My 3 year old yellow/white lab has recently started eating anything he can find when out on walks that smells like food even if it's had food in like fast food wrappers or sandwich bags that have had a crust/a bit of a sandwich left in it still that's been thrown on the ground and he will growl loads, & won't give it up at all. Another thing that occurred this evening is that my husband was out walking our dog Toby and he was a fair amount away from home n a man was walking past n toby just went for him n the man had to jump out of the way or he would have got bitten. I did notice myself when I took him out for a walk at night that he did appear rather nervous so I'm unsure if it was the fact that maybe he doesn't like the dark n was nervous anyway that made him do that aswel as him not being keen on the man he saw but he's never done that before so it's a first. Any help at all with either of my issues would be great thanks.
Hi @Nikki How much time did you spend on socialisation, when Toby was a puppy? Have you taught leave it as a cue? I suggest you put your dog on a long line at the very least and thereby prevent your dog from attacking any more individuals. I would also seek the services of a positive dog behaviourist. You have a serious issue and must deal with it immediately.
Thanks for your reply, Toby couldn't socialise with other dogs for about a month after I got him at 8weeks old as he suffered badly from diarrhoea when I got him & it took seeing 3 different vets to finally find out that he was in fact allergic to chicken in dog kibble so was unable to have his puppy jabs until his diarrhoea had fully cleared up. He gets on well with other dogs but is nervous of them on the first greeting but is still quite happy to go up and greet them and this is even with the smallest of dogs so isn't a larger size issue, it's any size but once they have greeted and said hi he is fine & plays well with other dogs and also loves the attention of their owners as well. He has told some of the smaller dogs off with a little growl that keep trying to jump up on him after a while because he gets sick of them annoying him but after he tells the other dog n it stops bothering him then he is fine. Yes he has known leave it and is shockingly quite good at it most of the time but I have noticed that he does suffer from slight food aggression (with bones especially) but also if anyone else like my hubby or kids get to close to him while he's eating his usual meals but doesn't do this with me at all. He also bit my husband when Toby was sick n my husband tried to move him away from it as he was starting to eat everything he'd just puked up n he just snapped n bit his finger. I don't understand how a long line will help as either me or my hubby would have alot less control over him then. He was being walked on a extendable lead but I have stopped that n swapped it for a normal small lead so he is not too far away from my side. I am going to try walking him during day light only and not when it's dark as during the day time has never had any issues at all. Where I live alot of it now is litterly pitch black at night coz they started turning most of the street lights off to save on the electric I'm guessing. I have a feeling that it was that which has made him extremely apprehensive n nervous coz he is a completely different dog during day light hours.
Hi @Nikki I did not know he was on a line at all when he attacked the gentleman. That is why I suggested a long line. To prevent him from jumping and being aggressive towards humans. It doesn't appear that he has huge issues with other dogs. We humans are the problem. Your dog has a lot of issues that require a fair bit of remedial work. Based on your description it sounds as if the dog suffers from resource guarding, and fear aggression. I reiterate. I think you need a positive dog trainer to help you to deal with those two issues, and to evaluate his possible fear to strange dogs. The trainer will be able to assess and evaluate your dog. And work with you on the remedial program. Good luck.
