Dog's sudden aggression

I have two dogs, both mixed breeds and both rescued from different circumstances. One of my dogs has suddenly become rather aggressive toward my 2-year-old son. I never leave my son alone with the dogs and I supervise his activities with them closely. As far as I know, my son has never injured or frightened the dogs. The dog's aggression has taken the form of low growls, one snap in the general direction of my son, and always getting on top of a table, sofa, etc. when my son is about. We rescued the dogs at about the same time we had our son. Any ideas about this behavior? The other dog is just fine with my son -- very patient and affectionate.

OOOOOH Chico - this is a bad thing. I hope this dog doesn't hurt your little boy. Sometimes dogs just don't like children. I had a little doxie years ago that snapped at my little girl - I eventually had to find him a new home. Hope you decide something quick before your son gets hurt :(

My first suggestion is to get the dog to a vet as soon as you possibly can for a full examination - it may be in pain and fearful of your son hurting it more. I really hope that this is the case - a weird thing to say, I know, but you are playing with fire otherwise.
Keep the dog muzzled or in another room to prevent any accidents that could have very tragic results until the it has been assesed by a vet.

The dog is at the vet.'s even as I write this and when this perculiar -- and dangerous behavior -- became apparent, we have kept my son the dog in question apart. I should hate to find another home for this dog, but I know that this is a very real possibility. I wonder if anyone might have any ideas about what might have triggered this behavior? Until this happened, this dog was "o.k" with my son -- not overly thrilled, but accepting of the addition to the pack. As I stated, this behavior is sudden.

If after taking the dog to the vet and everything checks out okay health wise (no abdominal pain, ear pain, tail pain, etc) and the behavior still exists, I would say it is a dominance aggression issue.

In order to understand why your dog is acting "dominant," it’s important to know some things about canine social systems. Animals who live in social groups, including domestic dogs and wolves, establish a social structure called a dominance hierarchy within their group. This hierarchy serves to maintain order, reduce conflict and promote cooperation among group members. A position within the dominance hierarchy is established by each member of the group, based on the outcomes of interactions between themselves and the other pack members. The more dominant animals can control access to valued items such as food, den sites and mates. For domestic dogs, valued items might be food, toys, sleeping or resting places, as well as attention from their owner.

In order for your home to be a safe and happy place for pets and people, it’s best that the humans in the household assume the highest positions in the dominance hierarchy. Most dogs assume a neutral or submissive role toward people, but some dogs will challenge their owners for dominance. A dominant dog may stare, bark, growl, snap or even bite when you give him a command or ask him to give up a toy, treat or resting place. Sometimes even hugging, petting or grooming can be interpreted as gestures of dominance and, therefore, provoke a growl or snap because of the similarity of these actions to behaviors that are displayed by dominant dogs. Nevertheless, a dominant dog may still be very affectionate and may even solicit petting and attention from you.

From your dog’s point of view, children, too, have a place in the dominance hierarchy.Because children are smaller and get down on the dog’s level to play, dogs often consider them to be playmates, rather than superiors. Small children and dogs should not be left alone together without adult supervision. Older children should be taught how to play and interact appropriately and safely with dogs; however, no child should be left alone with a dog who has displayed signs of aggression.

If you recognize the beginning signs of dominance aggression in your dog, you should immediately consult an animal behavior specialist. No physical punishment should be used. Getting physical with a dominant dog may cause the dog to intensify his aggression, posing the risk of injury to you. With a dog that has shown signs of dominance aggression, you should always take precautions to ensure the safety of your family and others who may encounter your dog.

Dominance aggression problems are unlikely to go away without your taking steps to resolve them. Treatment of dominance aggression problems should always be supervised by an animal behavior specialist, since dominant aggressive dogs can be potentially dangerous.

I hope this information helps.

Thank you so much for your information. I have been doing some thinking about the canine-human relationships in our home since reading your post. I had established myself as the "top dog," so perhaps the dog in question is challenging my position, or my son's position as the most-favored. We rescued this dog when he was a scarcely-weaned pup and had been in a terribly neglected state. The other dog, the one who is very passive and patient with my son, is a female and we rescued her at about the age of 6 months from a dreadfully abusive situation. She is the most submissive dog of our "pack" and has required many, many months of pateince and training to convince her to perform the simplest tasks. I live in a small town in southwest Kansas and my vet. at the moment does not know of an animal behaviorist in the area, although he is looking into it for me. He has suggested, as you have, that I keep my son and this newly-aggressive dog apart. Unfortunately, I am already considering finding another home for him, one without small children or other animals. Again, thanks for your information and advice.

