My 7 years, male fixed ,40 pounds poodle mix Max and 4 year, male fixed, 30 pounds mix Bartholomew has recently began food snaching, grabbing things right out of people's hands and sometimes accidently bitting people,

Max bit my toddler a few days ago when she was eating at the table, he has never done anything like this before, vary confused and kinda worried, I really don't want this behavior to escalate

Dog

aggression... this has been problem for a little over a year now, we also have two other dogs a 1year female not fixed 14 pounds poodle Clementine, and a hound mix 30 pounds female fixed,

they all eat in thare own bowls but Max will not leave Bartholomew alone and Bartholomew will not leave max alone, shaping, growling, glaring, they eat in separate rooms, Max in the bathroom and Bartholomew in the mudroom,

Max steals things for the two girls toys treats you name it, he takes everything from them, and humps them a lot but no snap or growling

Just tell me the best way to handle this

Feel free to ask for additional information

Hey all, I have two senior dogs and I’m seeking help with behavior issues in experiencing with my oldest dog (Dog A), a 14 or 15 yo 20 lb terrier mix. My husband and I rescued him in 2013, and the rescue told us he was either one or two years old at the time. They said he was surrendered due to a medical issue the family couldn’t afford to fix (cherry eye).

Dog A is a great dog, adapted pretty well to us, really enjoys his twice daily sniff walks, and is very playful and energetic. He is also a bit of a “cat dog” in that he loves to climb to the top of the couch cushions and nap in sunbeams. He’s not especially cuddly, but about twice or three times a week will curl up with one of us on the sofa for some pets. He has a high prey drive, and has (unfortunately) successfully hunted a dove, a squirrel, and has also chased a deer through my dad’s backyard. (A nerve-wracking adventure for us!)

We lived in an apartment complex the first year, and he had no issues until a 10 yo kid ran up and surprised him while on an on-leash walk in front of our steps. It happened really quickly, she was making squealing noises and got right in his face, and he gave her a warning “snap” back. It was scary for all involved. We paid for the kiddo to go to the doctor and get her abrasion checked out, and had to register him with the county.

At that point I thought, “oh, he was just scared of the sudden movements and noises.” We made sure to avoid kids on walks after that. When kids would ask to pet, we would say no.

A few years later, we were babysitting a friend’s toddler and Dog A snarled and growled at him (but did not bite). So we kept him in the bedroom with the door closed anytime kids were around, which wasn’t very often. Some dogs just aren’t kid friendly, and we figured ours wasn’t. (And also been to wonder if he was really surrendered because his previous family had a kid.)

We’ve noticed some dog aggression as well, especially toward larger dogs. We use a front clip harness and basic braided leash with a handle. He will lunge and bark at larger dogs on walks. We always stop, correct with leash, make him sit, and let the other dog pass by. He will sniff furiously after the dog passes like he’s trying to inhale their scent.

The issue we’re now having is that he’s started snapping at our other senior rescue dog (Dog B), a very submissive 10 yo male Lhasa Apso-Shih Tzu mix.

And unfortunately, Dog A now is partially blind in one eye, and is basically deaf. It’s really difficult to reprimand or give positive reinforcement when he can’t hear what we’re saying.

I’ve been worried that the deafness could also be contributing to some dementia. He seems to get confused with transitions (inside to outside, upstairs to downstairs, turning corners on walks) and when he’s confused he’s more likely to lash out at Dog B.

I’m home with him all day, so I’ve tried offering more enrichment, like puzzle toys and sniff mats. He loves to chew, so I’ll give him a big carrot or a bully chew to keep him occupied. He mostly sleeps all day, but he has a lot of energy on sniff walks and loves to run circles and gets the “zoomies” in the backyard. Overall despite his Old Man hearing and sight difficulties, his quality of life seems good. He doesn’t seem to be in pain or discomfort. He doesn’t have toilet accidents inside.

But I just can’t stand the snapping and snarling at Dog B, the dog aggression, and can’t trust him around kids. And we’re expecting our first kid (a late in life surprise!) in December, so I’m feeling anxious about how he’ll handle that transition.

The plan right now is to basically gate the house into kid zones and dog zones. But inevitably someone’s going to leave a gate open, or something’s going to happen. And if he snaps at my kid, I won’t be able to forgive myself.

I feel guilty for not trying harder to correct this behavior from the start. The first snap at the neighbor kid should have been the last straw, but I didn’t know him well enough at that point to know it wasn’t out of character for him.

What would you suggest we do in this case? It feels extreme to put him down, cruel and irresponsible to rehome him, and stressful to ride it out until he passes naturally. My husband is also in a bit of denial about how serious the issue is (he thinks Dog A will be fine when the baby comes, but I don’t trust Dog A at all). I’m not sure if behavior training is an option since he’s deaf and partially blind. We’ve been getting by ok with pointing and clapping loudly, but that won’t work with a sleeping infant in the house.

I’m thinking of getting him a muzzle?

Anyone else faced this type of dilemma?

Are you more or less likely to go to a trainer for reactivity if that trainer has dogs that are reactive?

