Why is my dog suddenly aggressive when picked up after being calm?

If this is a sudden or new behavior that happened out of the blue, and Toby is now biting and snapping when picked up or handled, I would be concerned that there is something going on such as pain or illness. Often times, a sudden behavioral change can indicate pain or another underlying condition. A good first step is to schedule an appointment with your vet to rule out any health issues that could be causing this. If Toby checks out healthy and he is still acting aggressive and trying to bite you or other animals, I would seek out the help of a trainer or veterinary behaviorist in person. Aggression is a very serious and complex issue and having someone there in person that can observe, assist and provide a tailored plan to help change Toby's behavior is best. Veterinary behaviorists are great as they are able to prescribe any needed medication in addition to a training routine to help create a safer, stress-free environment. You can visit this site to learn more about veterinary behaviorists and find one in your area: http://www.dacvb.org/about/member-directory/

I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem! If this has been a fairly sudden behavior change for Elsa, the first thing I would suggest would be to have her examined by a vet to see if there may be a medial reason for the aggression - many illnesses including thyroid problems and neurologic issues can cause sudden mood swings and behavior changes like this, as well as anything that may be painful such as an injury of some kind, arthritis, etc. If your vet determines that Elsa is healthy, then I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist as the next step. Aggression towards humans is a serious and complex behavior issue that needs to be handled by a professional who can work with your dog in person. The behaviorist will evaluate your dog and help you determine what is triggering the aggression, then put together a detailed training plan to work on the problem. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

Since this is so out of character for him he certainly could be injured. If a dog is hurting in a specific spot, they will sometimes becomes hypersensitive in that area. They will sometimes become aggressive. I would have your vet take a look at him. Your vet will be able to localize the pain and start him on pain meds if needed. You may also have to put him in a short course of anti-anxiety meds until he feels better. Your vet will also be able to do X-rays if needed. I hope this helps!

Hi there. It's unusual to see aggression issues suddenly start in a dog this age without any history of aggression, so I would be suspicious that Danny may have a medical problem causing this. He may be painful or uncomfortable for some reason, or may have a hormonal problem such as hypothyroidism or Cushing's disease causing him to be more irritable. I would recommend taking him to the vet for an exam and possibly lab work to see if an underlying cause can be found.

I am suspicious that he may be painful somewhere. Possibly spinal pain. I would encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian soon. If no pain is identified then you may want to discuss the possibility of anti anxiety medications and possibly a consultation with a veterinary behaviorist. These situations can take quite some time and training an sometimes different medications to find the right combination. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Oh dear! That is a worry for sure! It's really important that you don't get hurt, because dog bites can be pretty serious. I would suggest making an appointment with your vet to talk about possibilities. They might be able to link you up with a behaviorist, or dog trainer that could help a lot. There also could be medications that might help. Or, like you said, there could be a medical problem that is upsetting him.

A sudden change in behavior can be caused by a medical illness. Given that Jimbo has recently become aggressive, I would take him into a vet for a health check. Now if you can't get him into the car, see if there is a mobile vet in your area that can come to the house to see him.