Is this dominance, protection of me?

Four puppies! You must have the patience of a saint! LOL... I can't imagine.... well I can, but it's making my head spin!

The pups are showing you respect, but not your husband. They don't recognize him as being "above" them in the "pack".

When they act out like this, HE needs to correct them STERNLY. Every single time. If the corrections are consistent and *meaningful* (ie. stern), they'll get the point soon.

Good luck.

Add: My pup tried to pull the same crap with my boyfriend when he was about 6 months old. Stern "No's" from my BF weren't cutting it, so I told him to get right in his face and GROWL "NOO!!!" when the dog barked at him like that. He only had to that once. Have never had a problem since. I know that you love these puppies to death, but also keep in mind that they ARE dogs and that if you spoil them, then these behavioural issues will get worse.

If the dogs haven't done any formal obedience training yet, then this would also be a good time to start. At the time that we'd had this 'problem' with my pup, he and I had already done some pretty intense training. My BF, at that point, had not participated much. I gave him a crash course in administering commands and corrections on a training collar, and asked him to start walking the dog as much as possible (we don't live together, but when we are together, we all go for walks and HE handles the dog). A dog that knows "heel" will understand the dynamic between leader (ie. human) and follower (dog).

Your dogs don't understand their pack order. From what it sounds like they recognize you as their pack leader, they're confused about his position in the pack. They see You as their leader, then themselves, and then your husband. He needs do show them he's boss too. Let him feed the dogs for a while. Tell him before he feeds the dogs to but their food on the counter and make a sandwich or something. Tell him to set his sandwich next to their dish. While he is eating he needs to make sure the dogs are watching him. This simulates him eating out of their bowl, and him eating first. In the wild, wolves can only eat once the pack leaders had enough, and as we all know, dogs are direct decendants of wolves. After a couple of times of seeing this, the dogs will come to realize he is a leader as well. Another tip is, when your dog goes into a frenzy when you husband leaves the room, you leave too, leaving the dogs in the other room. Come back when they are quiet. repeat this action until the dogs understand that their barking is the reason you are leaving the room. Remember having a dog takes both patience and repetition, especially when dealing with pups. Good luck

Your dogs think they run the house...and their owners.

I can't give you specifics on exactly what to do to regain your dominance, but that should be easy enough to find.

You just need to reclaim your dominance over your pets and show them that you're in charge, not them. Good luck!

bad maners, get a behaviouralist it can be other things as well

had a friend who had a dog who would get upset when all his pack wasnt in the same room

It's bad behavior, plain and simple.

They need to be taught some manners.