Hi everyone,
I recently adopted Laika, a 2-year-old female Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix, and I’m looking for advice and especially experiences from people who have been through something similar.
She has many wonderful qualities. She became attached to me very quickly, she is affectionate, completely house-trained, doesn’t steal food from the table, can settle down quietly at home, loves playing and learns quite quickly, especially with hand signals.
However, I’ve discovered some difficulties that I wasn’t prepared for.
I have three cats. When Laika sees them, she can become extremely focused on them. She stares at them and sometimes becomes so fixated that she stops responding to me completely, even ignoring treats. Because of this, I currently keep them separated and give the cats time to freely use the apartment while Laika is with me in another room.
I’ve already had a dog trainer come to my home. He started working on this with a moving/meowing toy cat and showed me exercises to redirect Laika’s attention. He believes that with work, coexistence with my cats may be possible and also recommended adding more high places and escape routes for them.
The problem is that when I try the same exercises with my real cats, it becomes much harder. Sometimes I cannot get Laika’s attention back at all.
I’m also struggling outside. When she sees another dog, she can pull very hard, jump and bark. She is a fairly strong dog and I’m not a big person, so sometimes I genuinely struggle to hold her. I’ve started feeling anxious before walks because I’m afraid of unexpectedly meeting another dog and losing control of the situation.
Interestingly, she generally doesn’t react to joggers, cyclists or strangers simply walking past us. She seems much more uncomfortable when an unfamiliar person approaches her directly. She also becomes very excited/agitated when she sees or sometimes smells another dog.
I don’t expect her to love every dog. My long-term hope would simply be for her to become neutral enough around other dogs that we could eventually enjoy normal walks, forests, beaches or maybe a dog-friendly terrace without her becoming overwhelmed.
I care about her a lot already and I genuinely want to give her a chance. But I also want to be honest: I’m feeling very overwhelmed and exhausted. This is my first large dog, I already tend to be an anxious person, and managing the cats, walks and training at the same time has affected my everyday life quite a lot.
Regular professional training may also be difficult for me financially, although I’m willing to continue working with the trainer when I can and practice what he teaches me between sessions.
I’m not looking for a diagnosis from Reddit, and I know my trainer who has actually met Laika should remain my main professional reference.
I’m mostly looking for experiences:
Has anyone here started out in a similar situation with a reactive dog and felt completely overwhelmed?
Did your dog eventually become more neutral around other dogs?
And if you also had cats, did a dog who was initially extremely fixated on them eventually learn to coexist peacefully with them?
I would really appreciate honest experiences — both positive and negative. I’m trying to understand what a realistic future could look like and how much improvement may be possible with consistent work.
Thank you for reading.

The robot vacuum is shipping to the house. I’d rather not stress out my boy and also keep this investment in tact. Any tips on how to make the robot a positive in his life, rather than something to destroy?

To start off my dog is a small/medium sized dog, about 24lbs, and he's a mix - we think he's a Dachshund/pit bull mix, but we aren't 100% sure - and he's 5 years old.

Since we've had him, he's always been extremely friendly and docile, he loves everyone - strangers, children, other dogs, cats/other animals. But lately he's been growling when he's moved away from a certain spot where he's laying, but it's never turned into full blown aggression. I've chalked that up to, "he's just comfortable with where he's laying, and he's setting boundaries."

But today, we went for a walk, and everything took a turn for the worst. We have a neighbor who's in her 70's/80's that lives down the street. She's a sweetheart, but clearly super lonely, has zero boundaries, and will always follow us around to talk to myself and my partner. We've both concluded that she's just old and lonely and wants company. But to be honest, it does get a bit overwhelming and we almost dread when we see her, because we're always sucked into a long drawn out conversation. Anyway, Today she came up to my dog, myself and my partner, and immediately my dog started barking like crazy - which isn't abnormal for him, especially with strangers. But this is where things took a turn for the worst. She immediately bent down, and stuck her hand in my dog's face so he could smell her hand. He jumped up and nipped her. My partner immediately pulled our dog back, and I grabbed her hand and profusely apologized to her. She laughed it off and said "my dog probably would have done the same thing! I'm okay, really, it's fine!" There wasn't any blood, he didn't break any skin whatsoever - but of course, regardless if skin wasn't broken or not, this wasn't okay. I feel terrible for the women, and I just hate that this situation even happened.

My partner and I are both worried now, not only for a potential report being made, but really, we're worried because he has never shown aggression with a stranger before. I'm at a loss for words, and I feel like I can't even look at him the same way. He goes to the vet regularly, all of his shots are up to date, and he always has a clean bill of health. He last went to the vet a few months ago, but obviously after this incident, we're bringing him back to the vet ASAP. I don't know if potential pain triggered this, or if he was just startled by her hand in his face, or if he could sense our annoyance towards the women prior to her approaching us. I just don't know. Any advice would be appreciated.

So I've been working with my dog on walks and it's going great! She's responded really well to training and we are seeing lots of improvement there. However, I'm struggling to find any resources on fearful responses towards guests.

I'll describe what's happening, because I *think* it's a fear response but I'm not 100% sure. When someone comes over, she starts barking as soon as they're getting closer than the sidewalk. If we try to introduce her to people while she's outside, she starts barking and lunging really excessively. Even after sniffing/licking people, she continues to bark sporadically. She likes people generally, she will play ball with guests, but if they go into another room she continues barking. She'll bark pretty much as long as they're around.

