What's happening to my good boy?

[Lily Freya]

Luis is just 2 years 3 months old.  He has always been so passive and gentle...........but suddenly I have had a couple of incidences with him that have worried me.

Ollie, my other cocker, went to get a toy from the basket on Monday, and Luis went for him.  He didn't draw blood, or do any harm (other than scaring poor Ollie), but it was not nice to see.

Then today, we were walking in the woodland and a lovely labrador came to greet us.  Luis just seemed to lose it again, and growled at him really horribly.

Should I be worried?  Does this sort of thing just happen?  I have never known him to be anything other than a lovely soft boy.

[lj66]

Hi lilly freya

Sorry I Have no advice to offer but I know what your going through, my  little girl Roxy is doing exactly the same thing she is 22 months, every dog we meet she growls and snaps at them  this behavior has just started so I'm hoping it might be a phase they go through. Hopefully somebody will come along and give some advice.

lj66

[Hurtwood Dogs]

If he's never done it before and you can't think of anything that might be triggering it or anything that's happened to him recently, then it might be worth checking him over physically yourself and possibly taking him to a vet for a check? If he's not feeling quite right or has some pain somewhere it could explain his behaviour...
 

 

[Lily Freya]

If he's never done it before and you can't think of anything that might be triggering it or anything that's happened to him recently, then it might be worth checking him over physically yourself and possibly taking him to a vet for a check? If he's not feeling quite right or has some pain somewhere it could explain his behaviour...
 

 

Have given him a check (when I groomed him)..........and can't find anything obvious.  He hasn't been in any scraps either.  Just can't understand this sudden onset of 'turning so quickly'.  He is the most gentle of characters usually.  He and Ollie sleep together, groom one another, and play fantastically.  But, he really turned on him the other day, just over a toy.  I am hoping it is just a phase, and that it is nothing to worry about.

Might just get him checked at the vet too, as you suggest.  Although he has just had his annual injection, and a full check.

Thanks so much for your suggestions.

[Lily Freya]

Hi lilly freya

Sorry I Have no advice to offer but I know what your going through, my  little girl Roxy is doing exactly the same thing she is 22 months, every dog we meet she growls and snaps at them  this behavior has just started so I'm hoping it might be a phase they go through. Hopefully somebody will come along and give some advice.

lj66

Wonder if it is the 'terrible two's'.  They say they come to maturity at 2, don't they?  Suppose they could be asserting a bit more authority............but it worries you doesn't it, when they are normally so passive?  Thanks for your reply lj66.

[Helen]

If he's never done it before and you can't think of anything that might be triggering it or anything that's happened to him recently, then it might be worth checking him over physically yourself and possibly taking him to a vet for a check? If he's not feeling quite right or has some pain somewhere it could explain his behaviour...
 

 

Have given him a check (when I groomed him)..........and can't find anything obvious.  He hasn't been in any scraps either.  Just can't understand this sudden onset of 'turning so quickly'.  He is the most gentle of characters usually.  He and Ollie sleep together, groom one another, and play fantastically.  But, he really turned on him the other day, just over a toy.  I am hoping it is just a phase, and that it is nothing to worry about.

Might just get him checked at the vet too, as you suggest.  Although he has just had his annual injection, and a full check.

Thanks so much for your suggestions.

do his booster coincide with his off behaviour?  could be that he's feeling a little out of sorts from them?

[JeffandAnnie]

I am experiencing a similar thing - Jeff has suddenly started to become possessive of my head   

Annie and Jeff sleep on the bed with us at night, along with various cats, with Jeff on the pillow over my head. The last few nights if a cat or Annie has approached my head he has growled, barked and snapped at them, which is a bit disconcerting as it's right next to my ear in the middle of the night. Once the offending animal has been scared off he snuggles back round my head. I've taken to calling it the Battle for Mummy's Head.


 

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Don't know if this helps at all, but my last cocker (who was a real unconfrontational softie like your boy) suffered from ear infections etc and when he was getting them, he always seemed to attract more aggressive behaviour from other dogs which ended up making him react too. He wouldn't be showing any symptoms when it started to happen but I realised after a while it was when his ears were becoming sore..

