Hello, I am writing because I am not sure what to do and I am desperate. Some History: We have a 2 year old Lab/ English Bulldog mix. He has always been super friendly and a really big baby. He has always loved being around people and smothering them with kisses! I got him at 4 weeks old. I was told that he was 8 weeks old when I brought him home and when we were having issues with him I asked when the litter was born and it was, in fact, only 4 weeks before that. We recently bought a house in July, which was a big change. Because of this and the problems he was having with listening to commands, I decided to take him to obedience school. I asked around and went to the best place in our town. It was an 8 week course which finished up about a month ago. The Problem: Since we started the obedience training, he has gotten very aggressive. I don't know if it is because of all the changes of living in a new house (we were previously living with my parents) or something that we did wrong in the training. He has become aggressive with children (which we no longer let pet him for safety reasons) and my parents (who he was home with 24/7 before while we lived with them). He seems good with just about everyone else. He has not bitten anyone (yet...) but he does growl and his hair goes up. There is an obvious problem here because I have never seen this before and I can't have him biting anyone. Any suggestions would be awesome. I would prefer to do some sort of training on my own but I have to do something before it becomes a habit so I am open to anything you have to offer! Thanks in advance!
My first stop in a mature dog with no previous history of aggression would be my vet to discount anything medical.
Hi there, What a worry for you ,I agree with a vet check,he could be in pain somewhere. Is he growling and showing these behaviours at the training class you attended? X
I agree with a vet visit. It is very unusual for a dog to suddenly become aggressive or fearful. Yes, there have been a lot of changes for him, but that shouldn't make him change his character.
Definitely agree with all the above. Vet visit before anything else. I am not an expert but I believe that nearly all aggression is related to fear.... so he is for some reason made fearful by children and your parents. That makes me think that something is hurting somewhere and he knows that children and people who know him well are likely to touch him a lot, and he doesn't want to be touched because it hurts. Since getting a dog I've been astonished at how well they hide pain and discomfort, and that it is really quite hard to know when they are hurting; it could well be that he is not showing any distress to you but nevertheless is sensitive somewhere. Definitely a vet trip to rule that out. And welcome to the forum! What is your boy's name?
Thank you all for the responses. That is something I didn't think of. Rosie, I think he is fearful of kids because he doesn't know what they will do. It would make a lot of sense with my parents because they always give him tons of physical attention since they never see him anymore. Oh and his name is Ozzie! I will make an appointment with the vet. Even if he is healthy I am sure they will have lots of resources for us. Thanks again!
What were the methods used in the training class you attended? Was it a traditional training class using physical and verbal corrections? Or was it a positive reinforcement class?