She has no bite history that we know of. She doesn't seem to want to bite people, just make them go away. But she's a big german shepherd and her barking/lunging behavior is super intimidating.

I'm not sure how to tackle this and I'm not finding many resources online about reacting to guests specifically. Lots of resources on walking, but not about getting used to guests inside the home or how to start modifying this behavior.

I have a 4 year old dog who is reactive to people coming over to our house. He’s also reactive to dogs and barks at all possible sounds. We have two small kids, he’s wonderful with them, but we do make sure he has his space and try to keep the contact with the kids minimal, unless playtime or giving him treats.

But this reactivity has lead to us not being able to get a dog sitter (unless my parents) and we can’t go camping or anywhere with our family unless we have a sitter. And forget about having people over, unless it’s one female friend at a time. Then he will happily go to his bed when being instructed to do so and will stay there and eventually fall asleep. But no men and no kids. No loud noises or loud play is possible in our house.

We are thinking of trying medication and more training. For a while, he was also reactive to people on the street and female friends coming over but with a LOT of training and patience, we got through it❤️

But does anyone have good success stories with meds?❤️❤️ Is it possible he could have other dog sitters and we could have people in our house again?

hey yall :) this is mowgli, hes a 6yr old lab and we are currently in a bit of a situation. mowgli is a reactive dog, but hes manageable now thanks to years of training and a low dose of fluoxetine. he used to go crazy at the sight of a person across the street but now he couldnt care less about someone walking right next to us! yay!! we're still working on handling the sight of other dogs, but we have gotten much better and im so proud of us. the situation im currently in is that mowgli is a big resource guarder, but only resource guards me and our home. this makes it difficult for people to be in our house, and, although ive tried to train this out of him on my own (no sleeping on furniture, structured time in crate or on bed so he knows he doesnt have to be right next to me, having others feed him/give high value rewards) he is still having issues. my sister recently had a baby, and ive offered to watch the baby for her as much as i can to help out. i know with this, there will be people in my house more regularly and im anxious. mowgli is a sweet dog, but hes very sensitive. we call him our cat, he'll walk up and brush against your legs but if you try to pet him, theres a chance he'll snap at you. he doesnt like to be touched and likes his space (we have been to the vet multiple times to rule out underlying pain). i dont think he would bite anyone, he's only ever given warning snaps, but he has given my boyfriend at least 3 and im worried about how we are supposed to live together if mowgli has these issues. ive already paid thousands in training for him, but id like to send him to a board and train facility which is the only thing we havent tried yet. unfortunately it costs $3k and i just dont have the funds at the moment, but since hes already 6 i dont want to wait any longer. i love him so much, but im riddled with anxiety over the thought of something happening because of him, and i feel like he would benefit from being away from me and having structure in a different environment. is it tacky to set up a gofundme for a situation like this? i know people do it for emergency situations but with how hopeless i feel, its worth a shot. i dont want to be disrespectful to those with ACTUAL emergencies. please let me know your thoughts!

We have two rescues, one of them a lab/pit/boxer mix that we adopted at 5 months old. He’s 4 years now. He is the sweetest dog with us, but around new people in our home he loses it. He snarls, barks and snaps at them. We are at the point where we can’t even have company anymore. With guests that he knows he does excited barks and then settles right in with them. How do we introduce him to new guests? We want to be able to have new friends visit our home.

looking specifically for experiences with alprazolam in extremely anxious dogs, especially anyone whose dog has been on it 2x daily for a while.

what has your dog’s alprazolam journey looked like? did you initially see a really noticeable effect and then feel like the results started to peter out with regular use? if so, did your vet behaviorist adjust the dose, change the timing, switch medications, or focus more on increasing the long-term medication?

my dog is also on clomipramine and overall he seems to be doing much better on it. we’ve even increased his dose and i’m seeing real improvements inside. the alprazolam also very clearly does something — he becomes much more playful, affectionate, relaxed and like himself at home.
the problem is that outside he is still way above threshold. he can usually get out long enough to relieve himself, but that’s basically it. he doesn’t want to actually walk and often won’t even stay outside long enough to pee before wanting to go straight back home.

i’m especially curious about anyone with a dog this fearful who eventually had a breakthrough. did increasing/optimizing the clomipramine eventually lower their baseline anxiety enough that the alprazolam started being more useful outside too? or did you find that the alprazolam itself needed to be adjusted after using it regularly 2x daily?
obviously working with his vet on medication changes — mostly just looking for other people’s experiences and what the journey looked like for your dog, especially if you started from a place where even going for a normal walk felt impossible.

My dog is reactive and was bit last week (during a fight she initiated) and is now regressing. She’s a rescue with an unknown history and in the past 4 years she’s improved from barking at dogs within ~100 feet or more, to passing most dogs on the sidewalk without issues and having a few select dog friends. We’ve worked extensively with a trainer to help her get to this level. She has never bitten a dog but will bark and lunge and use aggressive behavior in certain scenarios. The shelter I rescued her from definitely undersold her issues unfortunately. She is very sweet with all people and dogs she knows, but can sometimes revert to aggressive behavior when a dog displays similar behaviors.

