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Your husband should walk him and bring real food such as cooked NY steak and feed it to him during the walk. Your husband should do this alone. I'm confident your puppy will eventually become attached to your husband, it will just take time, patience and food.
My lab/catahoula mix pup was very timid last year when we got her. She was scared of everybody and would tuck her tail and cower. The only person she tolerated was me, and that was because I put her on a leash and tied the leash to my belt and just kept her next to me all the time. She would never take treats on walks but I think that was because she wanted to keep her mouth ready in case she needed to bite.
I started taking her to the dog park, and she was too scared to do anything except hide under a bench. I kept taking her, and pretty soon she decided it was ok to play with the other dogs, but not their owners. Eventually she got to where she would let some of the other dog owners pet her, always on the shoulders and not the head.
At home, we have a routine for visitors. We put Ginger in her crate and shut the door, then let our guests in. We give them a bag of yummy dog treats that only visitors get to feed to her. When she quits growling and barking, we let her out. She'll then come up and sniff the guest, then they tell her to sit and they give her a couple of treats. Usually she's okay with them from that point on. She doesn't much like very tall men, men with facial hair, or black people, but we're working on that. She loves my sisters and my dad, and she's starting to love my best friend.
Anyhow, it just takes time and patience. Don't give up on him and he'll get better.
Just had another thought on this.. I know you're probably not too sure on his comfort level with other dogs, but you did mention he seems to like them when out on walks.. I've seen timid dogs helped tremendously by bringing in another more well adjusted dog. I don't mean adopt another dog, I just mean have one visit a few times. When the timid dog sees how the well adjusted dog interacts with people it might give him a good example to follow or inspire him to trust humans more. You might even see if someone with a therapy dog (TDI) would be willing to volunteer for the job. The owner of such a dog should be skilled enough a handler that they could make sure the doggie introductions were done properly. From there it would be up to the therapy dog to work his / her magic and show the timid dog that people can be trusted.
Here is TDI's website Therapy Dogs International Perhaps they can put you in touch with therapy dogs in your area. It wouldn't exactly be the normal assignment for a TDI team, but I bet you could find someone who'd love to help. There should be no cost as therapy dogs and their handlers are all volunteers.
I agree w/ making your husband the sole care giver. I am going to suggest that you continue w/ your patience. It might be good if you consulted the trainer and had them meet your dog so they might assess this behavior. It worries me some the unpredictability of this behavior. It would be best if the trainer got a little time to observe the dog and gave their recommendation. I sure hope things work out.
I have a feeling knowing my dogs,that whomever a dog likes at the start the best, will always be their #1 choice,that being you with your dog,but hopefully with time and patience,your pup will come to accept your husband and overcome his fears..
Just had another thought on this.. I know you're probably not too sure on his comfort level with other dogs, but you did mention he seems to like them when out on walks.. I've seen timid dogs helped tremendously by bringing in another more well adjusted dog. I don't mean adopt another dog, I just mean have one visit a few times. When the timid dog sees how the well adjusted dog interacts with people it might give him a good example to follow or inspire him to trust humans more. You might even see if someone with a therapy dog (TDI) would be willing to volunteer for the job. The owner of such a dog should be skilled enough a handler that they could make sure the doggie introductions were done properly. From there it would be up to the therapy dog to work his / her magic and show the timid dog that people can be trusted.
Here is TDI's website Therapy Dogs International Perhaps they can put you in touch with therapy dogs in your area. It wouldn't exactly be the normal assignment for a TDI team, but I bet you could find someone who'd love to help. There should be no cost as therapy dogs and their handlers are all volunteers.
Years ago wh I adopted Phoenix she was extremely timid. She was born deaf with limited vision (homozygous merle). She was 2 when I met her and living at the local humane society where she had been for months because any time people stopped to see her she ran to the inside part of the run and hid. I was not looking for a third dog but stopped in front of her run and she came over to see me so I asked to take her out the staff was amazed that she took to me so fast and upon hearing her story I had to adopt her. She was terrified of people but once she met them they were friends forever unless they were kids. Kids terrified her. She liked dogs and despite Jazz picking on her she did seem to feel much braver if Dash and Jazz were with her. She would actually let adults touch her if Jazz and Dash were with her on walks. She would see them being petted and enjoying the attention so she would walk up and nose her way in. She seemed to really study Jazz and Dash and learned from them. As some of you know Jazz would not leave her alone so after 1.5 yrs I made the decision to rehome her with my parents who had just lost one of their 2 dogs and a few years later it was just she and my dad until he suddenly died then she came back to live with me, Jazz and Dazzle ( as Dash had died).She started going to the dog park with Dazzle and it did not take her long to become very social with the adults there. Everyody loved her as she was so beautuful and so very sweet. After a few months she decided that kids were ok too and let kids of all ages pet her and she would just stand there with a big grin on her face as they petted her. When she had been with my parents I had 3 nephews that spent a lot of time there she got use to the older two but the youngest one was rather hyperactive so she would hide under a table but always had to be where she could see him when he was around and if he sat quietly she would run over to sniff him but freeze if he touched her. Even when he got to be 6 ft tall she acted that way with him and he tried so hard to be her friend. After she came back to me and we would go down to work on my parents house she finally decided that nephew was OK too.
In all the years she was in the family she never showed any agression, she just ran and hid if she was afraid.. I am glad that she got to come back to me though sad it was due to my parents deaths it was nice seeing her be so social that last year as despite her beginnings she was such a special dog. I agree with K9coach that sometimes seeing how other dogs react to people can help these timid dogs. I love her suggestion about seeing if a therapy dog could help. Hope your pup soon sees your husband as some one she can trust and love.
Be careful w/ the sausage, it can be fatty and can give them problems (pancreatitis etc) - maybe lean turkey or chicken sausage w/b OK though - or steak or white chicken (you can make it in advance, cut it up and freeze it in little baggies so you can grab it when needed (it may have been suggested, am just reading some of this fast).
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