Eric, this is NOT a blame-game & no one is pointing fingers here -- But, your wife & daughters cannot be BULLIED or SHAMED into loving & devoting themselves to a dangerous dog who dominates & aggresses against them <:-(

This is NOT a "you made your bed & now you MUST sleep in it" situation -- If you personally have the flexible schedule & the proper facilities to be the ONLY handler & the SOLE caretaker of Bruno, then your wife & daughters will not be placed in harm's way on YOUR watch, but his management 24/7 must be entirely your OWN responsibility, not your unfortunate family's "hazardous duty" (!!!)

while you are researching the dominant dogs section, i strongly suggest you read what ed has written about chows as family pets:

http://www.leerburg.com/chows.htm

Eric, you're in a bad situation. I am responsible for all my dogs, and I've just accepted it because I wanted them. If they had any issues, I dealt with them because I had to. Your kids aren't interested. I wasn't either at that age, but I had no choice. Rehome the dog before your family rehomes you <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> You've gotten TONS of advice, it's all on you now. Good luck.

 Quote:

Rehome the dog before your family rehomes you

worth repeating.

Alice: Thanx for the link. I appreciate everyones advice and it is in my mind every day, I'm just not ready to throw in the towel yet.

I wouldn't call it "throwing in the towel," rather "finding a solution that benefits everyone most." I'm not sure if it's fair for the dog to be in a household where people fear/dislike him and one where he's in a crate for 12+ hours. It's also not fair for your family to always be thinking "ugh, that stupid, nasty dog." You obviously love him very much and you definitely want to make things work, but maybe he'll be happier in a household where everyone knows and understands dog behavior (even if it's just one person) and where there is plenty of time to devote to the dog.

Is there any way you can work out a larger lunch in your work day that would allow you to come home for 30-60 min midday to play with your dog? Think how you would feel if you had to spend 12 hours every single day in a work cubicle, you can't really move around, you cannot go use the bathroom or walk outside your cubicle, and you have nothing to play with except a stress ball. No computer or Internet either. You'd be pissy at the end of that day too. Your dog is probably doing the best he can with what he's got, and it's one stressful day. 12 hours in a crate, 8 hours of sleep, that leaves just four whole hours to be up and about. Only ONE HOUR if he's in there 15 hours. Is that fair for him?