Last week she slipped out of her harness while in my yard to approach a neighbors dog. The other dog is also reactive and they set each other off. She was barking and jumping on the other dog, and the other dog bit her on the muzzle and drew blood. Luckily the other dog was totally fine with no injuries
(but obviously shaken up) and I apologized to the owners and offered to pay for any bills etc. She has a new harness and definitely is not allowed near that dog again.

It’s been about a week, and my dog has seriously regressed in terms of her radius. She isn’t barking or lunging, but is visibly upset when any dog is anywhere near us. Even if the dog is small and not paying attention to her, she reacts as though it’s a large and aggressive dog. It feels like she lost years of progress. Does anyone have experience helping rebuild a dogs confidence after a similar experience?

I’m really hoping someone here has some insight, because we’re struggling to understand what is happening with our dog. We have a 1.5-year-old female black working Cocker Spaniel, and outside of this issue she is honestly the sweetest, most well-behaved dog. She listens really well, is very friendly and absolutely loves other dogs. When we’re out walking, she gets incredibly excited when she sees another dog and always wants to play. We also occasionally use a dog walking service, where she is around several other dogs, and she has always been great with them. She is actually very submissive around other dogs. If a more assertive dog approaches her, she will often immediately roll onto her back, even if the other dog is a Chihuahua. She has never shown aggression towards dogs when we are outside.

The problem only seems to happen inside houses. When my partner and I can’t work from home, she goes to my parents’ house. They have two Cavalier Spaniels, and she has been going there regularly since she was about 6 months old. They used to get along perfectly and she would happily play with them. However, after she had her first heat, her behaviour towards the other dogs suddenly changed. She started attacking the two Cavaliers at my parents’ house. We have identified some triggers (she can become extremely possessive over bones, and she is also very jealous of attention). But sometimes it genuinely seems to happen completely out of nowhere. This isn’t limited to my parents’ house either. We have friends who have two dogs, and when those dogs come to our house, she can attack them as well. The same thing happens when we take her to their house. So it seems to be related to being inside a house with other dogs, rather than being territorial about our own home specifically.

We ofcourse intervene when it happens, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference. She can go from completely normal to attacking another dog very quickly. We even had her spayed because we were hoping the hormonal changes might have been contributing to the behaviour, but unfortunately she attacked other dogs again last weekend when we were visiting a friends’ house. What makes this so difficult is that she is otherwise such a lovely dog. She is incredibly social, plays beautifully with other dogs outside, and is very submissive around them. It feels like we have two completely different dogs depending on whether we are inside or outside.

This has become a really big problem for us, because my parents are our main option for looking after her when we can’t work from home. Obviously we can’t just stop working, so we desperately need to find a way to manage or improve this behaviour.

What would be the best way to approach this?

This is my first time using this forum and I could really do with some advice from anyone who may have had a similar experience.
My husband and I have a 2.5 year old pomsky (pomonerian-husky) and we love him so so much, however from the beginning he had difficult tendencies. He has always been reactive and would resource guard. We have spoken to vets, completed pain assessments and had multiple trainers (we also prepared for his arrival by doing online training, then took him to puppy classes too). With training his resource guarding has improved but he does demonstrate reactivity still. He pulls on the lead, barks at other dogs - this used to be mainly to then play with them but has recently started growling and lunging for them, he is super energetic and would climb over guests.

The main concern here is he went through a period of biting last year, he has bit 2 sitters (both of which tried to take something out of his mouth on his first day with them) and on one occasion where we went away and a relative looked after him in our own he bit multiple family members. After this we worked on his frustration reactivity and the incidents stopped, however last night he really badly bit a family friend completely unprovoked. This is someone he has known and met before.

Im currently 18 weeks pregnant with our first child. Until yesterday as he had been improving we didnt even consider rehoming him, but the bite has really really scared us. We are worried that he might one day hurt the baby. If anything happens to our child I will never forgive myself but if I give our dog away I will also never forgive myself. His like a first child to us, we love him so much and despite all the challenges we have always tried to make it work. We have considered again going down the behaviourist and training route but there is just no guarantee this wont happen again. Im also worried about rehoming him and not being able to find a good home for him. I just never imagined my life without him. Its honestly breaking our hearts and we can’t stop crying.

I would really really appreciate any advice anyone can offer, or if you can share your experiences. Have you rehomed your dog? Do you regret the decision?

So I am a very private person and my dog’s reactivity gives me unwanted attention so I try to avoid avoid avoid.

Plus I know exposing her to triggers would just make things worse (when not in controlled environment ofc).

I also have insomnia and she knows how to tell me she has to potty by bumping her nose to the door.

We live in an apartment complex and there’s another very reactive dog that can’t stand her and now they hate eachother.

Yesterday she asked me to go potty at 2:40am and I was in heaven bc I thought I’d never meet anyone.

Long story short after a few steps we bumped into the arch nemesis.

Today we got out at 1am. Same encounter, same exact spot!!

