I'm baffled. My dog (a snoodle that we rescued about 9 weeks ago) has been fine with everyone who has come over.. Except 2 times now. First, was with my brother in law.

He came over.. And oscar almost immediately jumped and nipped his thigh.
Second time, I put oscar on a leash and after about 20 minutes, he seemed fine. Ignored my B-in-law for a while... Then BAM tried to jump and bite him!

Now, the electrician came over and same thing, jumped and bit him.
It just seems (so far) to be these 2 men. All the women/girls/and other male friends, there have been ZERO issues. He comes right up, jumps, hops, runs around, gets toys, and greets them just like he does with us. He paws at us for pets, nicely takes treats, snuggles on our laps.. Etc.

Our cockapoo has had no issues with biting, but she didn't like my B-in-law either. Stayed away from him.. Watched him... You could tell she doesn't really like him. Now she is better and within a few minutes, she comes over to him and lets him pet her.

What can we do to stop this? I mean, really... Its nice to know that if someone broke in.. He would attack :) but we need to somehow teach him that when we let someone in, its OK. And why only certain men?

Thanks!

Is your brother in law "evil"

On a serious note, does he have some other animal, or could there be some "smell" about him?

You could try having your brother in law give the dog treats and to feed the dog. If your dog associates good things from him, then he may forgive him for whatever he thinks he did to him.

Rescue dogs can't tell us their past. Your brother in law and the other man reminded that dog of someone who was not very nice to him. These habits are hard to break. Positive re-enforcement is going to be the easiest way to get your dog over these fears. Keep in mind, all aggression is based on fear. You're dog biting someone is telling me he is terrorfied of your brother in law.

Does your brother in law even like animals? People who don't like animals act very different around animals. Dogs can be very sensitive to these things and will react accordingly. Does he maybe own weird animals? Like livestock? If so, the scent of other types of animals can scare a dog. That person no longer smells like a person, they smell like something else and now that "thing" wants to touch them. Very scary from a dogs point of view.

Any type of behavior training is going to take time. Your brother in law has to be willing to want to work with your dog. If he isn't, then I would advise to remove your dog from the situation if possible. You don't want any dog to learn that it is OK to bite a person.. fearful or not. Limit the exposure your new dog is going to have to the people he doesn't like. And unfortunately, this dog sounds like a ticking time bomb. He's OK with only certain people, but not everyone. You need to get him into some behavior obedience classes. 9 weeks after adoption, you pretty much have seen the worse he'll show you, but with rescue dogs, its hard to tell if he has more tricks up his sleave.

I wouldn't be too worried about the other man. Strangers walking onto properties have a risk of dog bites. Just try and keep your dog inside on the days that maintenance hired help show up at your home.

But have your brother in law try giving your new dog treats. Have him toss them his way. As the dog begins to eat them, have him toss the treats closer. Eventually, have the dog take a treat from his hand. Don't push this process.. it takes time for the dog to feel comfortable with this person. Behavior training can take weeks to months to years before improvement is seen. Just go slow, take your time and let the dog come to you (or in this case, your brother in law).

Well... being the brother in law lives in CA and I am in NY.. that won't happen :) lol

I'm just worried because its hard to tell how he is going to react... it all starts the same way, barking.. craziness.. but then just runs up and wants to play/ have fun. Maybe the trick will be to get him to sit and wait till we say its OK to approach.

Thanks very much!