Anyone have a dog turn suddenly aggressive?

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I have the sweetest dog in the world. A little 25 lb mutt we got from rescue at the end of April. Really gentle little dog.

About 3 weeks ago he started growling if you tried to make him move from one spot to another. First it was just at DS, and just short growls, but now it's both of us, and he's snapped at me twice (not at DS because I stopped letting DS interact with him when he was up on the furniture, which is where this happens).

I'm pretty freaked out, this has happened so fast. Today I noticed that he seems to be walking a little funny in the back legs -- I really really hope he's got a mild injury and he's in pain and when he's back to normal this will stop.

My question is, did anyone have a sweet gentle dog that turned aggressive and then turned back. I'll be devastated if this keeps escalating and we have to put him down or something, but I also can't let him hurt my child or me.

What to do? We're obviously going to the vet on Monday as a first step.

 

[chell]

My guess would be that something is wrong with him and he isn't feeling well. Take him to the vet to see what is going on. When they are in pain they will do that because they don't know how else to react. Since he is walking funny that is a sign of injury. Once he is feeling better he should go back to his old self unless there is some much deeper issue going on.

 

[taylor1293]

I agree with the other poster, take him to the vet. There is probably something physically wrong with him.

 

[Imzadi]

I agree with chell. If something hasn't changed in your environment to make him suddenly scared & territorial, it's probably physical pain of some kind.

Still, you do have to nip this behavior in the bud. The fact that he started growling with DS and now moved onto you means he's moved up the Alpha dog chain. Dogs are pack animals. Make him get off the furniture, especially when he starts this behavior. You have to be firm and let him know that behavior is not acceptable. He's got to know his place and that he's lower in the pack than DS. Otherwise, DS will have continual problems even after the pain is over.

 

[damo]

Yup. He is hurting somewhere. Same thing happened to us with our dog. He had a hotspot and turned from a sweetie to a "do not touch me". Once he was feeling better he was back to normal again. I agree, it is very unsettling.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Our family dachshund will do that if you don't pick him up right. He is old and arthritic. He was also brutally attacked a couple of years ago by a neighbor's dog while he was on a walk, so if you don't know how to hold him or move him you could cause him pain. He does not show the aggression any other time and we have just learned to be careful if we need to pick him up. Of course, there are no little kids in our household.

I would definitely talk to the vet. It sounds a lot like the situation we are dealing with with Schnitzel. Once we learned how to pick him up, we haven't had any problems with it since. The poor dog sounds like he is in pain and just doesn't want to be handled.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

I have the sweetest dog in the world. A little 25 lb mutt we got from rescue at the end of April. Really gentle little dog.

About 3 weeks ago he started growling if you tried to make him move from one spot to another. First it was just at DS, and just short growls, but now it's both of us, and he's snapped at me twice (not at DS because I stopped letting DS interact with him when he was up on the furniture, which is where this happens).

I'm pretty freaked out, this has happened so fast. Today I noticed that he seems to be walking a little funny in the back legs -- I really really hope he's got a mild injury and he's in pain and when he's back to normal this will stop.

My question is, did anyone have a sweet gentle dog that turned aggressive and then turned back. I'll be devastated if this keeps escalating and we have to put him down or something, but I also can't let him hurt my child or me.

What to do? We're obviously going to the vet on Monday as a first step.

I agree with chell. If something hasn't changed in your environment to make him suddenly scared & territorial, it's probably physical pain of some kind.

Still, you do have to nip this behavior in the bud. The fact that he started growling with DS and now moved onto you means he's moved up the Alpha dog chain. Dogs are pack animals. Make him get off the furniture, especially when he starts this behavior. You have to be firm and let him know that behavior is not acceptable. He's got to know his place and that he's lower in the pack than DS. Otherwise, DS will have continual problems even after the pain is over.

Yup, a visit to the vet is your first priority. His pain needs to either be fixed or if not fixable, medicated.

And then as Imzadi said, you need to nip this behavior immediately. Now that he has had a taste of being higher up in the pack, especially if he is now challenging you, the pack leader, this behavior might not revert immediately when he is out of pain.

Since he is not in so much pain that he is able to jump on the furniture, this seems to be a combination of both a medical issue and a dominance issue. You need to fix both quickly before somebody gets hurt.