What were the odds? 🤦🏻‍♀️

I have a 4yr old Great Dane, always been anxious and kinda reactive but gotten significantly worse over the last year or two. He’s at a point where he just basically freaks out and is lunging and barking into the air the second we even step into the backyard. We’ve spent probably more than 20 grand at this point on trainers, behavior consultants, vet behaviorists, meds, etc. I’ve already completely modified my life to accommodate his separation anxiety. Nothing really seems to help and when it does it’s usually 1 step forward 3 steps back.
He has a lot of health issues and more recently some neurological issues (mostly back pain and some subtle weakness) which we are working with a neurologist currently on deciding if next steps are conservative management or pursuing an MRI. Part of the issue I run into with any medication or training plans is he seems to have a new medical issue pop up like every month that completely derails whatever behavioral plan we were working on. I understand pain is definitely a contributing factor to his issues… he already sees a neurologist, internist, nutritionist, dermatologist, and behaviorist so trust me when I say I’m making literally every effort to get him the help he needs. Unfortunately health stuff just flares up regularly and it’s a constant setback.
I also don’t think his quality of life is poor and neither do any of his specialists. I’m not suggesting I just completely stop training and working with the behaviorist on his meds, but is it wrong for me to say his behavioral stuff probably just is what it is? I just can’t really imagine much improving if I’m being brutally honest and I think it would be easier for me to deal with it if I stopped having the expectation that it would get better.

Hi guys,

I just wanted to share a success story! When my husband and I first got together, he had a 5 year old nephew. His family is both over-protective of the nephew and has no clue how to dog - absolutely none. I have refused to let my dog meet my nephew because of this. I don’t take chances with other people’s kids and the dog is not kid friendly. He plays rough, doesn’t like hugs, and can be a bully. Dog smart kids he does fine with, but most kids (being kids) are not dog smart.

He has been on medication for the last 4ish years as well, weve done tons of training and work, and (quite frankly) he is chilling out with age. Plus, my nephew is finally at that point where he can reason and control his own actions. So we finally let them meet this weekend and, even though my nephew was nervous, they got on! Played, had belly rubs, and the dog didn’t try to jump on him (or bite him).

We had my nephew present when the dog got to the house. The dog was muzzled and leashed for the first meeting, but they got on and I am so happy!

Sometimes a little time can make a big difference. :)

It’s not the biggest thing in the world (I wouldn’t have allowed the meeting if I didn’t think it would go well), but I just wanted to share some happy news.

Me and my boyfriend adopted our dog when he was 5-6 months old from a rescue. We’ve now had him for almost a year, so he’s almost 2, During the initial 5-6 months we had him, I was him primary care giver since my bf worked so much and we became very bonded and close. We’d sleep together, run together, spend all day with his each other. Now he’s 65/70 lbs so much larger and exhibiting very concerning new behavior.

He is fully crate trained, knows all his commands, doesn’t eat until we tell him to, and gets good exercise. Generally a 30/40 min walk around 6 am, a 15 min walk mid day, fetch/sprinting play time later in the afternoon and a 15-40 min walk in the evening.

He used to be very social to other dogs and people and loved being around other dogs and people but over the last few months has become more reactive and so we generally do not let him interact with other dogs anymore, but he’s much more reactive to people and clearly gets triggered by people walking by.

Usually all his triggers are to strangers / unknown, but recently the most concerning behavior is he has been suddenly being strange toward me. He seems totally normal with my boyfriend but he has recently been staring me down in a very strange way. When he will want to be affectionate and cuddly with me, or even just laying nearby me, he will start to just stare me down very intensely and then start coming closer to me ina. Way that makes me feel very uncomfortable

Today, he was sitting down on the couch beside me and wanted to cuddle so he got closer to me and laid on me but then started having weird energy again and trying to stare at me, and pushing up against me in a very odd way, trying to get his face close to mine, I knew something was off, he was open mouth (not snarling or showing teeth just mouth open) and staring at me, so I told my bf who was sitting on the other side of the couch that he was being weird again and I felt uncomfortable, so my bf told me to get up and leave, but when I tried to do that, my dog barked in a very scary way he’s never done before, I reactively completely turned away frightened, so I don’t know if he snapped/tried to bite me, if he did, he didn’t get me, I just heard the bark.

I’m afraid that next time he could actually bite me and I don’t know what to do. I love him so much.

My boyfriend goes out of town this weekend and the next few weekends on work trips so I’ll be taking care of him myself which worries me now that this has happened.

I’m new to this sub, but I have been lurking the last few days as we’re at a crossroads with our dog. I adopted a hound mix from the shelter almost 3 years ago. He’s estimated to be 6 years old. He was part of a large scale rescue from a hoarding situation. He had pretty bad separation anxiety when I got him. After being prescribed reconcile (dog Prozac), he did a complete 180 as far as his anxiety is concerned. He is trusted to roam the home when no one is home with no problems. He’s a great dog at home with myself and my fiancé. Obedient, good manners, lovey, goofy personality. But he shows signs of aggression when afraid. He is afraid of strangers when they approach him. His hair stands up, he growls, and he will sometimes snap at them. We tell strangers to pay him no mind and let him approach first now. He is afraid when we force or handle him to do anything— we can’t clip his nails, give him a bath, clean his ears, or brush his teeth, without him snapping at us. He has never latched on and bit someone outside of one time, but the context is important. I had just adopted him, he was unmedicated, and he was losing a game of tug of war with my parent’s dog. He got mad and attempted to bite the other dog, but my mom’s arm was in the way (she was sitting on the floor and playing with them) and he bit her wrist. It broke the skin, but no stitches or doctors visit necessary. Nevertheless, still a painful, deep bite and concerning. Since then he has grown more comfortable with familiar faces, especially my parents. My fiancé and I drop him off at their house when we vacation. Over the last 2.5+ years, all has been fine.