Chico,
Welcome to Pet Talk !!
Just wanted to say that if after 2 years,
the dog in question has not been successfully
introduced to the newest member,your son;
then you are wise to consider re-homeing the dog. Good Luck to you...

Welcome, Chico.

One of the things I would have the vet check out is a brain scan. It is possible that a brain tumor could be the cause of this aggression, I have seen it in a few dogs before. One of the sweetest dogs I have ever known suddenly became aggressive and I suspect this was the reason. I never heard what they ended up doing with the dog, but the owner stopped bringing him to the PetsMart where I worked when it became a problem. Before that, he was funny and very easy going.

If this dog grew up with your son, it should have accepted him a long time ago. Admittedly, your son was less mobile until recently, but, none-the-less, should have gotten the idea before this that this is not just another "dog" of the pack, but the Alpha's favorite. I would also suggest obedience classes for the dog. It may well be that not everyone understands the "rules" of the pack and obedience classes would help establish rules for the dogs. It wouldn't hurt the other one to go, either. She may be very soft, but she might gain more confidence from classes. At least, that has generally been my experience.

You don't mention what mix the aggressor is? It may even be that the dog is so interbred that he will never have a decent personality and might be better off put down. I don't usually advocate that, but if all the above suggestions don't help, it might be safer for all to do this. Does the dog have any aggressive tendencies toward you or any other adult? Toward the other dog? Are there other animals in the house? Do you have crates for the dogs? Perhaps some time-out when aggression is exhibited would be helpful.

I wish you a great deal of luck on this and hope the dog doesn't have to be put down. Re-homing may be a possibility, but you have to be sure the animal won't transfer the aggression to someone else, as that could lead to some real problems for you. Well, see what the vet says and think about obedience work.

Thank you, everyone for your helpful suggestions. As far I as I know, he has not shown the aggressive-dominance behavior with adults. Aside from our son, he is not around children. I am not completely sure of the mix of breeds in the dog in question. He is black with the rather "splashed" markings of a border collie. On his muzzle he has black spots similar to those of a springer spaniel. He also has the rather "fluffy" ears of spaniel. He is long, but low-slung, with a barrel chest and smaller hind quarters. Also, his hearing is not 100%. We had taken him to obediance training and he was a "B+" student. We've tried obediance training with the female, but she just couldn't take the change in atmosphere -- the other dogs, the other voices, the commands, etc., so I have been working lots of hours with her at home and she can do the basics. You've no idea how long it took just to get her to wag her tail and learn that it was o.k. to play! The vet. tells me that there is nothing physically wrong with the aggressor dog, so I will try returning to obediance classes with him as well as consulting with an animal behaviorist. In the mean time, I will keep my son and this dog FAR APART! I hope that I do not have to find him another home, but if I must then I must. Thanks again, everyone, for your helpful suggestions and kind words. I have always enjoyed this site (from my desk at work :eek: !)

Your dog might have been living with un-gentle children before he was with you. I would make sure that you give a lot of attention to your dog. Also, he may have anxiety over something. Take hi mto the vet...check hiom out. But remember,who is more important...your son or your dog? If your dog doesn't calm down soon, I would say it may be better for you ( and for your dog too, he may just not like little kids!)to find him another homw, not to upset you, though.

I'm not sure if my story will help you or not, but here goes, anyway.

We found a stray cocker (approx 6 yrs old) who tested positive for heartworms. We spent the $500-$600 it took to make him well again, and I was committed to keeping him because when we found him, it was obvious that "my" little boy had had a really rough life, and I wasn't going to leave his future to chance. The first couple of times we took him to the vet, he growled and tried to bite everyone but me. The vet said he appeared to be a fear biter, because at home, he was the perfect angel. I quickly grew (too?) attached to him, and his recovery from the heartworms went smoothly and quickly.

About a month later, after he was feeling a lot better, I left to take my oldest daughter to school. Opus (the stray) and the rest of my kids were still asleep. I was gone no more than 20 minutes, and when I came home, I realized this would be one of the worst days of my life.