Don't take any chances on being bit. You may need to have him drag a short leash around, so that when he jumps on the furniture, you can grab it without touching him to safely pull him off the couch and say "no".

 

[Magalex]

I agree with all the other posts. Check with vet and also watch the behavior. We adopted an adult dog three years & I have volunteered with the local humane society. I have read and listen to many dog experts that specializes with adult dog rescues. One thing I was told after about 9 months(you mentioned the dog was adopted in April), rescue adult dogs may change/ become comfortable after 6-9 months. Set rules at the start. No more furniture time for dominant behavior. Go to obedience classes. If you have a local shelter they may have classes. Plus the instructors there will be knowledgeable in dealing with adult dogs translating into new homes. Talk to a dog trainer or people that foster rescue dogs. Re-training adult dogs is much different then puppy training. I am sure the vet can direct you to obedience too. & understanding.

 

[luvwinnie]

Definitely vet first, but if this is only happening on furniture, I have a feeling he could be getting territorial about these spots and he will need to be taught some manners. He will also have to lose furniture privileges. Do NOT DESPAIR....I have learned aggressive does not mean evil...you probably will just need to work with a trainer. This happened with us, but it was fearful aggression about 5 mths after adopting our bulldog, Hooch.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Time for him to do some "doggie push ups". If you don't know what these are, you can read about them in Good Owners, Great Dogs by Brian Kilcommons. Basically, the dog must "work" for everything. Nothing is free or on his terms, it's on yours. He does NOT get to go on the furniture. Before he gets patted or food, he must obey you (make him sit, lay down, stay, etc - helps here if you've done basic training with him). This is just a brief synopsis but you get the idea. I agree a vet visit is in order as well. The dog could be in pain but I agree with the pp who said if it was, it might not be getting up on the couch in the first place. It sounds like he's gotten comfortable and thinks he's in charge. Be careful if this is the first time you've dealt with something like this. You might want to consult a very good trainer.

 

[golfgal]

When I read your title I thought yes, when our dog had an issue with her hip. She was fine one day and was snapping at me the next-I am her WAY alpha person too. We took her to the vet and she needed surgery. Last week she was getting snippy too so we started her on aspirin-her hip bothers her sometimes in the cold, she is fine now. I would bring her to the vet as well.

 

[taximomfor4]

I know 2 different people that had cocker spaniels (1 purebred, 1 mixed) that turned mean. At first, just at one person. A while later, at SOME people. Soon afterward, everyone but 1. Eventually, everyone. In both of them, they had started having seizures. This was not obvious until well after the aggression began. The seizures got more frequent, and worse and worse. And eventually, both had to be put down because the vet couldn't get their seizures under control.

The other dog I know that became aggressive, I think I started a thread about here on the disboards. It was my brother and SIL's St Bernard. It bit (not badly) a little neighbor girl when it was a few years old...they kept it put away when any kids came over. The dog didn't try to harm the kids that it lived with. YET. A few months later, it bit the 11 yr old. They weren't sure if she had accidentally provoked the dog, though...and once again it didn't bite badly. But then a few months after that, it REALLY bit the oldest child...and he wasn't even doing anything to the dog. It jumped up and bit him several times in the face, cheeks, etc...just out of the blue!

They tried St Bernard rescues, I asked for ideas and advice on here, they had it checked out by the vet. It was hopeless. Bro was deployed, so SIL had to make the choice. She called ALL around, but ended up surrendering the dog. Pretty sure it had to be put down -- it was threatening the shelter people, too.

 

[Imzadi]

OP, if you get the channel with The Dog Whisperer show on it, it's a great show. He works with a lot of dogs that have dominance issues.

 

[3boymthr]

Not to be all freaky and scary and all but has this dog continually had all it's shots? You said he was a rescue dog...

Take him to a vet right away and make sure to keep him away from your kids and be careful not to get bit yourself.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

When DH returned home from Iraq, our normally sweet angel became aggressive towards me anytime I went near her daddy. She wanted his attention all for herself, lol, and would give me a low growl seeminly telling me to back off anytime I went near him.

After talking to the vet we ended up having a dog trainer come to our home for private lessons. The trainer worked with myself and the dog, and like another poster wrote about, I had to make her work for everything. We did lots of sit/down exercises.

She was back to her sweet self. I'm not sure if it was the training exercises, or if she just adjusted to dh being back home again. Luckily it all worked out.