After reading your post, it reminds me of our dog Cartwright. He can be very dominant towards me. I have had to learn how to deal with him when my husband is not home. I blamed some of his behaviour on his age "the terrible twos." He seems to be calming down, and I have been working with him so he shows respect to me. I walk him every day, and feed him. I think maybe your wife needs to get involved with some training so he knows that he is below her in the pecking order. One thing that has helped me a lot, espcecially when people come to our door and he tries to dominate them, is a spray bottle with water and vinegar. He hates that. ( I dont let him see I have it.) Since I have used that a few times, he now does not jump on people or mouth them. He says hello politely and walks away. It might be a great tool for your wife. Maybe if your wife took some obedience classes with him also, that may help the dog respect him more also. Just a thought.