My dog suddenly fears my son. How can I help them get along safely?

Hello. Any sudden change in behavior, especially in a senior pet, is worrisome. This may be a neurological problem, like early onset cognitive dysfunction, or the beginning of a loss of senses ( hearing, sight ) that may be causing his reaction. You really need to have Buster fully evaluated to see if there is a medical reason for this strange behavior, or if there is a medication, diet change, treatment or behavior modification that might help. I am sure if there is a need for any treatment, a method to get it into him will be found, or perhaps a consult with a behavioral specialist should be tried first. Hopefully, you can find a solution to his distress. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

First of all, well done on noticing this and realizing you need to take some action to avoid problems in the future. It's pretty common for dogs Conan's age to start showing signs of being fearful - when they are puppies they just deal with being nervous about some situations and as they get closer to adulthood they start to use aggression to ward off scary things. So Conan could definitely work up to biting someone if he continues to be fearful. The most helpful thing would be to start working with a good trainer and/or veterinary behaviorist. You want to use positive only techniques. If that's not possible, you can try to work on this on your own by asking random men to drop him treats and dropped treats whenever you walk past a male on the street.

It's not normal for a 4 month old to be scared or aggressive. I would recommend getting an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist (this person is a vet, not just a layperson) if at all possible -- your vet may have recommendations for someone nearby. It sounds like he could have been scared by the tackling incident, but it's still atypical for such a young dog to be aggressive. It would be like your 2 year old threatening to beat you up --- it's just not how their brains work at that age. The behaviorist can assess him and likely give you a pile of exercises to do at home and some medications. In the mean time, or if you can't take him to a behaviorist, avoid anything that makes him scared and hand feed him all his food as "treats" throughout the day as rewards for interacting with the family.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It sounds as though Lacey has become anxious / stressed by something. If your husband was wearing a hat or clothes that scared Lacey, this could prompt her to develop a fear of him. If she is adopted, maybe she had a previous experience that was recently triggered by something your husband did (loud noise, etc.). I would recommend having your husband walk her regularly, give her lots of treats and make her do tricks for them, etc. Have him spend more time with her and if the behavior does not correct itself, I would maybe have her examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions / concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I'm sorry to hear Cooper has been acting this way. If this behavior is sudden and new, a good first step is to schedule a visit with your veterinarian. In some cases, underlying pain or illness can cause a dog to change behavior and suddenly lash out when otherwise they were sweet or friendly. Your vet can help determine if this may be the case. If Cooper checks out healthy, I then recommend talking with a trainer or veterinary behaviorist in person as aggression toward people is a very complex and serious issue which requires professional help in person. You can learn more about veterinary behaviorists and find one in your area with this link: https://www.dacvb.org/page/about

Poor Bandit! It does sound like he's very fearful of new people - this is a fairly common problem in dogs, and can be due to genetics, inadequate socialization as a puppy, and/or negative experiences with strangers in the past. The good news is, most dogs with this problem are able to improve tremendously with some help from a professional. I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Bandit in person and help you put together a detailed treatment plan for him - this would normally include management recommendations to help keep him from being put in situations that are overwhelming for him, a training plan to teach him to associate new people with good things (usually treats!), and possibly also medication depending on the severity of his anxiety. It can be very challenging to try and do this on your own if you don't have any experience working on this problem, so I would definitely recommend having a behaviorist help you - especially since he does sometimes try to bite. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

There are many possible reasons for this, I'm afraid - aggression is a complex behavior issue, so it can be hard to provide a succinct answer in this format. Many dogs develop aggression issues related to fear or anxiety around the age of 2-3 when they reach social maturity, so it's possible that this may be the issue. Or, since I see that Chucky is a bit older than that, he may have a medical problem causing him to be painful or uncomfortable - this is a common reason for "new" aggression in a previously friendly dog. I would recommend having Chucky examined by a vet as a good first step - he/she can check for anything that may be causing him pain or making him not feel well, and get him started on treatment if needed. If everything is normal medically, then it would be best to make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist to help you determine what is causing the aggression - he/she can observe your dogs in person and also give you a step-by-step treatment plan to work on the issue.