Need advice.. inlaws-Zeus <UPDATED>

[Britz]

OK So  my in laws  none of them are animal  lovers dog lover  not ta  according to them   its an animal and is meant be out  outdoors not seen  not heard etc..  What  drives me up the wall.  Well We have told them to remember  are dogs name because  with  Zeus he will bark and growl at  ppl that  come to the yard until they  say his  name if the stranger does see him and speak to him HE  will calm  down. HE is only a pup yet and already  showing  he is protecting are home he does the same in the house. Well my in laws are always come in over unannounced  since they have  things in  are shop in the yard and in the barn. They will even  walk  right in to the house with out knocking. 

Well I  have  tried to reason with them to get them to  call me before  coming  over so  If  Zeus is out I  can  make sure he;s in  before they  arrive etc..  Well  I was sitting outside and of course  Sheldon Lil  bro  who is kinda  scared of  Zeus since  he will be a big  boy and is really growing  went straight to the shop  of course zeus started to bark and growl. "  some one he didn't know well  he knows but  could tell who  he was, was stealing stuff"   SO I tried to talk to sheldon sence  I know there will be days that  We won;t  be home  for a couple  hours or  so and  zeus is outside. I don't want to be at fault  for  my stupid  in laws  Either walking in to my yard etc and Zeus well  scaring the pants off of them.  I  have no clue what to do any more i have tried to get them to come socialize with him  and I have took  him over there but  Since they are not dog ppl  they  are  just ignorant about  me bringing him even though he doesn't come into there house. They think I baby  him to much and don't  see why im spending so much  money on him  etc..  They drive me nuts 

So seriously how do you tell these ppl  to be cautious or just  call me  before they  decided to  trample in to are yard or house? Or will they  eventually figure it out?
I have told Them  that  Zeus's breed is  Protective of his family  and  they  just made a comment about t hat  they are family. I  Tried to  be serious  with them telling them about  pack instinct  etc.  But Not ta thing... GOSH what do I do.

[lins_saving_grace]

have you tried tying up your in laws in the back yard instead?

[lins_saving_grace]

have you talked to your husband and asked him to talk to his family?  might be better coming from him. 

NOTE:  i thought i hit reply to this message and hit report to moderator instead.  come to find out you can not report yourself to the moderator!!!

[heidismom]

do you suppose they would be willing to bring some treats with them when they drop by unannounced, or could you make some available where they could find them?  would that reassure him at all and would they even do it?

[lins_saving_grace]

do you suppose they would be willing to bring some treats with them when they drop by unannounced, or could you make some available where they could find them?  would that reassure him at all and would they even do it?

wonderful idea.  i used to carry treats with me to hand people to give to Grace. the only problem i had with that was that people were afraid to put their hands by her mouth.

[Britz]

have you tried tying up your in laws in the back yard instead?

LMAO I would so  tie them up in a heart  beat if i could  g et away  with it. THe  simply  drive me nutz.
HUbby has tried  talking to them on many occasions and they  do not listen, they  just s hrug it off. Before  we got Zeus we had to talk to them about not  going so  fast through are yard with there vehicles.  We have had many  problems  with them in the past and still on going. When I had Nikki MY husky  malamute My MIL  promiced to come over to my house  every day and  feed her and my  LIL BIL  was  supoose to stay  here with her  when I was in the hospital  when I had my  first  baby. Well we  get a call when  we got  shipped to edmonton  from  a neighbor who  lives over a mile away that  if are dog  comes in to his yard again  he was going to shoot it. YEAH  MY INLAWS  DIDN'T  TKAE CARE OF MY DOG. MY mom ended up having to come pick her up well fist  she ha dto find her sence  nikki started  running  right then  sence  my lovely inlaws who I thought  and they  promiced me woudl feed her.  Sence then I have not trusted them with any of my animals. Whne I had my POM  * we sold when I i had baby two*  MY mother  in law Kicked him  because he sat  down  beside  her. ARgg ok sorry  for the vent i just  truly hate my inlaws.
This is the one  reason why  Zeus comes  every where with us because i have lost  all trust  for any one around here to care for my animals .

[lins_saving_grace]

Zues won't put up with that kind of thing.  He's a sweet looking boy, but Rotts will finish what someone starts.  Grace has shown me that several times.

[lins_saving_grace]

They are obviously not going to stop until someone is bitten, and you need to legally protect yourself and Zeus.
Stella

first and foremost protect you and the dog.  lawsuits only lead to euthinization.  i hate that. 