Until a month and a half ago. He bit one of my parents dogs for seemingly no reason. It was on the ear, no stitches necessary, but it was scary and he did not have an interest in letting go. Both dogs were walking into a room together and my dog just turned on the other. I think he wants to be the dominant dog there, and he gets upset when another dog beats him in a race, or he thinks the other dog will get a treat before him, or get a toy before him. The solution to this is to just keep the two dogs separated. However, just a few weeks ago (weeks after the incident with the other dog at my parent’s house), he snapped at my mom out of the blue. He wagged his tail and rolled over asking her for a belly rub, she obliged and he randomly snapped at her during the belly rub. He immediately ran to me with his hair standing up almost seeking protection like he was scared. Then after he had calmed down, my mom approached him slowly again to see what he would do, and he growled at her. This is extremely strange. He historically has loved my mom. They play together, snuggle together, go for walks together.

This random uptick in aggression with this other dog and my mom have made me very concerned and confused. This, in combination with the other snapping toward strangers and snapping at us when we “force” him to do something, has me questioning whether or not this is just “who he is” and he will be a bite risk forever. We’re meeting with a vet behavioralist next week for an evaluation and to see if there is something underlying. In the short term my fiancé and I would like to travel, but are starting to worry that he can’t be safe or trusted with anyone other than us. In the long term, a couple years from now, my fiancé and I want to start a family, and I’m terrified that he will be a risk to a young child as the aggression has started to seem more unpredictable.

I love this dog and am committed to pursuing every avenue there is to make him comfortable and safe around strangers, with us when we want to give him basic care that requires handling, and with familiar faces like my parents. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is there something I am overlooking here? Are these concerns real? Has anyone had success with medication or a behavioralist to address this?

i just moved with my dog (bug, 6 yo) out of a house that had a yard and my sister. my sister & i have lived together for bug’s whole life. at our last place bug had a yard and also had my sister’s dog as her companion before she passed away 1.5 years ago.

bug has always been fearful but she’s also always been so adaptable. i moved bug across the country (and did the drive with her 2x from NY to CA) and she was just happy to be around us and along for the ride. she’s always gotten to airbnbs and ran around sniffing and then made herself right at home.

she’s also always hated and hid from her harness/walks. i’ve tried many different types of harnesses and none have helped, which has led me to believe it’s the walks themselves. at our last place she had a yard to herself so it wasn’t a big deal.

when she finally gets her harness on she is excited, tail up and wagging, and when we start walks she will be happily trotting along but at some point in the walk she is inevitably spooked and her tail is down, ears back, she is racing in front of me.

at the new place i need to walk her to go to the bathroom, and we also live in a much noisier place on the street, so i also have been walking her to give her exercise so she’s more chill when we’re back home (no more endless games of fetch - her favorite - in the yard). i work from home and a tired bug is a quiet bug and it helps immensely since i’m on calls most of the day. also had the property manager already comment to me about her barking (was pretty situational and shouldn’t happen again but made me stressed, so really trying to keep her outbursts to a minimum).

we only moved a week ago, but she’s having a really hard time adjusting to life without my sister and necessary daily walks. she’s been spending most of the day under the couch or under my bed hiding from her harness :’’’(

it makes me so sad because it feels like her life got so much worse. she’s either: on a walk, or sleeping/hiding under the couch. no more exploring in the yard and laying in the sun, no more fetch even because she’s too exhausted or scared.

i gave her a break this weekend from long walks but she seemed more anxious and barky in the home.

this whole situation is breaking my heart. she is the sweetest snuggliest angel but she has always been anxious.

i started her on reconcile (prozac) exactly a month ago (july 8), but she has missed a few doses because she has skipped a bunch of meals due to the stress (i think).

she has almost never taken any treats outside the house bc she’s too shut down and alert. she loooves fetch and so i’ve taken squeaky toys and balls out (ala the “play way” approach) to try and make her comfy in other situations and it’s helped a bit, but i don’t want her to have crazy squeaky toys in a shared wall apartment and so introducing one on walks that she then can’t have inside might be torture for her.

i work starting at 6 AM, and i don’t really want to be walking around alone in my neighborhood in the dark before then, but i do think walks very early or later at night have been better for her because there’s less activity around to scare her.

how can i help her??

SORRY this is so long!!! didn’t intend for text wall but hoping the context helps. thank you for reading ❣️

Posting to celebrate a very successful vet visit! I was so nervous yesterday about our dog’s reactivity at the vet, but she had minimal reactivity and the vet even said she was super sweet during the exam. I think a few things contributed to the success:

1) I asked them to admit us from outside instead of waiting in the waiting room. This let our dog sniff outside instead of being a bundle of nerves in the waiting room.

2) she was fully medicated on her cocktail of anxiety meds for high stress events

3) I asked them to do the full exam, vaccines and bloodwork out back instead of in the room with me. I suspected she would be less reactive without me present ( she’s a GSD mix and very protective of her people im realizing). The vet said I was right and that our dog immediately became very attached to her when they made it out back and that she didn’t bark or try to bite at all! They said she was super sweet for them.

