| well, since my last post the situation worsened & then improved. The last 48 hours have been an emotional roller coaster. came close to giving Max up & have been struggling with the emotions, but we've committed to keeping him & making this work. we will see the behaviorist Sunday but have made some changes in the routine. I had the last 2 days off from work & Max continued the aggression toward Kevin (husband) but this behavior occurs only at the foot & top of the stairs. Problem stems from fact we let him have the run of the house way too early. Max became territorial & whenever Kevin wants to come downstairs to be with me, Max barks/growls & the reverse also happens going up. Away from the stairs, Max & Kevin get along fine. Kevin has been feeding, walking, doing everything for Max past 2 days & I have been giving Max the "silent treatment." No eye contact, petting, anything. I read an article a while back that suggested doing this in an effort to minimize the dependency on one person in the household & establish another alpha. To help Max & Kevin bond, we have Max on a leash with Kevin holding it all day. This way, they are together going up & down the stairs & Max doesn't get the chance to be territorial (no barking/growling since !). I realize this is not a permanent solution but it was the best we could do until Sunday. He's not permitted to sleep in our bedroom any more & he seems to be fine with that. :)  |