Expert: Jill Connor, Ph.D. - 1/30/2012

Question
I recently adopted a dog and she is adorable. She is a cocker spaniel only a little over 5 years old I was told. She does absolutely fantastic with my 16 month old daughter. But I can already tell she is bonded to me. After having her home 18 hours. But she does not like my husband. If he comes downstairs, in from outside, or into the living room she just grows and barks. My husband loves animals like I do but has less patience. I want to keep her and provide her a forever home but I know if she doesn't cool off around the hubby I would have to find her a new home which would devestate both me ans my daughter. Any info is greatly appreciated thank you!

Answer
First, your husband has to cool off.  He's a grown man after all and should be able to control his feelings when it comes to an innocent animal.  Tell him this dog is afraid of him because she has a conditioned fear response to MEN, caused by some man, somewhere.  If the dog was caught by animal control, most of those people are men.  The pursuit of a stray dog involves the use of a catch pole, all this is very frightening to a dog who doesn't understand what's happening.  Immediate conditioned fear response to MEN is acquired by many dogs captured in this manner.  Also, if she came out of a kill shelter, most of the workers (cleaners, etc.) are men.  A kill shelter is a terrifying place for a dog and the presence of men again increases fear toward men.  Since he loves animals, he's clearly a very nice guy.  But he's taking this personally and it doesn't have to be that way.  Explain the reasons the dog fears him (and that's what you're seeing) and do the following:

1.  When the dog growls or barks at your husband, you and your daughter leave the room for ten seconds or until the dog calms down, no matter how long this takes at first.  Within a few days, she will stop growling/barking at him.  Put a CLOSED DOOR between you and the dog when you leave the room.  As inconvenient as this is, it will have an effect on the dog: she will recognize your departure and unavailability is the DIRECT RESULT of HER behavior.  You can't wait one second: the moment she starts growling/barking, you must leave.  When she is no longer barking/growling, re-enter (and the time should shorten as you repeat this) and go on as normal: casual, no extra attention to the dog.
2.  Have your husband carry special treats in this pocket (in plastic baggy).  These should be REAL treats of high value (dried liver, string cheese cut into bites).  Each time the dog is within reasonable distance of him, he should casually (without making ANY eye contact) toss the treat in an exaggerated fashion (but non threatening) so the dog will SEE it.  Spaniels are bred to flush prey and can focus keenly so once the treat is spotted, she will know it's there.  He should NOT toss any treat if she's barking/growling but rather wait until she's calm.
3.  Once the dog has stopped barking/growling at his presence/entrance, he should be in charge of feeding her (at least one of her two daily meals).  Let him put the food down in her sight and WALK AWAY, leave the room, allow her to have her meal.  This will slowly create a social hierarchy: he is higher in social hierarchy but he is providing food.
4.  When the dog is calmer and accepting of his presence, (which should take a few weeks at most), let your husband engage her in positive reinforcement training.  Learn about this at Dr. Ian Dunbar's You Tube video site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv38ornzzuQ

One behavior at a time, "sit" should be first, the object being not to so much teach the dog but to establish a bond of trust.

It's very likely that once she warms up to your husband HE will become her "favorite" person.  This will simply take time and patience.  An adult dog can take a few months to habituate to a new household.  Rule of thumb: IGNORE behaviors you don't like, reward behaviors you like.