Seems my youngest daughter (12 at the time) woke up, and let Opus outside. He did his business, came in, and laid down on the floor at the foot of her bed. She leaned over to pet him, and he took a bite out of her face. He latched on about 1/4 inch below her left eye, and left a big mark on her right cheek. She will have a scar on her cheek for the rest of her life.

My daughter wants to be a vet when she grows up, and is a bigger animal lover than I am, so I know she did nothing to warrant this attack. After we both stopped crying, she told me she still loved him, and wasn't mad at him for what he did to her.

Opus was put to sleep later that day. (May 23, 2001) I was with him, and held him as he went to sleep. My daughter wanted to be there with him as well, but I wouldn't let her. She had been through enough that day.

The point to all this is...be careful. If anything happens to your child, you will never be able to forgive yourself. Trust me, I know. :(

Dixieland Dancer mostly covered the dog-human slant on dominance but I would like to add one thing to it. It is mostly the affection, the hugs, kisses and cuddles that are given as if to another human that trigger such a response in a dog that feels it is superior to the human in question.
Take a few minutes to think of how most humans, especially little ones, show affection to the dog. They reach around the dog's neck, apply pressure and encircle the neck area.
A hug.
A very strong signal to a dog that another member of the pack is trying to gain, or maintain, dominance is the simple act of resting or positioning the head, leg or lower jaw over the neck area.
We see a sweet and gentle cuddle from a little person to their loved pet.... a dog that is not secure in its position sees a small, weak, unsocial ( in dog language ) competitor making moves it can't back up. The dog gives the usual signals that any other dog would understand to mean, "Back off matey, you can't win and if you push me I'll prove that you can't!"
A small child will, obviously, not understand what the dog thinks he has made perfectly clear. Thus the dog is forced to make his signals stronger and less likely to be challenged.
If steps are not taken to rectify the staus quo right now, assuming that the dog has not got a medical problem, then the situation can only go one way.
This is not the fault of the dog. The dog has done everything it can to say very plainly that it knows it is in the stronger position and is willing and able to prove it. It is essential that you get a behaviourist to help before the dog is forced into action that will end it's life and may have life long repercussions for your little boy.
If you think I can help please email me.

Chico, I just wanted to welcome you here but I'm sorry it's under such trying circumstances. I feel very sorry for you and also for your dog. I hope you can get this resolved for all of you. There is no better advice than what you have got from the people on here, believe me.
Jackie

Hi, Chico. You may want to check out a book called "Leader of the Pack." It has a lot of great information. It may help you solve the situation, point you in the direction of an animal behaviorist, etc. Good Luck!!

Hello, everyone. Thank you all for your kind concern and advice. I am so glad that I posted this topic. The dog in question has been in an isolated portion of our yard -- not tied, but securely fenced from the rest of the property. Since his trip to the vet and his isolation, I have done much thinking and I have decided that I must find him another home; it simply isn't worth the risk to my little guy or any other children who might come our way. Fortunately, this situation looks as if it will have a happy ending after all. My vet. (bless him!) has located a couple who are willing to take the dog AND all of his "baggage." They asked if, after behavior modification, if I wanted the dog returned. My heart says "Yes," but my emotional state of mind, my fears and my brain all tell me "NO!" This is not a problem as they are willing to provide for the dog the rest of his life. This couple (with NO children, by the way) live in a more urban area than I do and have ready access to whatever necessary to help this dog be a good pet, beginning with animal behavior modification. The vet. is confident that this dog can become a good companion, since I caught the new behavior pattern so early, rather than waiting for a major problem to occur. To "PJ's Mom," your sad story really helped me to decide what to do before things got out of hand. What a remarkable daughter you have! Naturally, I am very upset at having to re-home this dog, but I know that this will be better for him and for my family. Can you believe it -- I am already thinking about getting another dog from the local shelter! But I think I will wait a while before adding to our pack. Again, thank you all for your advice and concern. I have already begun to teach my little boy about the proper way to approach and touch a dog (thank you, Carrie!)and we will work on other forms of interaction when he is old enough to understand. This site has really helped me through a difficult situation, and I think that, if my dog could talk, he would say "Thanks," too. :)

Chico, I know this was a hard decision for you but it was the right one. It's amazing that the perfect couple came along right when you needed them. It was meant to be! ;)

Happy to hear you have found a happy solution for both your family and your dog in question! Sounds like you have a very caring and understanding vet.
Welcome and hope you enjoy it here.

