I'm asking this question for a friend of mine (really!).
My friend and her soon-to-be husband have been living together for about 10 months now, and my friend has a dog (mutt; border collie mix) who is about three years old. Before the hubby to be moved in, it was just my friend, the dog, and two cats. Everyone was getting along quite well up until about a month ago. For some reason the dog ignores hubby to be. He gives a command, and she ignores him (for the most part). If my friend gives her a command, the dog obeys right away. Hubby to be and the dog seem to be butting heads for some reason, but we aren't sure why. The only thing that has changed recently is my friend is pregnant. Some people have suggested the dog can "sense" this and that's the problem, but I'm not convinced.
So we figured this must be an issue over dominance; the dog wants to dominate hubby to be, but obviously, that's not the way it should be! Does anyone have any suggestions on how this guy can go back to being a dominant figure to the dog? It's just so weird that the dog obeyed him before, but doesn't anymore. I suggested that hubby to be take the dog for walks and that HE holds the leash (not my friend, if she even goes) and gives any commands, but I have no idea if that will work. I don't want to give the impression the dog doesn't like the guy, because she does. She's thrilled when he comes home, they play together; she just refuses to listen to him! He says "here" and she looks at him like, "yeah, sure thing buddy, I'll get right on that."
Opinions? Suggestions? Thanks!