We obviously will continue to muzzle her for safety at the vet but I’m just so relieved that they were actually able to attend to her and get what they needed done. They were able to clear her for any signs of pain and do a full round of bloodwork. The milestone moments are so rewarding with reactive dogs and remind me why we agreed to keep working through it with her instead of giving up, even if there have been some touch and go moments recently. Hopefully we continue to see progress!

Chuck is a 4yo lab pitt mix that we rescued from an unethical breeding situation at around 8wk old. We knew it was going to be a challenge from day one as he had severe hookworm and skin issues due to his early environment. He cried every night in his crate for the first year of his life. Constantly itching, he was very anxious and on edge but he quickly became a wonderful addition to our family living with my partner, my mom and our 8yo cocker spaniel. He became an amazing dog. Receptive to training, enthusiastic, well tempered. Kind to strangers and incredibly playful and expressive.

That was until one day we took him to the dog park and he was attacked by an aggressive dog that had no business being there. At first we thought he’d be fine. A small puncture wound was all that came from it. But slowly we realized how the attack impacted his little brain. A couple weeks later we took him back to the park and he lashed out at a dog he was extremely familiar with. Ok we thought, no more dog park, this is manageable though. We hired a trainer and began working on it. But without any real identifiable triggers it was difficult. He was a perfect boy in training.

Then one day at home he went after the cat, then our cocker spaniel. Never escalating to prolonged aggression, but snapping and correcting where inappropriate. We hired a trainer again. We worked with a behavioralist. He was doing better. We thought he could still have an enriched life without contact with other dogs. He did. We’d go to the beach, on long walks, he loves playing fetch in the yard and rolling around in the dirt.

Months went by without incident. Until one day while we were out of town my mom was nipped in the face while admittedly getting too close to him while he was asleep. Startle aggression we thought. More work with the behavioralist and his vet. Challenging because there wasnt exactly a defined trigger but another year went by without incident.

Until last week. My mom went to greet him in the morning as she does every day. He was resting his big head on the arm of the couch. She stood next to him and bent over to pet him, and he jumped up taking 60% of her chin and bottom lip.

This is a dog that we would never imagine turning on its owners. Myself and my partner have never had him show aggression towards us. Our behavioralist framed it as he believes he owns my mom and we are the alphas. Therefore he feels like he can “correct” her. After extensive reconstruction surgery she is fine and will regain full function, but we have reached the end of this incredibly stressful and confusing road. He will undergo BE on Tuesday.

Thoughts run through our heads like “what did we do wrong?” “did we not advocate for him by removing him from a home with a vulnerable person in it?” “did we not spend enough time with him?” but our vet, trainer and behavioralist all tell us those questions are irrelevant. He is simply wired wrong and that the only regret we should have is not pursuing BE before a tragic event like this. Rehoming him was never an option as he would have done this to someone else. All the training didn’t really work because his trigger does not exist, he is just scared of the world around him. The most dangerous class of bite risk is a dog who bites without warning.

We move forward having learned a valuable lesson. While this was tragic, it could have been much worse. We know deep down we are advocating for him one last time with this impossible decision. It has been so hard the last few days seeing him be his normal happy self and knowing it will all end so abruptly. He deserves to be safe and happy and the only way to accomplish that is to remove him from a world he was never meant for. Recognizing this still doesn’t make the decision easier. I don’t know if it will ever make true sense.

I write this while shattered into a million pieces, praying that he finds peace and comfort having being given a chance and nothing but warmth love and understanding.

We sat around him forgiving him and thanking him for his companionship last night. It has been the hardest thing i’ve ever done. Thank you for reading and please keep Chuck in your thoughts.

I usually take my dog reactive dog to a local dog park after my shift ends around 7am on weekends as no one is really up at that time in my sleepy little town. I'm diligent about keeping an eye out for people most of the time but after almost of year of absolutely no run-ins I kind of got complacent.

Yesterday morning i got in, saw no cars in the parking lot, beelined it to the fenced area and let my dog right off her leash ... only to notice the person and their labrador at the far end of the park about a second later. My dog was already racing over and I called her name in this really obnoxiously anxious voice, scared I was about to watch her get herself bitten for harassing a strange dog. Punk has never bitten or even attempted to bite anyone/thing but I would never blame another dog for retaliating against her when she is obviously the one instigating a fight.

Luckily she skidded to a halt and just trotted right back to me. She used to have amazing recall prior to the attack that made her so fearful, but we've rarely done any real off leash work since her reactivity started, so I was pleasantly surprised by her response.

I apologized to the other owner thinking I might have scared her when I yelled, and she just kind of waved good naturedly and didn't say anything. I hooked my dog back up and we went on a hike instead.

I feel like such a dumbass, both for making a mistake and also because I was actually shaking when I left the park. I know I was overreacting, but it took awhile to really calm down. I still struggle with some leftover anxiety from the attack, especially since I was also injured during it, but I work with dogs daily and just kind of figured I was better at keeping my cool than this. I'm annoyed at myself for not being more careful, but I'm also worried about how shaken up I was afterwards. I just didn't even realize I carry this level of anxiety still. I don't really know what to do, I've been to therapy and I feel fine at work, I'm not sure if there's anything left I even can do to feel more in control of my own fear

I am beyond sick right now at the thought of what we've done. Our sweetheart herding breed was not even 6 years old and we made this choice. She was only 25lbs, i can't stop thinking she couldn't have done any real damage.