[Britz]

If I even  brought up to them about treats or if hubby  did they  would  shrug it off they irritate me so bad  They  have  for 5 years now. We are  seriously  looking to move away  from them far away  but  finacialy  we cant  do it  right  now. MY MIL  for instate is the type of women who thinks she runs are house. She has  walked  right in  wearing her yukky  shoes in to my house and  walked all over when I brought my Daughter home.  Im  going to talk to sheldon today  because he has tried to talk to them  so much We are picking up a BEWARE OF DOG Sign Today  just so  ppl  who  don't  know will be cautious.  TO me MY  dog woudln't  hurt a fly  but when he gets older i have no clue. Thats why I need to get them  to SHUT UP and listen to us for once.

[Britz]

They are obviously not going to stop until someone is bitten, and you need to legally protect yourself and Zeus.
Stella

first and foremost protect you and the dog.  lawsuits only lead to euthinization.  i hate that. 

I know, its sad. and im seriously  affraid that will happen. I guess maybe  once he is full grown are bigger they will clue in.  IM picking  up signs today

[lins_saving_grace]

i had to teach Grace not to bark at the neighbors once.  They were scared of her (and Lady, the other rott) and because the PEOPLE were afraid i had to train Grace to more polite than most humans.  it worked till i just didn't care anymore. 
funny thing is...if you bark back at Grace, she backs down.  amazing.  people don't realize even a scarey Rott will submit to an assertive person.  they feed off fear though.  grace does

[GoldenPyrs]

Wow! Your in-laws sound like people that don't understand or respect boundaries at all.  Honestly, that would send me off the deep end, so I commend you for your patience, but it's time for them to learn a few new things!  Grrrr....  I absolutely agree with the idea of locking all doors and you can say that it's to prevent theft, etc., but do you have a fenced yard with a gate?  If so, I'd put a padlock on the gate and tell them that it's there to keep people from letting Zeus out by mistake,to keep people from coming in and surprising Zeus b/c he might bite them and maybe you can point out that it's safer for your children to play in a locked yard, too.  We have padlocks on our gates to protect our dogs.  Our family isn't near by, but our neighbor's 4 y/o granddaughter opened our gate and walked right in one day to pet the "pretty doggies".  Agh, that was just too close for comfort for me.  She could have let the dogs out or they might have knocked her down in their excitement.  I don't *think* that mine would've bitten her, but they are dogs and they do have teeth, so anything is possible.  Our padlocks went on the same day!  I'm all for locks on fence gates.  Not only can you help protect Zeus this way, you might just get some well deserved privacy, too.

[Winslow 151]

Hi,

Time for a reverse treatment here. Take a leash and Zues and just start parading him into the InLaws houses unannounced. Get a short leash (maybe even harness) So you have complete control over Zues. Keep bringing him everytime you interact with family (on his leash) When THEY Start complaining tell them Sheldon and you have ASKED THEM REPEATEDLY TO RESPECT you, your home and Zues, since they ignored your requests, you absolutely need to socialize Zues to the people who are constantly trespassing on his territory so he will be familiar and (stress this)HOPEFULLY not bite you next time they come over unannounced.

If they can be so disrespectful of you Sheldon and Zues you need to disrespect them to get your point accross.

I am sure after the 2nd or 3rd time you stroll into their homes with your dog they will get the message.

[lins_saving_grace]

Hi,

Time for a reverse treatment here. Take a leash and Zues and just start parading him into the InLaws houses unannounced. Get a short leash (maybe even harness) So you have complete control over Zues. Keep bringing him everytime you interact with family (on his leash) When THEY Start complaining tell them Sheldon and you have ASKED THEM REPEATEDLY TO RESPECT you, your home and Zues, since they ignored your requests, you absolutely need to socialize Zues to the people who are constantly trespassing on his territory so he will be familiar and (stress this)HOPEFULLY not bite you next time they come over unannounced.

If they can be so disrespectful of you Sheldon and Zues you need to disrespect them to get your point accross.

I am sure after the 2nd or 3rd time you stroll into their homes with your dog they will get the message.

Fabulous idea.  i have that mental picture in my head

[navarre1316]

Hi,

Time for a reverse treatment here. Take a leash and Zues and just start parading him into the InLaws houses unannounced. Get a short leash (maybe even harness) So you have complete control over Zues. Keep bringing him everytime you interact with family (on his leash) When THEY Start complaining tell them Sheldon and you have ASKED THEM REPEATEDLY TO RESPECT you, your home and Zues, since they ignored your requests, you absolutely need to socialize Zues to the people who are constantly trespassing on his territory so he will be familiar and (stress this)HOPEFULLY not bite you next time they come over unannounced.

If they can be so disrespectful of you Sheldon and Zues you need to disrespect them to get your point accross.

I am sure after the 2nd or 3rd time you stroll into their homes with your dog they will get the message.

Fabulous idea. i have that mental picture in my head

Awesome, awesome, awesome!!!

I'd still lock everything, including the shed in the back.  If they have a key, change the locks and don't give them a key.  They are acting like spoiled children, treat them like children that need to be taught a lesson!