Zane doesn't trust my husband.

[WeLoveOur7Dogs]

It makes me sad for the dogs who have to live in homes where one or more family members don't want them, are quick to "correct" in anger, have a short fuse/quick temper, and are quick to banish. I can imagine it feels alot like a kid who grows up with a father who didn't want them with a short fuse and a quick temper. And puppies at that.

I'm not sure there is much you can do to "get someone on board" if they truly don't want to. If you can't change that kind of enviroment, is it fair to the pup?

[Tylerthegiant]

I think it can be done, but it takes a lot of give and take on both sides. First the spouse who wants the dog has to be understanding and get the other spouse to express their feelings about why they are resistant to being involved. They have to acknowledge those feelings so their spouse feels validated, like their feelings matter. No compromise is ever going to be reached if two people come at something from an adversarial position. Sometimes that's all it takes for someone to start to bend. Then you can begin to come up with creative solutions to the problem based on the other person's objections. You can try and find out what your spouse does like about having a dog, anything at all, and try to use that to turn things around. Through good communication and compromise solutions can be found.

My DH and I have had some serious arguments about the dogs in the past. Actually it was when we just had Apollo, and it was about training and being involved in training. We figured out ways around things and no more arguments over the dogs. We have defined responsibilities we are both comfortable with and we support each other with those responsibilities.