he will growl. This past weekend I was messing with my fiance and I jumped onto the bed (playfully) and the dog lunged at me and almost bit me. Before he could, my fiance grabbed him. He was growling and snarling BAD for about 5 minutes.
Now he isn't always so 'mean' he does have times where he is lovey dovey in my lap but its whenever my fiance is sitting alone and I or anyone walks into the room.
My issue is as soon as we get married, we are going to start trying to have a baby. Now I am completely worried that this dog might bite the baby/kids. Because baby or kids do not know any better. They run around and jump on things all the time!
We have tried a few different things....like when he growled shake a can with pennies (mans best friend told us to try this) and treats. Anyone have any ideas on what we can do to prepare this dog for babies?
Re: Snappy dog issues...(kinda long)
It sounds like the dog is guarding your FI. I would research resource guarding (the book "Mine!" by Jean Donaldson is short and very helpful). The dog should not be permitted to guard your FI. One thing I would do is if the dog is on FI's lap (or next to him on the couch or wherever) and starts growling, I would have your FI get up and walk away or order the dog off the couch. Guarding behavior = no attention. You might even want to stop allowing the dog on furniture (at least for the initial phase) if you think the dog is more likely to guard your FI when he is on the couch or on your FI's lap.
I would also look into NILIF ("Nothing in Life is Free") and implement it with all of your dogs - you can Google it or look at the FAQs in the green banner at the top of the Pets board. It's a great lifestyle for you and your dogs. DH and I worked through our second dog's (mild) resource guarding (of toys/objects) using both of these tools. If you feel you can't (or don't want to) handle the training yourself, I would consult a behaviorist. GL!