Agressive Behavior

My girlfriend moved in with me with her 3 year old Maltese. He starts to bark when the phone rings early in the morning. He starts to bark at me when I get up to go to work. He starts to bark when I approach my girl friend when she is sitting on the couch. Basically the dog thinks he owns the house. He is not afraid of and I am afraid I might kill him. I have had dogs all my life and have never seen anything like this one. Any advise will help.....
Dennis

• Dennis, I hope you don't really mean that. Perhaps just a bad choice of words?
  Jay

• Bad choice of words.....just a little frustrated.
  Dennis

• So the little fella barks a little too much and you want to kill him. I also hope you really don't mean that, for the dogs sake and for yours also. I also hope that since you are having this problem that you are in no way abusing him either. Its sounds like your girlfriend is going to have to make a choice here. Its not fair to either one of you to keep the dog around if you don't get along. Maybe find a good loving home for him and the sooner the better. I would hate to see your girlfreinds maltese get hurt in any way and you end up going to jail over it. Good luck.
  Mike

• No am not abusing the dog... Jay was right it was a bad choice of words on my part.
  Dennis

• It really sounds like your girlfriend and her Maltese have definitely bonded -- and the little guy is jealous. He was the ONLY guy in her life until YOU moved in. You two are going to have to learn to make peace if the three of you are going to live together. I know my Maltese are very dear to me -- and with me it's "Love Me -- Love My Dog(s)". I really think you are going to need to give this guy some patience and some space and remember that he was there first -- the way to his mom's heart may be through him.
  Bobbie Linden - Bhe-Jei Maltese

• Dennis, I have a maltese (a little girl) who is "in love" with my guy. However, when Mike and I first started seeing each other, I had a silky terrier (male) who never had to share his mom with anyone. He barked at Michael all the time. He especially got upset when Michael tried to kiss me, hug me, etc. It took almost a year for him to get a grip. Michael tried ignoring, talking, petting, etc. Nothing worked. Higgens barked; however that's a bad as it got, so it was simply a disturbance and we lived with it. About t the second year of our relationship, Higgens seemed to calm down about it, though he still didn't like the kissing parts! Higs was 14 that year, and died suddenly. Michael was devastated. He cried almost as much as I did. So, you hang in there. I think male dogs may be more possessive of their moms, just like male human children are. As for Lucy, she has Michael wrapped around her little heart and vice versa; also much like little human girls.

  If you give this some time, the barking may become less frequent. In the meantime, try to view it with a sense of humor if you can. Good luck and remember it will be worth it. I have never had a dog that's as truly affectionate as my maltese.
  Cathy Brown

• Dennis, We just lost our male Maltese a few months ago. He was 18. When he was younger, he would bark--and growl--all the time at just about anything. But he was still the most affectionate dog EVER. We asked the vet about the behavior. He suggested that because the Maltese is so small, they make up for it by trying to sound big. This seemed true. He could be fiercly growling, but try to pick him up and he'd start to lick your face. That yippy bark can be annoying, but the rest of his personality will make up for it. I have a Husky and an Akita now. When they bark and growl, you know you're in trouble. I miss the trust I had in my little malty. Best of luck to you. You'll fall in love soon!
  Karen