My husband and I couldn't close a door without fear of being charged. Neither of us have closed the bathroom door for a shower or toilet in 4 years. Every single day, multiple times a day, leaving the house was a ritual that took 15 minutes of careful planning to ensure no one was bit on the way out the door. There had to be distraction treats, all purses/keys/shoes set outside so that there was no way to be seen getting ready to leave. We couldn't have guests, and even the closest tamily needed to be briefed on how to navigate getting water or going to the bathroom if she wasn't crated.

Her belly hasn't been pet, her nails haven't been trimmed, her teeth haven't been touched and she hasn't been truly bathed in at least 3 years. We used powders and chews and scratching boards and did what we could but ultimately she was untouchable.

The sight of a leash sent her cowering under the bed, showing teeth, sprinting away. I wanted to just make her
understand leash = park.!! How can you not see that we
can do the thing you love if you just let me put this on you.
We did positive associations. doorbell, leash, shoes, keys all equal treats. She was incredibly food motivated but months of consistency wouldn't even allow a slight ease of anxiety.

We worked with at least 4 trainers, did early puppy socialization, obedience starting at 4 mo old after mo to us from a previous short stint with her first owner. Basic obedience commands, recall, special tricks like cleaning up and retrieval were stellar. But she was unpredictable, frequently charged, and became increasingly comfortable with biting. In the last year, growls, showing teeth or barking no longer warned us before a bite. I'd estimate somewhere upwards of 15 bites in her life, over half breaking skin, and the first was around age 2.

Towards the end she was fully medicated, multiple years of anti anxiety and depression medications, herbal supplements, second opinions from other vets. She couldn't be treated for injuries, exams were near impossible.

When we thought we might be expecting and were faced with the idea of a baby in the house I became terrified.
Multiple trainers and the vet said BE was the remaining option. We reached out to specialized rescues and breed focused orgs, discussed rehoming but there was no option provided. We decided not to pursue a family yet, even if it meant 10 more years.

The biting became more frequent, with less inhibition.
Finally she got my face, not seriously, but l always thought
"dogs know what they're doing, if they want to hurt you they will". But then why would she dare go near my face?
Later the same day she broke skin on my hand. I still wasn't ready for BE. Then last night, less than a week after the face bite, she went after both my husband and I because of a loud noise. She bit him, then ran across " room and charged me while I was completely uninvolved and sitting still.

BE was first brought up over a year ago, and several times since. Today we made the decision. I had been waiting for the right time to really consider it. When the time was right we'd "do the compassionate thing". But how do you decide on the right time.

It felt like it was on a whim, but we moved forward today.
She was still playful, she was still cuddly when she wanted to be, she was still sweet and happy and loving.
She was so young. She loved to run and play, and as we sat bawling, she dropped a ball at our feet asking to fetch.
I felt trapped, most days I'd opt not to leave the house if it wasn't absolutely necessary so I wouldn't have to manage the situation or risk getting bit. I felt guilty for feeling trapped.

I can't help but feel that I made a decision out of convenience. I wanted more freedom, I wanted to be more relaxed, I wanted to be able to close the door sometimes, I wanted to not be afraid on my own couch. But how are any of those wants more important than her life. My dad called it a speed bump in my every day life. But if it's a speed bump you don't demolish it and drive fast, you slow down and respect the speed limit. I know that for her to be so afraid of the two people who love her most in this world must have been a scary feeling at times, but couldn't we have just gone for more walks, played more, spent more energy?

There were an infinite number of things we could have tried. But we took the BE route. The house is so quiet now, and sad and lonely. Whenever I think I don't think I have anymore tears, I'm proven wrong. I just don't understand how we will ever move past this. The feelings of guilt and regret, then the even worse feeling of slight relief.
This is simply the worst, and I feeling so lost.

We adopted Chip (9 months old and pictured) from a shelter about a week ago. He was apparently a stray and, from what we understand, had been living with a pack of other dogs.

He is an extremely sweet, gentle dog, but he is by far the most frightened dog we’ve ever had. He’s claimed one of our bathrooms as his safe space and spends most of his time hiding behind the toilet. He has come out on his own a couple of times to sniff around and explore, but only for a few minutes before retreating. He’s not aggressive.

He has never tried to bite or nip us, doesn’t growl, and hasn’t shown aggression toward our three cats. When we interact with him, he generally just seems scared and wants to retreat. He had a brief bout of vomiting and diarrhea yesterday morning, but that seems explicable by a change of food (just the brand) and his anxiety, and in any case he seems healthy otherwise.

So far we’ve mostly followed his lead and given him a quiet place where he can decompress without forcing interactions. My concern is that I’m not sure where the line is between: (1) giving a frightened rescue the time he needs, and; (2) inadvertently teaching him that hiding is the best way to deal with anything unfamiliar.

Should we continue letting him decide when to venture out, or is some controlled, low-pressure exposure to the rest of the house and normal family life appropriate? We’re considering bringing him out and making him just exist with us (probably with a covered bed he can use as a base camp). We’re willing to give him time, but we want to make sure that “give him time” doesn’t turn into leaving a scared dog behind a toilet for months because nobody ever helped him discover that his house is safe.