Dog showing aggression towards me.

MrsNorthman

It's been over the last month or two, not just after neutering.

Fosterdog

My first question was going to be is there any chance you could be pregnant and I can see you are (congratulations).

No tips in actually dealing with it but animals can pick up on hormonal changes in people so he can sense that something is "not right" with you and it is making him behave out of character.

I had a cat who had a phantom pregnancy when I first started my periods and again when I developed PCOS and again when I miscarried. She was very sensitive to the hormonal changes in me and despite her being spayed my hormones still triggered a hormone imbalance and phantom pregnancies in her.

It the same type of thing as dogs who can sense epilepsy or cancer, it shows he was really in tune with you before you got pregnant but is probably sending his out hoones out of kilter now you have hormonal changes.

Does the vet know you are pregnant?

Edited to add some links with info on pregnancy and dogs behaviour

http://dogs.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Dog_Behavior_and_Human_Pregnancy

http://www.justanswer.com/dog-health/539yg-hi-dog-acting-weird-towards-pregnant.html

Fosterdog

Oh and please ignore all advice telling you to "show him who's boss" or "show him his place in the pack" that is ridiculous and outdated and a one way ticket to a dog with more issues and a higher chance of biting.

trolleyrun

Fosterdog wrote: »

Oh and please ignore all advice telling you to "show him who's boss" or "show him his place in the pack" that is ridiculous and outdated and a one way ticket to a dog with more issues and a higher chance of biting.

It worked for me though, and has done for several friends. I'm sorry, but a dog needs to be taught who's boss and where in the pecking order s/he belongs. It doesn't mean the dog gets treated badly, my dog is dearly loved and clearly loves me back. She shows this in many ways, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm doing the right thing.

Person_one

trolleyrun wrote: »

It worked for me though, and has done for several friends. I'm sorry, but a dog needs to be taught who's boss and where in the pecking order s/he belongs.

No they don't, its really obvious, they can tell.

The humans control what, where, when and how much they can eat and drink, when they can go outside and come back in and where they can sleep while we come and go as we please and eat delicious things that they aren't allowed any of.

You don't need any of this daft 'walk through the door first' stuff that people suggest, certainly not the previous poster's frankly dangerous aggressive suggestions to behave aggressively towards the dog in retaliation.

Fosterdog's links are interesting, but obviously you can't just ignore it. As this happens with his food and his bed it sounds like resource guarding rather than true aggression, so slow desensitisation to you being around his stuff is the way to go. There are also some good books on resource guarding on Amazon if you have a browse.

trolleyrun

This isn't about "walking through the door first" though. I don't mean that. I mean showing the dog who's boss in the house, basically what's acceptable behaviour and what isn't.

I'll give you an example: My dog isn't allowed in the bathroom (for various reasons I don't need to go into here). I do tend to go to the loo with the door open and if the dog tries to come in, I tell her a firm "No" and she sits outside and waits for me to finish. Sometimes, she goes into the lounge, sometimes she stays outside the bathroom. She knows the commands: sit, stay, no, and wait. She also gets lots of praise when she does good. She's a happy dog, tail up pretty much all the time - even when I have to put the "bucket" on her head as she's recently been spayed.

In my book, a firm but loving hand where dogs know boundaries is the way forward as far as I'm concerned.

pc1271

Don't let him get away with it; he needs to know be in no doubt who's boss. If he shows any aggression, IMMEDIATELY shout at him and don't step back; make sure he knows you're in charge. If he growled at you for touching his bowl, immediately pick up the bowl and take it away. If he thinks he successfully warned you off, he'll only do it again.

Person_one

trolleyrun wrote: »

This isn't about "walking through the door first" though. I don't mean that. I mean showing the dog who's boss in the house, basically what's acceptable behaviour and what isn't.

I'll give you an example: My dog isn't allowed in the bathroom (for various reasons I don't need to go into here). I do tend to go to the loo with the door open and if the dog tries to come in, I tell her a firm "No" and she sits outside and waits for me to finish. Sometimes, she goes into the lounge, sometimes she stays outside the bathroom. She knows the commands: sit, stay, no, and wait. She also gets lots of praise when she does good. She's a happy dog, tail up pretty much all the time - even when I have to put the "bucket" on her head as she's recently been spayed.

In my book, a firm but loving hand where dogs know boundaries is the way forward as far as I'm concerned.

You're talking about training there though, not this dangerous and insane 'dominance' stuff some posters are.

Nobody's saying that dogs should be allowed to do whatever they want! The way to manage their behaviour though is through sensible reward based training that they can understand, not screaming at them and kicking them to make them terrified of you!

Fosterdog

Trolleyrun what you are talking about in your last post is perfectly good and the best way to do it, that is not what is classed as having a pack/pecking order mentality. That is different and can be very damaging to a dog and can cause them to hide their natural reaction out of fear.

I would rather have a dog growl to let me know they are hurt/scared/uncomfortable etc. than be too scared to growl out of fear of punishment and go straight for a bite when they are pushed past their limits.

OP if it is because of your pregnancy right now your dog is confused, he sort if knows and recognises you but something is not right and he doesn't understand. Think of pod people, they look like the human host but they are not themselves. That is how your dog sees you right now and he doesn't know what to do about it.

You need to stop his behaviour ASAP to keep yourself safe and the best way is to bond with him all over again. Lots of treats and positive reinforcement. Spend as much time as you can with him and work on lots of short training sessions through the day. He needs to associate the new you with something positive.

You may find as the pregnancy progresses he goes the other way and is great with you but gets overprotective and not let anyone near you, or he may go back to normal, or even stay as he is.

Having him neutered while he is having such issues was a bad idea and coulda lie any hormone problems worse as his body was already dealing with the changes to your hormones and now has to deal with that too. I know that doesn't help but it may help you to understand why it's happening so you can help him through it.

Fosterdog

:A

pc1271 wrote: »

Don't let him get away with it; he needs to know be in no doubt who's boss. If he shows any aggression, IMMEDIATELY shout at him and don't step back; make sure he knows you're in charge. If he growled at you for touching his bowl, immediately pick up the bowl and take it away. If he thinks he successfully warned you off, he'll only do it again.

You may take this idiotic approach yourself but you are giving dangerous advice to a pregnant woman who has another child in the house. This way of dominating a dog is the quickest way to getting someone bitten.