My rescued dog's fear and snapping worsen when petted. Help!

Hi there! I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem with Buffy. It's not unusual for behavioral issues to take a few weeks to show up in a newly adopted dog - there is often a "honeymoon period" while they're still getting comfortable and adjusting to their new home, before these issues start to emerge. Aggression towards other dogs and humans is a complex behavioral issue that's difficult to address properly in a forum like this, but I can try to give you some general information that may be helpful. Treatment for aggression issues is generally based on identifying what situations tend to trigger the aggressive behavior - then either finding ways to avoid them, or working with the dog to teach her to respond differently using reward-based training techniques. If this is something you want to work on, I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Buffy in person and help you put together a detailed treatment plan to address her aggressive behavior. For now, if the aggression only happens with dogs and people she doesn't know, I would recommend keeping her separated from visitors for now until you are able to get a more detailed plan in place to work on the problem. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

Please have Mia seen by a vet to help rule out a possible medical cause for her behaviour. In some cases your veterinarian may recommend medication that may help. You should seek the advice of a veterinary behaviorist to help curb this behavior. Visit the following links for more information on how to find a behaviourist https://avsab.org/resources/speakers-bureau/behavior-consultants-near-you/ , http://www.ecawbm.com/ . This is essential to help reduce the risk of her injuring a person or another animal. Make sure to keep her on a leash and muzzled in public to reduce the risk of her biting anyone else, and keep her muzzled with a basket muzzle around humans and animals. In the meantime, do not let your toddler in the same room as Mia, as things could quickly escalate into a bite. Best of luck to you, and I hope things improve soon.

Oh dear! I'm sorry that you're having this problem with Billi. Owner-directed aggression is a complex behavior issue that can be quite serious, so I would recommend recommend asking your veterinarian to refer you to a veterinary behaviorist in your area - he/she can evaluate your dog in person and help you put together a detailed training plan to work on this problem. In general, I can tell you that the best way to deal with this problem is ny identifying what situations tend to trigger the aggression, then either avoiding them or working with her to teach her to be more comfortable with these triggers so that she doesn't feel the need to growl or snap. This would always involve reward-based training, never any kind of punishment as this is likely to make things worse. If your husband is petting her and she growls, she's asking him to stop - he should listen to her and leave her alone at that point, rather than continuing to antagonize her with more petting. This often leads to increased aggression (such as snapping or biting) from the dog, since her communications signals are being ignored. The behaviorist can help you understand why she gets upset in these situations so that you can learn to avoid them or help her be more comfortable.

I'm sorry to hear that this happened! How upsetting for you and your cousin. The situation you describe - a child coming up behind a dog and startling it, particularly when food is involved - is an extremely common trigger for bites. Any dog will bite if it feels scared or threatened. Our responsibility as adults is to make sure that these situations don't happen. For safety reasons, I would recommend keeping Max separated from any visiting children from now on to prevent this from happening again. Also, in the future, please don't hit him or scold him for reacting this way - the aggressive behavior was prompted by fear, so punishment will only make him more tense and defensive around kids in the future. This is likely why he growled at your friend once he was back in the house - he was stressed and upset, and already "on-edge" from everything that had happened before. If you want to try and work on this issue through training, I would strongly recommend getting help from a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Max in person and help you put together a detailed plan for him. Training for aggression issues is generally focused on teaching the dog to associate good things with whatever he is currently afraid of (such as children, visitors, etc.), and should not involve punishment of any kind. Management is also extremely important to ensure that everyone stays safe, for dogs with any history of biting. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

It sounds like your dog is anxious and uncomfortable around the baby - this is a common problem for many dogs at first. Babies can be very scary to them! By snapping, she is doing her best to defend herself and let you know she is scared. Please do not correct this behavior, as this will only make her more anxious and upset. Instead, listen to what she is telling you and don't allow the baby to approach or bother her. For many dogs, it's best to keep them separated from babies and toddlers using baby gates or other physical barriers until the children are old enough to be gentle and respectful with animals. You can praise her and feed her treats when the baby is nearby to help her associate good things with being around her, but don't allow any direct interaction if your dog is uncomfortable. If you feel that you need more help with this, I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate your dog in person. He/she can help you put together a detailed plan to help your dog become more comfortable around the baby and make sure that everyone stays safe. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I understand your concern! Until you get to the bottom of this, for safety reasons, I recommend that Lily not be allowed around children. She should be put in another room that she can not get out of and kids can not get in. I recommend that you make an appointment with your Vet. At 8 1/2 years old she is approaching her senior years and new problems can crop up. Things like arthritis, UTI's and low thyroid. She could be painful or not feeling well but not showing you in the obvious ways. Bring urine and a fecal sample to the appointment. Ask your Vet to do senior blood work and evaluate her for arthritis. If her physical and blood work is normal then I recommend training and anti-anxiety medications. Sadly she never may be trustworthy with children. I wish you and Lily the best of luck!

Oh dear! This is potentially a very dangerous situation for your cat, so I would definitely recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist if you want to keep both pets - he/she can evaluate your dog in person to help determine the level of risk involved, and will put together a detailed training plan to work on the problem. Generally, treatment for this problem would involve rewarding the dog for calm behavior around the cat, while also managing the situation carefully to ensure that there are no injuries - this may mean that the dog needs to be on-leash at all times around the cat, or they should be separated using a baby gate or some other physical barrier during training sessions until things are calmer. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org