# Dog with unpredictable aggression



## barkertin (May 7, 2007)

My husband, dog trainer, and I are at our wit's end with our 3 yr. old hound mix. Over all he is a loving, playful, loyal, protective companion. However, throughout the years we have encountered a handful of people that he reacts to aggressively, with no rhyme or reason why. We used to think that it was only men that would cause this reaction, and only people he doesn't know. However, this week he reacted aggressively (barking, growling, hackles up) to a female friend that he has met and spent time with before.

The intensity of this situation is magnified because I am 6 mos. pregnant, and we are concerned about visitors coming to the house and the fact that I won't be able to devote 100% attention to the dog.

You may be wondering why we haven't given the dog away already, but I want to emphasize that 97% of the time he is a wonderful, albeit energetic, companion, and has been part of the family for 3 yrs. We also feel like since he has been our only "child" for so long and know his "issues" so well that we are better equipped to care for him than somebody else who may not be as patient or educated.

Any help or insight that you can offer on how to diagnose, predict, or handle this issue would be HUGELY appreciated!


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

No one here would recommend you give this dog away. He is a liability at this point and the 3% aggressive behavior could be a bad dog bite to a new owner and your liability. 

I would first recommend a health exam including a blood panel for thyroid and a hearing and eye exam. He could be reacting based on poor hearing or poor site or a thyroid imbalance etc. 

Next, I would invoke the help or a Behaviorist. http://www.iaabc.org/suchen/
This will not be inexpensive buy could shed light on the dog's behavior and why. 

Again, I would seriously recommend against giving this dog away. If he is aggressive and aggressive enough that you are worried for anyone's safety your options are to find a reason and cure the problem or Put the dog to Sleep.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Also think of the oncoming baby as sometimes an addition to family could be a problem.


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## barkertin (May 7, 2007)

He is up to date on all of his routine shots, but we have not had his thryoid tested. If the issue is his thyroid, wouldn't the aggresion be constant? 

Unfortunately there also no consistency between the scenarios when the aggression occurs, just like there is none between the people he reacts to. Sometimes he is on the leash, sometimes off, sometimes inside, sometimes outside. Both my husband and I were present for most of the incidents, but a couple times I was not.

Yes, it could be an issue...we don't expect there will be an issue between the dog and the baby, but the dog could possibly become more protective.


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## sparkle (Mar 3, 2009)

I would first agree with as mentioned contacting a professional and have them get involved with making a real time assesment of your issues rather than hoping for ideas over the internet from people who cannot possibly observe and know the important details/facts in your case. Next I would speculate from what little data that I can derive from your post that your dog is rather predictable at this stage and that is why you need someone (a expert) to show you where you might need to adjust your management,social conditioning processes, and training to get your dog back into a acceptable level behavior. A good professional with the right resources can perform tests to see what triggers your dog.

Last I would suggest that you consider having a health check as mentioned by a vet to eliminate the possibilty of the sudden change in behavior being influenced by something less obvious.

Yours sounds like a potentially serious situation that could result in injury if not handled correctly and I personnaly would not put much energy in experimenting with ideas other than really good management schemes at this point. I also agree with the problem of handing the dog off to someone else less they be very aware that the dog can be predicted to bite someone.

It might be important to describe what you do to address the aggresive behavior when it surfaces in order for others to make suggestions on what may be happening in your case. Does this behavior only happen at home/certain places or at certain times of the day? Anything new/different in the environment besides the pregnancy? So many questions to ponder..again without the benefit of neutral observation.


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## barkertin (May 7, 2007)

Thanks for your reply, but I'm not sure I follow...our dog only has these issue randomly, with differerent types of people, at different times and places, when he is ok with most people most of the time. We have had a trainer involved for some time, and she is unable to determine what his trigger/s are, and that is why we are looking for help from other people who may have experienced the same situation. We are going to look into getting the blook workup done to make sure his levels are OK.


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

Health check is the first thing that needs to be done. Dogs can be in pain and some days might be worse than others. 

From a behavior standpoint though, he should not be allowed to make up the rules of who's good or bad. That's part of the whole meet and greet training. You greet guests first while he sits politely and waits his turn....he should be taking those cues from you on how to respond. Besides being a proper way to meet guests, it also counters any protectiveness/territorial issues.


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## barkertin (May 7, 2007)

I agree...the problem is that when he encounters a person he is going to "react" to, they don't have to be standing right in front of him for him to agress. As soon as they are within his eyesight he is on his feet barking and growling. At that time we attempt to use our training and put him into a sit/stay, but he remains fixated on the "threat", giving them the "evil eye", and low throaty growls.


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## sparkle (Mar 3, 2009)

barkertin said:


> I agree...the problem is that when he encounters a person he is going to "react" to, they don't have to be standing right in front of him for him to agress. As soon as they are within his eyesight he is on his feet barking and growling. At that time we attempt to use our training and put him into a sit/stay, but he remains fixated on the "threat", giving them the "evil eye", and low throaty growls.


I would change "trainers" THIS to me needs fixed first I would suggest.


What you describe happens all of the time. It is I believe simply a issue of finding the right person to illustrate to you how to adjust your leadership and training skills again to which will be difficult to do so over the internet in a short time and without hit and miss experimentation. That too is predictable 

Good luck!


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

> Yes, it could be an issue...we don't expect there will be an issue between the dog and the baby, but the dog could possibly become more protective.


I'm just gonna say that what you expect may not be what you get. Just be cautious.

I'm gone.


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

You are working with a trainer. This is different than a behaviorist. A behaviorist tries to find resons for behaviors and ways to modify the behavior into something positive. 

You and the trainer have not had success. Time for another view with fresh eyes and a different stance. That is why the link to a BEHAVIORIST. 

Dogs typically do not aggress with a desire to "protect." We humans would like to think that. Dogs typically aggress out of Fear or resource guarding. 

Yes.. get the blood panel done and then find a behaviorist who will help you learn how to extinguish the undesirable behavior. 

Has this dog ever SEEN an infant? Like WVasko says.. your expectations may not work out.


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

barkertin said:


> As soon as they are within his eyesight he is on his feet barking and growling. At that time we attempt to use our training and put him into a sit/stay, but he remains fixated on the "threat", giving them the "evil eye", and low throaty growls.


This is where you step between him and the guest...block his view even if he tries to look around you....this shows him that you're 'handling' the situation. Ask for a sit and Quiet. Do it calmly, not forcefully, as part of this is his pack member mentallity to announce/intercept 'intruders' and that's a good thing but, again, his job is done after the first bark.


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## barkertin (May 7, 2007)

Yes, he has seen infants and many children. He love kids, and is very playful. The only problem we have there is is that he is behaves like a little dog stuck in a big dog body, and is sometimes to rowdy for them. Other than that, no issues with kids.

That sounds like a good way to handle the situation, once it occurs. I guess I'm still stumped by why he's OK with most people and reacts to a few, sparce few, who have nothing in common between them.


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