I have an 11 month old black english lab that I have had since he was 8 weeks old. His obedience is great and he is very attentive during training. He is nowhere near aggressive and is super calm. One night I was walking to my car because I had left an item inside of it that I needed to get and I figured i would bring the dog out with me. Upon walking outside a homeless women was down the road. (I live in Charleston SC while attending college) She started yelling things at me and the dog had snapped. He started continuously growling and let out this bark that I had never heard out of him before. This also had happened in a public park where he was off leash and a homeless man sneakily came up behind me and the dog positioned himself between myself and the man and had done the same thing. I was proud of the dog for doing this but I was wondering where he had learned this from? Would he go after the person if they had gotten any closer? Any general feedback would be appreciated.
Your dog is not being protective, he is feeling scared and acting to defend himself from what he is scared of. He doesn't need to learn it from anywhere, it is innate. All dogs, at some point or other, will show signs of fear and then it will be fight, flight or freeze....
