[NJSoccerMom]

We have had him since he was 4 weeks old - he was abandoned. He has gone thru intensive training at home with a wonderful trainer because he was too young when he was taken away from his litter, and therefore didn't learn the "rules". He has been really great, but just in the past 2 weeks, if my 12 and 9 year olds grab his collar or touch him in any of his "alpha" spots (hind quarters, paws) he growls and snaps and has bitten each of them twice now. He has NEVER bitten in the past. He is healthy. What to do????

[cigwyllt]

Has he had a full vet check up to confirm that he is healthy? Anytime there is a behaviour change as extreme as this a check up is a must.

While any underlying medical issue is being ruled out the children must learn to respect certain areas of his body. I have three dogs - two of whom will let you do more or less anything to them and if they are annoyed will walk away, the third becomes anxious and if pushed may snap. My children know that they are not to tickle his paws or blow in his face. If he were to snap at them he would be disciplined but my children would not get any sympathy from me!

[Lunareclipse]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

Has he had a full vet check up to confirm that he is healthy? Anytime there is a behaviour change as extreme as this a check up is a must.

While any underlying medical issue is being ruled out the children must learn to respect certain areas of his body. I have three dogs - two of whom will let you do more or less anything to them and if they are annoyed will walk away, the third becomes anxious and if pushed may snap. My children know that they are not to tickle his paws or blow in his face. If he were to snap at them he would be disciplined but my children would not get any sympathy from me!

I agree. We have a senior saint bernard. She gets cranky if certain parts of her is touched. I don't let my interact with her much unless she is carefully supervised. But if my saint snapped at my little person for doing what she's been told repeatedly not to do, my little person gets no sympathy from me. You said your kids are 12 and 9? That is certainly old enough to follow directions. My 3 year old knows what parts of our senior saint she can touch. I'm sure your 12 and 9 year old can learn even faster.

[reeskujo]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

Has he had a full vet check up to confirm that he is healthy? Anytime there is a behaviour change as extreme as this a check up is a must.

While any underlying medical issue is being ruled out the children must learn to respect certain areas of his body. I have three dogs - two of whom will let you do more or less anything to them and if they are annoyed will walk away, the third becomes anxious and if pushed may snap. My children know that they are not to tickle his paws or blow in his face. If he were to snap at them he would be disciplined but my children would not get any sympathy from me!

I totally agree..Also a dog should never be grabbed by the collar,especially by children unless absolutely necessary..At 7 yr.s old he is a senior and even if he checks out healthy it's very possible he is just becoming less tolerant of what he's willing to allow..He may be having a thyroid issue or possibly even pain in his joints at that age and generally it will start in the hips..Please don't take this in an offensive way but is it possible the kids have teased him at all or possibly smacked him on the butt for something?..Also is there a reason the kids are grabbing him by the collar?..Dogs interpret that action as either being in trouble or being controlled..As a trainer I can tell you that one of the first things we teach is that the leash and esecially the collar should always be associated as something positive which is why we teach students that grabbing the collar is a real no-no unless it has to be done to keep the dog fron running off or causing harm to someone..

I would have some blood work done and depending on the breed you have ask the vet about x-raying his hips..If that checks out then my guess would be he's either less tolerant of things because of his age or possibly the kids have teased him..I have 4 kids all though they're grown now and even though they were taught boundries with our Akita's at an early age there were times that didn't follow the rules and teased them as kids will do..I also highly recommend that they are never allowed to grab the dog by it's collar..Generally speaking when a dog starts exhibiting aggressive behavior after years of never doing so they either have a health issue or if they're being aggressive but ony to certain people they have interpreted something that person has done in a negative way even if that wasn't the persons intention...Until you find out if it's a medical issue I would tell the kids to give the dog some space,not attempt to play with him unless he comes to them first and most definetely to no longer grab him by the collar.

[Lara's mom]

Whatever the problem is, you don't want your dog seized by animal control. For both of your sakes, muzzle the dog.

[Collie_Holly]

I posted a reply to this thread and it's not showing...

[dogowner]

"Statistics show that 4.7 million people get bitten by dogs yearly. These bites range from minor nips to major attacks.

Dog’s are man’s best friend, not his worst enemy….With this thought in mind, here are some tips to prevent being bitten by a dog."

Bite Prevention:

1. Don’t Approach a Strange Dog.

Don’t go near just any dog you find adorable, particularly when that dog is tied, fenced-in or in a car. A new or strange dog might think that you are threatening him or you are an intruder.

2. Don’t Pet a Strange Dog.

It is not advisable for anyone to pet strange dogs, or even his or her own dog, without letting him sniff and recognize you first......."

Read the article on dogsownersmanual.blog.com, there are about 10 tips about this."

[Deafdogsrule]

Question, What do you do when the dog growls? A dog's growl is his early warning system, it means he's afraid or uncomfortable with something. If you correct a growl, what does the dog do next? it snaps, so now you have a dog who's warnings have not only been ignored, but corrected, so he escalates to snapping, when snapping is ignored and corrected (usually harshly 'cuz aggressive displays towards people are unacceptable to most people), so the dog's next option? a bite.

Most "unprovoked" bites are by dogs who've had their early warning system trained out of them.

Teach your kids to respect a growl. the dog growls you back off immediately. period. Figure out what caused the growl, and work on desensitizing the dog to the stimulus that made him growl originally.