My dog growls at me when my partner leaves. What should I do?

This is a hard question to answer without really knowing what is going on. If Max is becoming aggressive, growling, snarling, attempting to bite, etc, then this is a very complex and worrisome issue that should be worked with by a professional in your area. A trainer coming by in person can help observe what is going on, and provide more tailored training plans to address the issue. If Max seems nervous when you approach, you can work on getting him more comfortable with you by tossing a favorite treat to him every time you approach. Over time, he'll start to associate you with with something positive (the treat) instead of something negative. If he does growl or become agitated, moving away and giving him some time to relax before trying again is best to avoid escalation of any behaviors. If he is acting aggressively toward other dogs, separating him if things get too rough or a fight breaks out, and then reintroducing both dogs again slowly can help. Removing items of contention such as toys, bedding, bones, etc can also help reduce the possibility of a fight over these items.

Definitely take Max into a veterinary behavioral expert for help! Aggressive dogs are not something to leave alone, and this behavior can and does get worse over time. In addition, if he did bite someone, he could seriously injure them and there could be very severe repercussions for that occurring including euthanasia. There are a number of cases where a dog has had to be put to sleep for biting people, and you do not want that to happen. Speak to your vet about a referral to a professional behavioral expert asap. I hope this helps!

I strongly recommend you consult with a professional, in-home dog trainer. You need a trainer to come to your house and see the behavior and the interaction of all the family members with the puppy. This is your best bet. Aggression problems need special care and it is not recommended that you try to correct this on your own. You may give him the wrong signals and make him worse. This needs to stop before he hurts someone.

This is a very tough situation. If you're serious about Max getting better, I would recommend scheduling an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist to get to the bottom of the problem. This is a good place to look: https://avsab.org/directory/ While you're waiting for your appointment, make sure you aren't punishing him for this behavior (because punishments can make it worse), avoid all situations in which it occurs, when you are on walks take really great treats with you and use them to keep his attention on you if you have to walk pasted another dog (but avoiding all together would still be better). Your dog will likely need a combination of behavior modifications, training, and medication and he may never be a totally normal dog. Wishing you the best of luck. Thanks for using PetCoach

I strongly recommend you consult with a professional, in-home dog trainer. You need a trainer to come to your house and see the behavior and how you are reacting to the situation. This is your best bet. Aggression problems need special care and it is not recommended that you try to correct this on your own. You may give him the wrong signals and make him worse. Especially with his breed combination and size, you need to do this right. I like this company Bark Busters. It appears as though they have a trainer in your area. I suggest you call them. I'm pretty sure the initial consult is free. ( https://www.barkbusters.com/dog-training-baltimore-northeast )

At this point, I think you need to have a professional trainer/behaviorist examine your dog and try to come up with a training plan. That is very concerning that she is aggressive and I think you need some professional help before someone in your family is injured. Call your vet and see if he/she can recommend a good trainer in your area.

Aggression towards other dogs is usually a result of not being comfortable around them - it can happen due to a lack of socialization as a puppy, a bad experience with another dog at a young age, or even a genetic predisposition to this problem. It usually starts to appear around social maturity, so if Max is about a year old, this would be a very common age to begin seeing this problem. Aggression issues are complex and difficult to address succinctly in this format, so I would really recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist if at all possible - he/she can evaluate Max in person and help you put together a treatment plan to work on this problem. In general, I can tell you that treatment will involve teaching him to associate good things with seeing other dogs and behaving calmly around them - we normally use food rewards and other types of positive reinforcement to achieve this. Punishment for this behavior is not recommended, since it tends to make the dog more fearful and worsen the problem over time.