Really hope you are able to get to the bottom of it soon

[Lily Freya]

Hi Helen.  Thanks for answering.......................it might just be coincidence, but all the incidences have happened since the booster.  Do you believe it could be related?  He appears ok again now, no more attacks on Ollie.  But, I am trying to keep a watchful eye.   It has just made me feel a bit nervous, because it is so out of character.

Hi Hannah.  Luis has been rubbing his ear on the floor, so have just checked him.  There is no smelly ear or anything.  I gave his ears a wipe out with his ear cleaner, and will keep an eye on things just in case there is any chance it might be related.

Hi Jeff and Annie.  Luis is certainly the one (out of the three of them) that likes his place by me...................but, the only thing that worries me about these incidences is that they have never been about place.  He has squabbled with Ollie about toys, then with other dogs about them invading his space.  Luckily there have been no bites or injuries, but just scary growls and defensiveness.

Thanks everyone.  At least I have got a few things to think about.
He seems ok with Ollie again now.  They have been back to grooming one another peacefully.  I guess it is gonna have to be a case of keeping a watchful eye, and if necessary seeking help if it becomes too much of a problem.  I am keeping everything crossed that it is just a case of him being out of sorts because of the booster, or something I have not picked up on. 

[fifer]

Could be a vaccine reaction but some other ailments are also hidden, they aren't palpable, visual or 'sniff-able' .  It might be worth getting a blood panel done by your vet to rule out any underlying cause.

[Lily Freya]

Yes......I think that if it is not a passing phase, and there are more incidences then that will be my next line of investigation.

Nothing happened today when we met the labrador (I was so relieved)    And, over the last day or two no more incidences at home.

I am really hoping that it was just something to do with feeling a bit low, as opposed to anything more sinister.

Thanks for all the suggestions.  They are always appreciated. 

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Aw really hope it was just a blip for him, it's worrying when they do stuff so out of character... fingers crossed for you

[tritonx]

Interesting that you should bring this behavior up. Fraser is 21 months old and has always been extremely friendly and mostly submissive in body language when he's meeting another dog. Not fearful, just cautious with tail wagging on approach and as soon as he figures he's safe, goes into play with me behaviour. A very few times in the last few months he's become very noisy, snarly with another dog he's meeting. I don't think he's trying to bite, but it's very noisy. A few times he's been on leash and the leash was quite tight, so I figured he was reacting to the stress of being constrained. Yesterday at the invitation of another dog owner who suggested they could play together, I let Fraser off the leash and the two dogs began to chase each other. Fraser was being rough with the other dog which started to growl at him to back off and Fraser responded by becoming snarly. Someone earlier in the thread suggested perhaps your dog was just coming into its own as a full grown dog and asserting more authority. I was wondering that myself about Fraser, that he was adopting a more adult dog level of assertiveness. However, it has me watching the situation carefully. I'm still not exactly sure what the trigger is (when it doesn't seem to have to do with leash) and keeping an eye out for signals. Other than these very few incidents, he's a dog that just wants to play with whoever he meets. It sounds like we might have a similar situation and I'll be interested to hear how things go on with Luis.

[ZoeN]

I have a 21 month old, who has recently started to show a bit of aggression with some other dogs. She's normally submissive (often lies down as an unfamiliar dog approaches) and very playful, and is fine with most dogs, but every so often a seemingly random outbreak of aggression occurs. It is normally when she's on the lead or confined in a small space. I think when she's off lead she has the freedom to run away if she's scared or unsure, so it might just be a fear reaction in those instances. There are other times when you can see a younger dog is getting a bit too pushy and she puts them in their place with a very quick snap. So this may be a 'coming into maturity - asserting dominance' phase. Sometimes I just don't know what's got into her though, when the other dog has done nothing wrong. It's rare - but I hope it does pass!

[Lily Freya]

Isn't it odd that one or two of us are reporting the same sudden onset of this behaviour?

Luckily, Luis seems to be coming around again.  He has not growled at Ollie, and we also met the labrador again, and that was incidence free.....Phew!!!!!

I am now wondering if there was any connection with his annual jab.   I really hope it was.

Hope things get sorted for your little ones too................it is so worrying when they are normally good, passive doglets. x