I have a yellow lab who we got at 12 weeks old at the time I was pregnant. He recently turned one. My lab has only growled at me when he had a bone and another time where he didn’t want to listen. Recently he has started barking when someone is coming inside the house, or if we’re in the room, he’ll growl or bark if he hears someone coming up or inside the room and can’t tell who it is, for instance my significant others sister came into the room to take him outside and you couldn’t tell it was her and he started barking and jumped off the bed, couldn’t progress to the door due to the baby gate we have. If i take him out for his last potty, it’s usually dark outside, my significant others friend was at the trash and he couldn’t tell who it was and he started growling and barking, he’s never really lunged will just growl or bark He has also growled and barked next door at night time for some reason, his hairs on his back will sometimes rise Not sure if this is him trying to be protective, territorial or aggressive or scared. Just a lil worry since we have a baby at home And need to know if this is something i have to fix. He’s a scary cat, he’s scared of my daughters toys, balloons anything you can think of which is why I’m confused
Hi Yamilex, Congratulations on your baby If he's generally fearful, it's likely that he's barking and growling because he's scared of some perceived threat. His fear and anxiety might be being made worse by the upheaval of a new baby in the home as well. It sounds like he would benefit from a consultation with a force free behaviorist who can observe his reactions in person and help you manage them. Good luck, let us know how you get on!