Chico - Bravo for you - I know this must have been very difficult, but this decision is bound to ease your mind and I think is certainly best for the dog. Sounds like you've found a marvelous home and both parties will surely benefit from this unselfish decision you've made. Congratulations :) :)

Chico, I think you have made the right decision for all of you. It is so hard to let go, but knowing the dog will have a nice home with people who do not have children should give you peace of mind. I don't know if this is the right thing to do, but what about if you think of getting another dog bringing the one you have with you to see how they get along for starters. We have a Schnauzer who is somewhat aggressive towards children and since we don't have small kids it is no problem for us and we are careful with him.
Jackie

Chico, I'm sorry it had to come to this, but I too think you made the right decision. I'm glad my experience with Opus helped you. :)

Hopefully, you'll get to keep tabs on how he's doing. :)

Chico I am so sorry that you had to make this difficult decision, but I think very highly of a person who can make a hard decision to help someone out, even if it will hurt themselves.

Hello, Everyone at Pet Talk. Just to bring this to a conclusion, my "aggressive dog" has met with his new owners a time or two and seems to be o.k. with them for now. He will be making a few weekend trips to their home before moving there permanently next month. I hope that this is the right decision -- it feels like it's the right one, but I also can't help feeling that I have given up on this dog too soon and too quickly. As I stated before, I've had him since he was a pup that could fit into my coat pocket. Any ideas on how to overcome the guilt and the emptiness I am feeling inside? Thank you all for your advice. I don't know what I would have done without this site to assist me through a very difficult time.

I can certainly understand how you feel Chico, but please don't feel guilty - you're doing the right thing by making this casual adjustment with your dog and you seem to feel confident in the new owners in making a wonderful home for your baby. I know it will take time for the emptiness to subside, but you are making the right decision. The child really has to come first - you just cannot take a chance on him being bitten and then in turn would probably make him afraid of dogs for the rest of his life. You're a good person, believe that!!!!

It sounds to me like you have provided this dog with an excellent life so far and you are now seeing to his future. It's a shame it won't be with you, but it is better for both of you. He will get plenty of attention and you will have peace of mind. You may feel guilty now, but how guilty would you feel if after 5 peaceful years he snapped again and injured your child?

There are plenty of submissive type dogs in shelters who need homes too, like your other dog. My mother always chose females of passive breeds, and that's the type I have now.

I think more people who own dogs should be like you, then maybe there wouldn't be such a homeless dog problem. Don't feel guilty for a second, you've done a good thing!

[ November 19, 2001: Message edited by: sabies ]

Firstly let me say that you have done a truly superb job both as a parent and as a dog owner. Few have the understanding that such a problem is potentially life threatening - those that do often react on an emotional level that they regret later on. You have thought carefully and lovingly and secured a safe future for your dog in an environment that will care and love him.

To help with any guilt issues you have....imagine if you decided to give the dog some more time. Imagine that you are with your son and dogs in the kitchen (or any other room) and something happens. A car accident outside, a small fire in the kitchen, a water pipe bursts - anything that takes your attention suddenly and needs you to react instantly. You rush to deal with the incident and the next thing you know is your son screaming. This time there is no other choice than to put the dog to sleep and you have to look at your child every day knowing that you could of prevented his injuries. Now imagine trying to live with guilt.

Again you have shown heart, courage and compassion and should really be feeling very proud of yourself. I am so impressed at the way you have handled a very difficult situation and you need to sit down and think of the alternatives. You have done the best for your son and your dog and could do no more. Well done.

Hello Everyone at Pet Talk. I just wanted to update you on "my" aggressive dog. He is adjusting very well to his new place. So well, in fact, that his new owners believe he is ready to stay with them permanently. My plan was to take him a few times, first. My other dog, the female, has started to come out of her shell, so to speak. She has begun to play and tease and "frolic" and wag her tail out of joy (rather than fear) more and more now that she is the only four-legger in the back yard (besides my 13-year-old cat). Apparently the other dog had completely domianted her -- a dynamic I was unaware of, until now. My son is missing the male dog, I think, but I am now certain that I have made the right decision for everyone involved, including the animals. When I hear how happy the other dog seems to be and when I look at my sweet "puppy-girl" playing and chasing squirrels in the yard and especially when I look at my son, I know that my feelings of guilt are quite misplaced and maybe even selfish. Again, thank you everyone for your help and support. To those of you who are new to this site, it's absolutely the best ;) Happy holidays to everyone and keep your tails wagging!