Aggressive snapping & growling

[Bernie]

My one year old,Hannah,has been a barker for awhile now, but in the last month she has begun to bark,growl,and snap when ever she meets someone she doesn't know. If she lets the person close to her ( she has to be in my arms ) she sometimes will stop growling, but once I put her down she will lunge forward and try to snap. She was always cautious around strangers in the past,but she never was aggressive. This sudden change in her behavior concerns me because it is not in her nature. When we walk down the street or go to the park she will show aggressive behavior even if the person is 20 yards away. I have verbally corrected her, shaken a can of coins, and even gently muzzled her mouth, but nothing works! Nothing has happened at home that would make her aggressive, and she is still very loving to her Mommy and Daddy. Has anyone else had this problem? I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks! Bernie

[Penny's Aunt]

Have you spent a lot of time since you got her socializing her, taking her where there are people & dogs, getting her used to being around others? If not, you'd better get started.

Also, dogs go through "stages", & I understand they go through a kind of shy/defensive stage around a year. She work through it, but you need to take her out in the world. Keeping her home really isn't going to help, IMO.

She may also be getting protective of YOU.

Has she ever been to group obedience school? Maybe that would help too, the exposure to other people & dogs as well as the training. Even a refresher course might help.

[Bernie]

Hannah goes to Doggy Daycare (which includes obedience training) Monday through Friday.
She also goes everywhere with me, even to the gas station! This is what is so perplexing because she is exposed to other people and dogs 7 days a week. I purposely take her everywhere, even doggy events, so she will socialize. The problem didn't start until after many months of exposure to the outside world. That is why I am so concerned.

[Mark]

Hi Bernie,

It doesn't really sound like a lack of socialization. Our oldest, Duck Butter, exhibited a lot of the same behaviour you describe especially the barking and being so territorial about us and the home. We found that as the alpha we had to let her know our rules in a way she would understand. Enter the Spray bottle filled with water. A good spray always stopped the behaviour immediately along with the verbal command of "QUIET". After a while just the sight of the bottle worked and finally only the verbal command was needed. She is still diligent about checking people & dogs out, but no longer continues barking or being aggressive when we say "quiet". We still keep the spray bottle handy, but haven't had to use it for a long time now. All 3 know that if we pick up the bottle that they are doing something that is unacceptable.

I hope that helps you as much as it did for us . . . please let us know how it goes.

Mark

[Heather]

Beanie is a 1.5 year old mini, smooth. He was always shy, timid, but never aggressive. One day, my nephew came in the house, and I thought for sure we were going to have a bitten nephew. I was able to pull Beanie away, though. In hindsight, we happen to be in temporary living (change of environment), and my nephew was the first one I greeted when I came in the door, and spent a considerable amount of time with him without paying much attention to Beanie (jealousy). I think the two combined really gave Beanie the shivers.

I have since taken him to obedience school, and have noticed a big difference. He is getting more confident, and i don't know if it is related, but he now lets us know he has to go outside. It is almost as if he has 'learned' how to communicate with me now. Which leads me to believe that training at school is much different than training from you. I really think Beanie knows now who is boss, and when I give a command, I mean business. Your dog knows the commands at school, but it takes doing a command in several different environments before they will associate it with the action.

Upon reintroduction to my nephew, Beanie is still crazy, but it is getting better....

[wireweiners]

My guess is that at one year, Hannah has decided she is all grown up and needs to protect her mom while on walks. The squirt bottle is an excellent tool to deter this behavior. If plain water doesn't work, add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a pint of water. They don't like the smell and it will sting their eyes and nose a little. Not enough to really hurt, just enough so she associates an unpleasant feeling with the excessive barking. Like Mark said, a "quiet" command followed by a squirt if she continues to bark and act aggressive, will help control the problem.

[Bernie]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I talked to the people at doggy daycare and they said they noticed unusual aggressive behavior in Hannah today. The director,who is also a well-known trainer, is scheduled to call me and talk to me about this new behavior. Hopefully it is a stage and she will outgrow it or will be trained to stop the snapping and growling. The squirt bottle sounds like a terrfic idea too. I will try that on our next walk, it sure will be quieter than my can of coins. I appreciate the information, atleast now I don't feel that I am raising a "disturbed" dog.

[wireweiners]

Is Hannah spayed? If not, she may be coming in to season. A lot of girls get "bitchy" at that time.<IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm26.gif" border=0>